HMCS ''Grizzly'' was an armed yacht acquired by the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

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 ...

for coastal patrol and

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon ...

defence. Constructed in 1909 as ''Machigonne'', a

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

for William L. Douglas, the vessel was purchased by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 1917 for use as a

patrol ship A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

on the

United States East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and named USS ''Machigonne'' (SP-507). Following the end of the war, ''Machigonne'' was demobilised and returned to service as a yacht. At the onset of World War II, the Royal Canadian Navy sought capable vessels for port defence, and finding few in Canadian hands, went south to American ports and purchased suitable ships there. ''Machigonne'' was discovered and acquired. However, a lack of familiarity with ''Machigonne''s propulsion system led to it being burnt out before entering service. Though commissioned as HMCS ''Grizzly'', the armed yacht was not given the modifications that other Canadian armed yachts were and spent the majority of the war anchored in the passages into the harbour at

Prince Rupert, British Columbia Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Kaien Island near the Alaskan panhandle. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and has a population of 12, ...

as a

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

. By June 1944, ''Grizzly'' was no longer considered safe and was sold for

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

to the Capital Iron and Metal Company of

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

in December.

Description

As a yacht, ''Machigonne'' was measured at , long overall, with a beam of and a draught of . The ship was propelled by a propeller powered by

vertical triple expansion A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) cylinder, then having given up heat ...

steam engine, giving the vessel a maximum speed of . In American naval service, ''Machigonne'' was armed with three

3-pounder gun 3-pounder gun, 3-pounder, 3-pdr or QF 3-pdr is an abbreviation typically referring to a gun which fired a projectile weighing approximately 3 pounds. It may refer to: * The Grasshopper cannon – of the 18th century * QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss – Hotc ...

s and had a complement of 31 personnel. As a Canadian armed yacht, ''Grizzly'' 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 and was long with a beam of and a draught of . The vessel was equipped with

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 and had a maximum speed of . The ship was initially armed with one 6-pounder gun and had a complement of 5 officers and 35 ratings.

Service history

As ''Machigonne''

''Machigonne'' was a steel sailing

constructed in 1909 by the Consolidated Shipbuilding Corporation of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The yacht had been ordered for William L. Douglas, a shoe manufacture who later became mayor of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. During

, the vessel was taken up by the

for $55,000 and given the identification number SP-507 on 15 May 1917. The ship was armed with three 3-pounder guns, two machine guns and one Y-gun

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

projector. USS ''Machigonne'' was commissioned on 9 July 1917 and employed on patrol duties along the

. ''Machigonne'' was taken out of United States Navy service and sold for commercial use on 20 June 1919. The engines were later replaced with German submarine-type Foos

As ''Grizzly''

To augment the local sea defences of ports, the

sought large, steel-hulled yachts to requisition. However, a significant lack of capable vessels were owned by Canadians. Canada turned to its southern neighbour for suitable ships, finding several that met the navy's requirements. However, US neutrality laws prevented their sale to belligerents in the war. In order to circumvent these laws, the Royal Canadian Navy requisitioned the yachts of prominent Canadian yachtsmen and then sent them to the US to purchase the yachts that had been identified by the navy without the US government knowing they were working for the navy. The money to acquire the vessels was provided by the Canadian government through bank loans. After being acquired, Irving Keenleyside, an executive with

Burrard Dry Dock Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia. Together with neighbouring North Van Ship Repair and Yarrows Ltd. of Esquimalt, which were both later purchased by the company, Bur ...

Company who had been selected by the RCN to go to the US to acquire yachts, travelled to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

to pick up ''Machigonne''. Either shortly before or after arrival at

Esquimalt, British Columbia The Township of Esquimalt () is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Jua ...

the unfamiliarity with the engine design by Canadian personnel led to them being burnt out due to lubrication issues. Though commissioned as ''Grizzly'', the vessel never saw service as a powered yacht. ''Grizzly'' was primarily used as an anchored harbour/channel

and as an examination vessel on the West Coast. The yacht never received the armaments and

asdic Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

the other conversions did and was anchored at the passages into

. At Prince Rupert, ''Grizzly'' was normally anchored between

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and mainland in the northern channel entering the port. The vessel was equipped with two Lewis machine guns and supported by heavier

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

. Every six months, the yacht was towed into Prince Rupert and underwent an

overhaul Overhaul may refer to: * The process of overhauling, see ** Maintenance, repair, and overhaul ** Refueling and overhaul (eg. nuclear-powered ships) ** Time between overhauls Time between overhauls (abbreviated as TBO or TBOH) is the manufactu ...

. The vessel was crewed by 14–15 naval personnel with up to three officers. In mid-1942, the north passage was closed using a log boom and ''Grizzly'' was towed to the south passage and remained as guard ship there until June 1944. ''Grizzly'' was taken to

in early 1944 to undergo an assessment. On 17 June 1944, ''Grizzly'' 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 ...

as unsafe due to deteriorating plating. The ship was sold in December 1944 to Capital Iron and Metal Company and broken up for scrap at Victoria beginning on 25 March 1945. The ship's wheel was kept as a memorial in British Columbia until at least 1980.

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grizzly, HMCS Armed yachts of the Royal Canadian Navy 1909 ships