RCN Corvettes (Castle Class): HMCS Arnprior K494/HMCS Bowmanville K493/HMCS Copper Cliff K495/HMCS Hespeler K489
Castle Class Corvettes
HMCS Arnprior (K494) Castle-class; HMCS Bowmanville (K493) (Castle-class); HMCS Copper Cliff (K495) (Castle-class); HMCS Hespeler (K489) (Castle-class); HMCS Humberstone (K497) (Castle-class); HMCS Huntsville (K499) (Castle-class); HMCS Kincardine (K490) (Castle-class); HMCS Leaside (K492) (Castle-class); HMCS Orangeville (K491) (Castle-class); HMCS Petrolia (K498) (Castle-class).
HMCS Arnprior (K494)
(Bill Perks Photo)
HMCS Arnprior (K494) alongside in St John's, NFLD with the surrendered U-190 across the jetty from her. ML Q095 in the background. Laid down as HMS Rising Castle K398, she was built by Harland & Wolff Ltd., Belfast, Ireland. After completion, she was transferred and commissioned into the RCN on 8 Jun 1944 as HMCS Arnprior K494 (renamed on the day she was commissioned). After working up at Tobermory she joined EG C-1 at Londonderry in August, leaving on 19 Aug 1944 to join her first convoy, ONM.249. HMCS Arnprior was continuously employed as an ocean escort for the balance of the war. At the beginning of Jun 1945, she left Greenock for St. John's, Newfoundland, where she underwent a two-month refit, and from September was based at Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was paid off there on 14 Mar 1946, and sold later that year to the Uruguayan Navy, which renamed her Montevideo and operated her as a training ship until 1975.
(DND Photo)
HMCS Arnprior (K494) Castle-class.
HMCS Bowmanville (K493)
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Bowmanville (K493) (Castle-class). Built by William Pickersgrill & Sons Ltd., Sunderland, UK, she was laid down and launched as HMS Nunney Castle. After completion she was as transferred to the RCN and commissioned at Sunderland, U.K. as HMCS Bowmanville K493 on 28 Sep 1944. Following workups at Tobermory, HMCS Bowmanville joined EG C-4 at Londonderry, sailing on 24 Nov 1944 to join her first convoy, ON.268. She served continuously as an ocean escort for the rest of the war. Early in Jun 1945, she left Londonderry for the last time, and was based at Halifax, Nova Scotia, until paid off on 15 Feb 1946. She was sold into mercantile service in 1947 under the Chinese flag, and first renamed Ta Shun, then Yuan Pei. In 1949 she was taken over by the Chinese Communist government, re-armed and renamed Kuang Chou.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199179)
HMCS Bowmanville, RCN Castle-class Corvette, departing St. John's harbour, view from Signal Hill, 28 July 1945.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199179)
HMCS Bowmanville, RCN Castle-class Corvette, departing St. John's harbour, 28 July 1945.
HMCS Copper Cliff (K495)
(William Carey Photo via Jeff Tripp)
HMCS Copper Cliff (K495) (Castle-class). Built at Blyth, UK, she was laid down as HMS Hever Castle K521. After completion she was transferred to the RCN and commissioned at Blyth, UK, on 25 Jul 1944, as HMCS Copper Cliff K495. After working up at Tobermory in August she was assigned to EG C-6 but in fact joined EG C-7 then forming at Londonderry, in Oct 1944 and was thereafter continuously employed as an ocean escort. HMCS Copper Cliff left Londonderry for her final westward crossing early in Jun 1945, and later that month sailed from Halifax for Esquimalt. There, on 21 Nov 1945, she was paid off into reserve. In 1946 she became the Chinese-flag merchant ship Ta Lung, soon afterward renamed Wan Lee, and was taken over by the Chinese Communist government in 1949.
(Jeff Tripp Photo)
Depth charge exploding astern of HMCS Copper Cliff.
(Jeff Tripp Photo)
HMCS Copper Cliff (K495) (Castle-class).
(Jeff Tripp Photo)
(Elizabeth Wagner Photo)
HMCS Copper Cliff (K495) (Castle-class).
(John Vukson Photo)
HMCS Copper Cliff (K495) (Castle-class).
(Jeff Tripp Photo)
HMCS Copper Cliff (K495) (Castle-class).
(John Vukson Photo)
HMCS Copper Cliff (K495) (Castle-class).
HMCS Hespeler (K489)
(DND Photo)
HMCS Hespeler (K489) (Castle-class). Built at Leith, Scotland, she was laid down and launched as HMS Guildford Castle K378. On completion, she was transferred to the RCN and commissioned on 28 Feb 1944 as HMCS Hespeler K489 at Leith. Following workups at Tobermory she arrived at Londonderry in April to become a member of EG C-5. HMCS Hespeler sailed on 21 Apr 1944 to meet her first convoy, ONS.233, and for the next 11 months was employed as an ocean escort. On 23 Jul 1944, she left St. John's with EG C-5 to escort the largest convoy of the war, HXS.300. She left 'Derry for the last time on 08 Mar 1945, to escort ON.289 westward, and upon arriving at Halifax began a refit, completing it at Liverpool, Nova Scotia, in Jul 1945. She then sailed for the west coast and on 15 Nov 1945 was paid off into reserve at Esquimalt. Sold in 1946 to the Union Steamship Co., Vancouver, she was converted to a coastal passenger ship, SS Chilcotin. In 1958 she became the Liberian-flag Stella Maris and in 1965, the Greek Westar. She was sold again in 1965 to become an Alaskan Cruise Liner. A few days into her voyage to Vancouver, on 28 Jan 1966, a fuel line became disconnected spraying oil into the engine room. An explosion and fire followed - the ship being declared a constructive loss. Alaskan Cruise Lines sold the hulk for scrapping at La Spezia, Italy, saving only the ship's bell.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3232824)
HMCS Hespeler (K489) (Castle-class), 5 May 1944.
