HMCS ''Moose'' was an

armed yacht An armed yacht was a yacht that was armed with weapons and was typically in the service of a navy. The word "yacht" ("hunter"; Dutch "jacht"; German "jagd", literally meaning "to hunt") was originally applied to small, fast and agile naval vessels ...

of 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 ...

. The vessel, originally the

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 ...

''Cleopatra'' constructed in 1930 in

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 ...

, was acquired for port defence in 1940. Following the war, ''Moose'' was sold into private ownership and reconverted to a pleasure yacht. Still in service, the vessel has been named ''Fraternité'', ''Ottelia'', ''Shogun'', ''Naroma'', ''Eretria'', ''Candida A'' and as of 2019, ''Uthingo''.

Description

(RCN) service, ''Moose'' 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 , was long 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 ...

o f and a draught of . They vessel had a maximum speed of and a complement of 5 officers and 35 ratings. The ship was armed with 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.

forward and

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 ...

racks. As of 2019, the yacht ''Uhtingo'', which was refitted in 2001, is measured at and . The yacht is

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 and a maximum draught of . The vessel is propelled by two propellers powered by two

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

16V 71N

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 rated at a combined with a maximum speed of and a range of at . ''Uhtingo''s deck is

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

and the yacht requires a crew of 7 and has space for 11 guests.

Service history

The

was constructed by

George Lawley & Sons George Lawley & Son was a shipbuilding firm operating in Massachusetts from 1866 to 1945. It began in Scituate, then moved to Boston. After founder George Lawley (1823–1915) retired in 1890, his son, grandson and great-grandson upheld the busin ...

at their yard in

Neponset, Massachusetts Neponset is a district in the southeastern corner of Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The Neponset Indians were the original inhabitants of this district and in 1646 John Eliot preached unsuccessfully to the Native American com ...

in 1930. Named ''Cleopatra'', the vessel was ordered for A. C. Murphy of

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 * ...

. With the onset of

in 1939, the

(RCN) intended to augment the local sea defences of coastal ports. The Royal Canadian Navy 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 RCN 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. Ralph P. Bell was a shipping operator, owner of several offshore companies and past secretary of the Halifax Relief Commission along with being a member of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Club. Bell was among those selected by the RCN to be sent south to acquire new yachts. Bell was directed to purchase ''Cleopatra'' and dealt with yacht brokers in

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 ...

to acquire the vessel. The yacht sailed from

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

on 3 June 1940 along with for conversion to an armed yacht at

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Conversion to an armed yacht involved removing most of the luxurious finery and installing naval hardware. On top of the installation of armament, ''Moose'' required further alterations, including the fitting of

bilge keel A bilge keel is a nautical device used to reduce a ship's tendency to roll. Bilge keels are employed in pairs (one for each side of the ship). A ship may have more than one bilge keel per side, but this is rare. Bilge keels increase hydrodynamic ...

s to improve stability and modifying the stern, to accommodate the depth charge rails. The ship was commissioned into the RCN on 8 September at Quebec City and was then assigned to the Halifax Local Defence Force. ''Moose'' remained with this unit until May 1942, when the yacht was reassigned to

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

. The main gun was removed due to a lack of surface threat for Allied merchant shipping in the region, but the depth charges were kept. In May 1943, ''Moose'' was taken off frontline service and sent to the training establishment and used as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

and

examination vessel An examination vessel is a vessel used to inspect ships and boats entering a port during wartime. An examination vessel would typically be responsible for examining and verifying all merchant ships and small craft entering or departing a port. T ...

. Additionally, the armed yachts stationed at ''Cornwallis'' would escort the

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

''Princess Helen'' on run between

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

and

Digby, Nova Scotia Digby is a Canadian town in southwestern Nova Scotia. It is in the historical Digby County, Nova Scotia, county of Digby and a separate municipality from the Municipality of the District of Digby. The town is situated on the western shore of the ...

after the sinking of the ferry . ''Moose'' 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 20 July 1945. In 1946, the ship was sold to

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 ...

Ltd. and was renamed ''Fraternité''. The vessel was reconverted into a pleasure yacht for Joseph Simard, president of Marine Industries. In 1956, the ship was sold to W. E. Pennick of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and renamed ''Ottelia''. ''Ottelia''s ownership was then transferred to A. H. Schaupeter who utilised the yacht in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

until 1974. That year, Schaupeter sold the vessel to the

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

firm, Green Seas. ''Ottelia'' was re-registered to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, England and home ported in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. The yacht, still in service, has seen several further ownership and name changes, including ''Shogun'', ''Naroma'', ''Eretria'', ''Candida A'' and ''Uthingo''.

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moose, HMCS Armed yachts of the Royal Canadian Navy 1930 ships