HMCS Brandon (K149)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 HMCS Brandon | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada | |
| Name | Brandon |
| Namesake | Brandon, Manitoba |
| Ordered | 22 January 1940 |
| Builder | Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon |
| Laid down | 10 October 1940 |
| Launched | 29 April 1941 |
| Commissioned | 22 July 1941 |
| Decommissioned | 22 June 1945 |
| Identification | Pennant number: K149 |
| Honours and awards | Atlantic 1941–45[1] Gulf of St. Lawrence 1944[2] |
| Fate | Scrapped 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Flower-class corvette (original)[3] |
| Displacement | 925 long tons (940 t; 1,036 short tons) |
| Length | 205 ft (62.48 m)o/a |
| Beam | 33 ft (10.06 m) |
| Draught | 11.5 ft (3.51 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 16 knots (29.6 km/h) |
| Range | 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h) |
| Complement | 85 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
HMCS Brandon was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw service primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as an ocean escort. She was named for Brandon, Manitoba.
Flower-class corvettes like Brandon serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes.[4][5][6] The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877.[7] During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design.[8] The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.[9]
Corvettes commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were named after communities for the most part, to better represent the people who took part in building them. This idea was put forth by Admiral Percy W. Nelles. Sponsors were commonly associated with the community for which the ship was named. Royal Navy corvettes were designed as open sea escorts, while Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles which was exemplified by their minesweeping gear. Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified to allow them to perform better on the open seas.[10]
Construction
Brandon was ordered 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down 10 October 1940 by Davie Shipbuilding and Repairing Co. Ltd. at Lauzon, Quebec and launched 29 April 1941.[11] Brandon was commissioned at Quebec City on 22 July 1941. She had three refits during her career. The first took place at South Shields beginning in 1941 and taking three months to complete. The second refit took place at Grimsby in August 1943. The refit took three months to complete also and during this time, Brandon had her fo'c'sle extended. Her final refit took place at Liverpool in late 1944 and took two months to complete.[12]
