HMCS ''Preserver'' was a

depot ship A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing an ...

of the

Coastal Forces of the Royal Canadian Navy The Coastal Forces of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was a specialized naval force of well-armed, small and fast motor launch (ML) and motor torpedo boat (MTB) flotillas, primarily crewed by members of the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RC ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Commissioned in July 1942, ''Preserver'' supported

Canadian Fairmile B The Canadian Fairmile B was a motor launch built during the Second World War for the Royal Canadian Navy. They were adaptations of the British Fairmile B motor launch design incorporating slight modifications for Canadian climatic and operationa ...

motor launches in Canadian and

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

waters during the war. The ship was sold to the

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy (, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include ...

in 1946 and renamed the vessel ''Mariscal Castilla''. Used as a fleet supply ship, ''Mariscal Castilla'' was renamed ''Cabo Blanco'' in 1953. Past 1960, the sources diverge on the fate of the vessel, with most stating that ''Cabo Blanco'' was

broken up Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...

for scrap, while one states the vessel was sold into commercial service. Renamed ''Cayo Blanco'' and then ''Petronap'' the vessel caught fire and wrecked at San Lorenzo Island near

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

on 20 April 1963.

Description

''Preserver'' was

long overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also u ...

and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of and a draught of . The ship had a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of , a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 2,347 tons and a

deadweight tonnage Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight; abbreviated to DWT, D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) or tons deadweight (DWT) is a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water Fresh water or ...

(DWT) of 3,455 tons. The vessel was powered by

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s turning two

screws A screw is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the screw head, head. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety ...

with a designed speed of , but a maximum speed of . The ship had a range of at . The ship was either armed with one naval gun and two Oerlikon cannon or one

QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun The QF 12-pounder 12-cwt gun (Quick-Firing) (abbreviated as Q.F. 12-pdr. 2-cwt. was a common, versatile calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century.

. The ship was designed to be a

Fairmile B motor launch The Fairmile B motor launch (often abbreviated to 'ML') was a very numerous class of motor launch produced in kit form by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine, and then assembled and fitted out by numerous boatyards during the Second World Wa ...

depot ship and was fitted with a machine shop, spare accommodations and extra fuel and store spaces. The vessel had a ship's company of 107, with 20 officers and 87 ratings.

Service history

Canadian service

The vessel was constructed at the

Marine Industries Marine Industries Limited (MIL) was a Canadian ship building, hydro-electric and rail car manufacturing company, in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, with a shipyard located on the Richelieu river about 1 km from the St. Lawrence River. It employed up ...

shipyard at Sorel, Quebec in 1941 and given the

yard number The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.9 ...

104. ''Preserver'' was launched on 21 December 1941 and completed in July 1942, ahead of

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

. The ship was commissioned on 11 July 1942 at Sorel and sailed for Halifax, Nova Scotia on 4 August, escorting a Quebec-

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

en route. The ship was then assigned to Newfoundland Force as a base ship for the

es operating there. The ship arrived at St. John's,

on 18 September. During the period at St. John's, ''Preserver'' became a refuelling station for all naval vessels within harbour as the main refuelling tanks at St. John's had not finished construction. ''Preserver'' and a

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same cla ...

of Fairmiles were deployed to

Botwood Botwood is a town in north-central Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in Census Division 6. It is positioned on the west shore of the Bay of Exploits on a natural deep-water harbour. Historically, this harbour has been a significa ...

, Newfoundland. Botwood had been planned as a new Royal Canadian Navy base and ''Preserver'' and the Fairmiles were sent there to protect the transports unloading

aviation fuel Aviation fuels are either petroleum-based or blends of petroleum and synthetic fuels, used to power aircraft. They have more stringent requirements than fuels used for ground applications, such as heating and road transport, and they contain add ...

Lewisporte Lewisporte is a town in central Newfoundland, Canada, with a population of 3,288. It is situated in Burnt Bay which opens on to the Bay of Exploits. Lewisporte has a deep water port and related facilities that serve many communities in the re ...

that was destined for the

airfield An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

at Gander. ''Preserver'' and the Fairmiles returned to St. John's in mid-December 1942, sailing for Botwood again the following July. At the end of July 1943, ''Preserver'' and the Fairmiles relocated to Red Bay, returning to St. John's in November. Due to strategic changes in the Atlantic theatre, Botwood was abandoned as a base and ''Preserver'' and the Fairmiles became the only Royal Canadian Navy vessels ever to deploy there. In mid-June 1944, ''Preserver'' and the Fairmiles returned to Red Bay. In September, they transferred to Sydney before ''Preserver'' sailed to Halifax for a refit. Upon returning to service, ''Preserver'' was sent to St. John's and then to Shelburne, Nova Scotia in June 1945. The ship was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship i ...

on 6 November 1945 and sold to the

on 4 January 1946.

Peruvian service and fate

The ship was re-designated a fleet supply ship and renamed ''Mariscal Castilla''. The name commemorated the former

president of Peru The president of Peru (), officially the constitutional president of the Republic of Peru (), is the head of state and head of government of Peru. The president is the head of the executive branch and is the supreme head of the Peruvian Armed ...

, Marshal

Ramón Castilla Ramón Castilla y Marquesado (; 31 August 1797 – 30 May 1867) was a Peruvian ''caudillo'' who served as President of Peru three times as well as the Interim President of Peru (Revolution Self-proclaimed President) in 1863. His earliest p ...

. The ship was renamed ''Cabo Blanco'' in 1951 and continued in Peruvian service until March 1961. The sources diverge from here on the fate of the vessel. Macpherson & Barrie, Colledge & Warlow, and Blackman all state the vessel was

for scrap. The Miramar Ship Index states the vessel was sold into commercial service to Agencia Nacional de Vapores Jose Poblete Vidal in 1960 and renamed ''Cayo Blanco'' and

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

in Panama. In 1962, the ship was sold again, this time to Aninat & Bluhn and renamed ''Petronap''. On 20 April 1963, ''Petronap'' caught fire and wrecked on San Lorenzo Island near

, Peru.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Preserver Auxiliary ships of the Royal Canadian Navy 1941 ships Auxiliary ships of the Peruvian Navy