CSS Acadia
Encyclopedia
CSS Acadia is a former hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey
Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/drilling and related disciplines. Strong emphasis is placed on soundings, shorelines, tides, currents, sea floor and submerged...

ing and oceanographic research ship of the Hydrographic Survey of Canada and its successor the Canadian Hydrographic Service
Canadian Hydrographic Service
The Canadian Hydrographic Service is Canada's hydrographic office, with responsibility for performing hydrographic surveys and publishing paper and electronic nautical charts...

.

Acadia served Canada for more than five decades from 1913–1969, charting the coastline of almost every part of Eastern Canada including pioneering surveys of Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...

. She was also twice commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

  (RCN) as HMCS
Acadia, the only ship still afloat to have served the RCN in both World Wars. Today she is a museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...

 and National Historic Site moored in Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...

 at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a Canadian maritime museum located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia.The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a member institution of the Nova Scotia Museum and is the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada with a collection of over 30,000 artifacts...

.

Retaining her original engines, boilers and little-changed accommodations, she is one of the best preserved Edwardian ocean steamships in the world and a renowned example of Canada's earliest scientific prowess in the fields of hydrography
Hydrography
Hydrography is the measurement of the depths, the tides and currents of a body of water and establishment of the sea, river or lake bed topography and morphology. Normally and historically for the purpose of charting a body of water for the safe navigation of shipping...

 and oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...

.

History

Acadia was designed in Canada for the Hydrographic Survey of Canada and built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson
Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which...

 at Newcastle-on-Tyne in England. Named after Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...

, the early colonial name for Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...

, she was launched in May 1913 and was commissioned that July upon her first voyage using the prefix CSS
CSS
-Computing:*Cascading Style Sheets, a language used to describe the style of document presentations in web development*Central Structure Store in the PHIGS 3D API*Closed source software, software that is not distributed with source code...

, which stands for "Canadian Survey Ship." She saw extensive use prior to 1917 surveying the waters along Canada's Atlantic coast, including tidal charting and depth soundings for various ports. Her first two seasons were spent in Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...

, along with the first Canadian surveys of notorious Sable Island
Sable Island
Sable Island is a small Canadian island situated 300 km southeast of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean. The island is a year-round home to approximately five people...

. In her first year she rescued the crew of a steamship crushed by ice in Hudson Bay, the first of many rescues the rugged steamship would make. Among her more enduring work was a survey of the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...

 which became her longest assignment prior to entering military service.

World War I

CSS Acadia was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

 in January 1917 as a patrol vessel, replacing the CSS prefix with HMCS
HMCS
HMCS may refer to:* Her Majesty's Courts Service* Her Majesty's Canadian Ship* Her Majesty's Colonial Ship, see Her Majesty's Ship* HMC Investment Securities* Hazardous Material Control System...

, thus becoming HMCS
Acadia
HMCS Acadia
Several Canadian naval units have been named HMCS Acadia.* CSS Acadia is Canada's most historic oceanographic and hydrographic survey and research vessel. She was commissioned into naval service as HMCS Acadia during both World War I and World War II, while serving with her civilian name before...

. From 1917 until March 1919, she conducted anti-submarine
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....

 patrols from the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...

 along Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

's Atlantic coast and through the Gulf of Saint Lawrence
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...

. On December 6, 1917, less than 12 months into her war-time service, HMCS
Acadia survived the disastrous Halifax Explosion
Halifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...

. Acadia was serving as guard ship at the entrance to Bedford Basin
Bedford Basin
Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast.-Geography:Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within the Halifax Regional Municipality and is oriented northwest-southeast, measuring approximately 8 kilometres long and 5...

 but suffered only minor damage. Near the end of the war she served as a platform for experiments with anti-submarine balloons.

Inter-war period

Following the armistice, HMCS
Acadia was returned to the Hydrographic Survey of Canada (renamed the Canadian Hydrographic Service
Canadian Hydrographic Service
The Canadian Hydrographic Service is Canada's hydrographic office, with responsibility for performing hydrographic surveys and publishing paper and electronic nautical charts...

 in 1928) where she regained her original name CSS
Acadia and resumed hydrographic survey work throughout the inter-war period of the 1920s-1930s. Lack of survey funds suspended her operation in 1924 and 1925. In 1926 she resumed surveys and became the first Canadian research vessel to be fitted with an echo sounder. A major achievement were surveys to establish the port of Churchill, Manitoba
Churchill, Manitoba
Churchill is a town on the shore of Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of the World" that has helped its growing tourism industry.-History:A variety of nomadic...

.
Acadia also performed pioneering Canadian oceanographic research.

World War II

CSS
Acadia was recommissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy in October 1939, once again becoming HMCS Acadia. She was first used as a training ship for , a shore-based facility in Halifax. From May 1940 to March 1941 she saw active use as a patrol ship off the entrance of Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...

, providing close escort support for small convoys entering and leaving the port from the harbour limits at the submarine nets off McNabs Island
McNabs Island
McNabs Island is the largest island in Halifax Harbour located in Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It played a major role in defending Halifax Harbour and is now a provincial park...

 to the "Halifax Ocean Meeting Point". After a refit, HMCS Acadia was assigned in mid 1941 for use as an anti-aircraft training ship, serving as a gunnery training vessel for crews onboard the Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships
Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships
Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship was an Admiralty Trade Division program established in June, 1939, to arm 5,500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against enemy submarines and aircraft...

 (DEMS) fleet. In June 1944, HMCS
Acadia was assigned to the training base HMCS Cornwallis and stationed at the nearby port of Digby, Nova Scotia
Digby, Nova Scotia
Digby is a Canadian town in western Nova Scotia. It is the shiretown and largest population centre in Digby County.The town is situated on the western shore of the Annapolis Basin near the entrance to the Digby Gut which connects the basin to the Bay of Fundy.Named after Admiral Robert Digby, RN,...

 where she was used for gunnery training for recruits and advanced gunnery training for petty officers and officers. Her wartime name of continues in use today for the Sea Cadet summer training camp held at the ship's old base at Cornwallis.

Later years

With the end of the war, HMCS
Acadia was paid off by the RCN on November 3, 1945, and returned for the second time to the Canadian Hydrographic Service
Canadian Hydrographic Service
The Canadian Hydrographic Service is Canada's hydrographic office, with responsibility for performing hydrographic surveys and publishing paper and electronic nautical charts...

 as CSS
Acadia. A major post-war assignment was updating and expanding the nautical charts of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

 after the province joined Canada in 1949. In 1962,
Acadia rescued hundreds of people from forest fires in Newfoundland, evacuating two towns. In addition to her work with the CHS, CSS Acadia participated in military survey missions for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

, and United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

. By the end of her career,
Acadia had charted almost every region of Atlantic Canada as well as much of the Eastern Arctic.

Museum Ship

She was retired from active service on November 28, 1969, and was transferred to the Bedford Institute of Oceanography
Bedford Institute of Oceanography
The Bedford Institute of Oceanography is a major Canadian government ocean research facility located in Dartmouth in the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia. The Bedford Institute of Oceanography is the largest ocean research station in Canada...

 (BIO) for use as a museum ship
Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...

.
Acadia was declared a National Historic Site in 1976. On February 9, 1982, BIO transferred the CSS Acadia to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a Canadian maritime museum located in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia.The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is a member institution of the Nova Scotia Museum and is the oldest and largest maritime museum in Canada with a collection of over 30,000 artifacts...

 for preservation and interpretation. She is moored at the Museum's North Wharf and open to visitors from May to October. In September 2003 she rode out Hurricane Juan
Hurricane Juan
Hurricane Juan was a significant hurricane that struck the southern part of Atlantic Canada in late September 2003. It was the tenth named storm and the sixth hurricane of the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Juan formed southeast of Bermuda on September 24, 2003 out of a tropical wave that tracked...

 with ease, despite being the oldest vessel in Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...

. In the summer
Acadia is joined at the Museum wharves by , operated by the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust. The two nearly identically sized ships present a contrast in shipbuilding eras and offer an ironic comparison as Sackville is a warship which became a part-time hydrographic ship and Acadia is a hydrographic ship which became a part-time warship.

Acadia is currently the only known vessel still afloat to have survived the Halifax Explosion
Halifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...

.

Crew

Most of
Acadias crew came from the Eastern Shore
Eastern Shore (Nova Scotia)
The Eastern Shore is a region of Nova Scotia Canada. It is the Atlantic coast running northeast from Halifax Harbour to the eastern end of the peninsula at the Strait of Canso....

 of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

. Many served their entire careers aboard, an indication that she was regarded as a "happy ship". Many of her officers were from Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

. As a hydrographic ship, the Hydrographer in Charge was the senior officer, deciding where Acadia went and what she did, while the Captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...

 ran the ship's day to day operations. In wartime, naval officers took over.

Hydrographers in Charge

  • Capt. Frederick Anderson 1913-1916, 1919–1923
  • R.J. Fraser 1926
  • J.U. Beauchemin 1927-1939
  • H.L. Leadman 1946-48
  • S.R. Titus 1948-1950
  • C.H. Martin 1950-1955
  • H. Furuya 1955-1962
  • J.E.V. Goodwill 1962-1964
  • L.P. Murdock 1965
  • R.C. Amero 1966, 1969
  • P.L. Corkum 1967
  • T.E. Smith 1968

Captains

  • Capt. S.W. Bartlett 1913
  • Capt. W.A. Robson 1914-1924
  • Capt. J. Roach 1926
  • Capt. F.V. Ryan 1927-1939
  • Capt. D.M. Snelgrove 1948-1949
  • Capt. R.J. Bell 1949-1952
  • Capt. E.A. Codner 1953
  • Capt. W.N Kettle 1954-1957
  • Capt. J.W. Taylor 1958-1969

Naval Commanding Officers

  • LT
    Lieutenant
    A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

     J.O. Boothby, (RCN
    Royal Canadian Navy
    The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

    ) 20/2/1940 - 1/4/1940
  • LCDR
    Lieutenant Commander
    Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

     H.G. Shadforth (RCNR-Later renamed RCNVR
    Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
    The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve .-Foundation:...

    ) 12/4/1940 - ?
  • LT
    Lieutenant
    A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

     S. Henderson (RCNR-Later renamed RCNVR
    Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
    The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve .-Foundation:...

    ) 29/4/1941 - 11/11/1941
  • LCDR
    Lieutenant Commander
    Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

     J.L. Diver (RCNR-Later renamed RCNVR
    Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
    The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve .-Foundation:...

    ) 12/11/1941 - 19/9/1943
  • LCDR
    Lieutenant Commander
    Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

     R.V. Campbell (RCNR-Later renamed RCNVR
    Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
    The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve .-Foundation:...

    ) 20/9/1943 - 15/12/1943
  • LCDR
    Lieutenant Commander
    Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

     J.C. Littler (RCNR-Later renamed RCNVR
    Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
    The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve .-Foundation:...

    ) 16/12/1943 - 30/3/1944
  • LCDR
    Lieutenant Commander
    Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

     R.A.S. MacNeil (RCNR-Later renamed RCNVR
    Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
    The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve .-Foundation:...

    ) 31/3/1944 - 6/6/1944
  • Skipper/LT
    Lieutenant
    A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

     F.W. Durant (RCNR-Later renamed RCNVR
    Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
    The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve .-Foundation:...

    ) 7/6/1944 - 4/3/1945
  • Skipper/LT
    Lieutenant
    A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

     C.C. Clattenburg (RCNR-Later renamed RCNVR
    Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
    The Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve was a naval reserve force of the Royal Canadian Navy, which replaced the Royal Navy Canadian Volunteer Reserve .-Foundation:...

    ) 5/3/1945 - Decommissioning

See also

  • Museum ship
    Museum ship
    A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...

  • List of museum ships
  • Ships preserved in museums
    Ships preserved in museums
    Ships preserved in museums is list of preserved incomplete ships and smaller boats in museums around the world.* Dover Bronze Age Boat: remains of bronze age sewn plank boat preserved at the Dover Museum, England...



External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK