HMCS Chambly was a serving in 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...

. She was ordered from Canadian Vickers Ltd. in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, laid down on 20 February 1940, launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 29 July, and commissioned on 18 December 1940, named after the city of Chambly, Quebec

Chambly, Quebec

Chambly is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, about to the south east of Montreal.- Geography :It sits on the Richelieu River in the Regional County Municipality of La-Vallée-du-Richelieu, at .-History:...

. Chambly escorted trade convoys between 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...

 and the Western Approaches

Western Approaches

The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...

 through the battle of the Atlantic and, together with , achieved the RCN's first U-boat kill of the war.

Background

Flower-class corvettes like Chambly serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 were different to earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes. The "corvette" designation was created by the French in the 19th century as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877. During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

 reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design. The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.

War duty

Chambly was one of the first three Royal Canadian Navy corvettes available for Atlantic service when the St. Lawrence River froze in late 1940. Her commanding officer, Commander James D. Prentice

James D. Prentice

Captain James Douglas 'Chummy' Prentice was a Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy officer who served with distinction in the Battle of the Atlantic...

, RCN, was designated Senior Officer, Canadian corvettes, and was responsible for organizing operational training of the remaining corvettes as they were completed and commissioned through 1942. Commander Prentice's training exercises often took the form of a support group able to reinforce the escort of convoys coming under attack. On 23 June 1941, Chambly participated in defense of convoy HX 133, during the first battle of the Newfoundland Escort Force

Newfoundland Escort Force

The Newfoundland Escort Force was an Allied formation of escort ships during the Battle of the Atlantic. Created in 1941, the force consisted of ships from the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and United States Navy under the command of Commodore Leonard W. Murray .In June 1941, the British decided...

. A similar training exercise in September produced the first Canadian U-boat sinking when U-501 was destroyed during the battle for convoy SC 42. Chambly received the prototype Canadian 1.5-meter wavelength RADAR

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 installation on 12 May 1941, and performed the testing resulting in widespread availability of production SW1C sets to escorts in 1942.

Commander Prentice in Chambly became the senior officer of Mid-Ocean Escort Force

Mid-Ocean Escort Force

Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...

 (MOEF) group C1 in August of 1942 and remained in that position until assigned to Admiral Leonard W. Murray

Leonard W. Murray

Rear Admiral Leonard Warren Murray, CB, CBE was a officer of the Royal Canadian Navy who played a significant role in the Battle of the Atlantic. He commanded the Newfoundland Escort Force from 1941–1943, and from 1943 to the end of the war was Commander-in-Chief, Canadian Northwest Atlantic...

's staff when Chambly commenced yard overhaul in November. Following overhaul, Chambly participated in the battles for convoy KMS 11G and convoy MKS 10 with MOEF group C2 before assignment to Support Group 9. With Support Group 9, she narrowly avoided destruction when an acoustic torpedo

Acoustic torpedo

An acoustic torpedo is a torpedo that aims itself by listening for characteristic sounds of its target or by searching for it using sonar. Acoustic torpedoes are usually designed for medium-range use, and often fired from a submarine....

 exploded in the propeller wash of her wake during the battle for convoys ONS 18/ON 202. After another yard overhaul in early 1944, Chambly escorted 16 trans-Atlantic convoys without loss before the end of the war. She was decommissioned at the end of hostilities, sold as Dutch civilian Sonia Vinke in 1952, and scrapped in 1966.

Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted

Convoy	Escort Group	Dates	Notes
SC SC convoys The SC convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys that ran during the battle of the Atlantic during World War II.They were east-bound slow convoys originating in Sydney, Cape Breton ; from there they sailed to ports in the UK, mainly Liverpool.For a time after the entry of the...  99	MOEF group C1 Mid-Ocean Escort Force Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...	9-19 September 1942	59 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
ON ON convoys The ON convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Battle of the Atlantic .-History:...  133	MOEF group C1	26 September-5 October 1942	35 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX HX convoys The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom...  211	MOEF group C1	13-20 October 1942	29 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 143	MOEF group C1	2-11 November 1942	26 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
KMS 11G	MOEF group C2 Mid-Ocean Escort Force Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...	14-24 March 1943	Firth of Clyde Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...  to Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant... ; 1 ship sunk by aircraft
MKS 10	MOEF group C2	27 March-5 April 1943	Mediterranean to Liverpool Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880... ; 1 ship torpedoed & sunk
HX 237	MOEF group C2	7-16 May 1943	46 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 186		25 May-2 June 1943	44 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 243		12-20 June 1943	76 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 191		2-7 July 1943	60 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 248		21-28 July 1943	89 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 196		9-16 August 1943	78 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
Convoys ONS 18/ON 202	Support Group 9	19-25 September 1943	Northern Ireland to Newfoundland; 10 ships torpedoed (9 sank)
SC 143		2-11 October 1943	Newfoundland to Northern Ireland: 1 ship torpedoed & sunk
ONS 21		23 October-2 November 1943	33 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 291		15-27 May 1944	99 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 239		4-15 June 1944	97 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 296		24 June-2 July 1944	91 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 244		11-18 July 1944	56 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 301		30 July-8 August 1944	130 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 249		19-28 August 1944	153 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 306		6-17 September 1944	120 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ONS 33		30 September-10 October 1944	51 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 314		20-29 October 1944	63 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 265		10-19 November 1944	55 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 322		29 November-7 December 1944	38 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 273		19-30 December 1944	64 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 330		7-17 January 1945	45 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ONS 41		30 January-15 February 1945	34 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 339		23 February-3 March 1945	79 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ONS 44		12-27 March 1945	21 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland

External links

• Canadian Navy Heritage Project: Ship Technical Information
• Canadian Navy Heritage Project: Photo Archive