HMCS ''Portage'' was a

reciprocating engine A reciprocating engine, also often known as a piston engine, is typically a heat engine that uses one or more reciprocating pistons to convert high temperature and high pressure into a rotating motion. This article describes the common fea ...

-powered built for the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack subma ...

during the Second World War. Following the war, the ship saw service as a

training vessel 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 clas ...

before being scrapped in 1961.

Design and description

The reciprocating group displaced at

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

load and at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into we ...

The ships measured

long overall __NOTOC__ 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 ...

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 * Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized g ...

of . They had a draught of . The ships' complement consisted of 85 officers and ratings.Lenton, p. 261 The reciprocating ships had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two

Admiralty three-drum boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although bulkier, an ...

s. The engines produced a total of and gave a maximum speed of . They carried a maximum of of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bu ...

that gave them a range of at . The ''Algerine'' class was armed with a QF Mk V anti-aircraft gunChesneau, p. 65 and four twin-gun mounts for

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models emp ...

. The latter guns were in short supply when the first ships were being completed and they often got a proportion of single mounts. By 1944, single-barrel

Bofors 40 mm Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors: * Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 199 ...

mounts began replacing the twin 20 mm mounts on a one for one basis. All of the ships were fitted for four throwers and two rails for

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use ...

s. Many Canadian ships omitted their sweeping gear in exchange for a 24-barrel

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduct ...

spigot mortar A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a ...

and a stowage capacity for 90+ depth charges.

Construction and career

''Portage'', named for

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hi ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Win ...

, was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 23 May 1942 by Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in

Port Arthur, Ontario Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario, Canada, located on Lake Superior. In January 1970, it amalgamated with Fort William, Ontario, Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay. Port Arthur had been ...

. The ship was launched on 21 November 1942 and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 22 October 1943 at Port Arthur.Macpherson & Barrie, p. 198 After commissioning, the minesweeper sailed up the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

Halifax Halifax commonly refers to: *Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada * Halifax, West Yorkshire, England *Halifax (bank), a British bank Halifax may also refer to: Places Australia *Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook *Halifax ...

, where she worked up near St. Margarets Bay. After completing workups, ''Portage'' was assigned to the Western Escort Force as a convoy escort in the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blocka ...

. She joined escort group W-2 as Senior Officer's Ship in January 1944. As Senior Officer Ship, the commander of the escort would be aboard her during convoy missions. In mid-April, the minesweeper transferred to escort group W-3 as Senior Officer Ship, remaining with the group until October when she was sent to

Liverpool, Nova Scotia Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all ...

for a refit. After working up again, ''Portage'' rejoined escort group W-3 in March 1945 and remained with them until the group's disbanding in June 1945. The ship was placed in reserve first at

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 disso ...

, then Halifax where she was paid off on 31 July 1946. Following the war, the ship was recommissioned during the summer as a training vessel in 1947-48 and then year-round from 1949–58, spending much of her time on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

. In December 1951, and ''Portage'' deployed to the Caribbean Sea for a training cruise, making port visits at Bermuda and

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 * Nassau Street (Winnipeg) ...

. In February 1953, ''Portage'', with and sailed to Bermuda for training with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

submarine . In June 1953, ''Wallaceburg'' and ''Portage'' sailed to Bermuda for a training exercise with the American submarine . On 15 April 1955, ''Portage'', ''Wallaceburg'' and were assigned to the Eleventh Canadian Escort Squadron based out of Halifax. On 26 September 1958, ''Portage'' was paid off for the final time and was

scrapped 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 has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

at Sorel,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

in 1961.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

Haze Gray and Underway

ReadyAyeReady.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portage (J331) Algerine-class minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy Ships built in Ontario 1942 ships World War II minesweepers of Canada World War II escort ships of Canada

Design and description

Construction and career

See also

References

Bibliography

External links