HMCS Griffon

Active1937 to present

Country

Canada

Branch

HMCS Griffon
Active	1937 to present
Country	Canada
Branch	Royal Canadian Navy
Type	Naval Reserve Division
Role	Reserve unit
Garrison/HQ	125 Algoma St N, Thunder Bay, ON P7A 4Z5
Motto(s)	PRIMA IN LACUBUS (First on the Lakes)
Colours	White and Blue
Equipment	Various types of inboard and outboard rigid-hull inflatable boats
Battle honours	None

Military unit

HMCS Griffon is a Royal Canadian Naval Reserve Division (NRD) located in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Dubbed a stone frigate, HMCS Griffon is a land-based naval establishment for part-time sailors as well as a local recruitment centre for the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve. It is one of Royal Canadian Naval Reserve divisions 24 naval reserve divisions located in major cities across Canada.^[1]^[2]

HMCS Griffon was first established on 3 May 1937 as the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) Half-Company Port Arthur. As the unit did not have its own facility, the Half-Company joined militia soldiers from the Lake Superior Regiment at the Port Arthur Armoury.^[3]^[4]^[5]

In 1941 she was commissioned as a tender to HMCS Naden and re-named HMCS Griffon and then re-commissioned as an independent shore establishment in 1942.^[6]

HMCS Griffon moved into its current location at 125 Algoma St North in Thunder Bay in 1944.

During the Second World War, HMCS Griffon recruited and trained over 2400 volunteers for the Royal Canadian Navy and became home to the commissioning crews for corvettes and minesweepers built in Thunder Bay.^[7]

References

↑ Government of Canada, National Defence (2013-04-19). "Naval Reserve Divisions | Royal Canadian Navy". www.navy-marine.forces.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
↑ Defence, National (2018-11-27). "HMCS Griffon". aem. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
↑ "Chronology of Canadian Naval Reserve Divisions". www.nauticapedia.ca. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
↑ "Men of R.C.N.V.R. go to naval base". www.museevirtuel.ca. September 4, 1939. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
↑ Degagne, Chelsea; Beaulieu, Michel S.; Ratz, David (2009). "PRIMA IN LACUBUS: Over a Century of Naval Activity at the Lakehead". Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Papers & Records. 37: 46–59.
↑ Gimblett, Richard H.; Hadley, Michael L. (2010-11-16). Citizen Sailors: Chronicles of Canada's Naval Reserve, 1910-2010. Dundurn. ISBN 978-1-4597-1160-0.
↑ "We will remember them | Rainy River Record". www.rainyriverrecord.com. Retrieved 2019-11-25.

Royal Canadian Navy

Components

Maritime Forces Atlantic
Maritime Forces Pacific
Naval Reserve

Bases

CFB Esquimalt
CFB Halifax
CFS St. John's
Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges
NRS Aldergrove
NRS Newport Corner
NRS Mill Cove

Ships

Information	Ships Current fleet Historic fleet His Majesty's Canadian Ship
Halifax-class frigates	HMCS Halifax (FFH 330) HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331) HMCS Ville de Québec (FFH 332) HMCS Toronto (FFH 333) HMCS Regina (FFH 334) HMCS Calgary (FFH 335) HMCS Montréal (FFH 336) HMCS Fredericton (FFH 337) HMCS Winnipeg (FFH 338) HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339) HMCS St. John's (FFH 340) HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341)
Victoria-class submarines	HMCS Victoria (SSK 876) HMCS Windsor (SSK 877) HMCS Corner Brook (SSK 878) HMCS Chicoutimi (SSK 879)
Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessel	HMCS Harry DeWolf HMCS Margaret Brooke HMCS Max Bernays HMCS William Hall
Kingston-class coastal defence vessels	HMCS Kingston (MM 700) HMCS Glace Bay (MM 701) HMCS Nanaimo (MM 702) HMCS Edmonton (MM 703) HMCS Shawinigan (MM 704) HMCS Whitehorse (MM 705) HMCS Yellowknife (MM 706) HMCS Goose Bay (MM 707) HMCS Moncton (MM 708) HMCS Saskatoon (MM 709) HMCS Brandon (MM 710) HMCS Summerside (MM 711)
Orca-class patrol vessels	CFAV Orca (PCT 55) CFAV Raven (PCT 56) CFAV Caribou (PCT 57) CFAV Renard (PCT 58) CFAV Wolf (PCT 59) CFAV Grizzly (PCT 60) CFAV Cougar (PCT 61) CFAV Moose (PCT 62)
Naval Reserve Divisions	HMCS Brunswicker HMCS Cabot HMCS Carleton HMCS Cataraqui HMCS Champlain HMCS Chippawa HMCS d'Iberville HMCS Discovery HMCS Donnacona HMCS Griffon HMCS Hunter HMCS Jolliet HMCS Malahat HMCS Montcalm HMCS Nonsuch HMCS Prevost HMCS Queen HMCS Queen Charlotte HMCS Radisson HMCS Scotian HMCS Star HMCS Tecumseh HMCS Unicorn HMCS York
Project Resolve	MV Asterix
Future procurement	River-class destroyers Protecteur-class auxiliary vessel