HMCS ''St. Eloi'' was one of twelve

naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. Some, known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers ...

s constructed for and used 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 ...

(RCN) during the

First World War 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 ...

. Following the war the ship was transferred to the Canadian

Department of Marine and Fisheries Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; ) is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland ...

and converted into a

lightvessel A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. It is used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the ...

. Re-designated ''Lightship No. 20'', the vessel returned to RCN service in 1940 to become the gate vessel ''Gate Vessel 12'' during the

Second World War 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 ...

. After the war, the trawler returned to government service and was discarded in 1962.

Design and description

The RCN's Battle-class trawlers formed part of the Canadian naval response to

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

warnings to Canada about the growing German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

threat to merchant shipping in the western Atlantic.Tucker, p. 253 Intended to augment anti-submarine patrols off Canada's east coast, these ships were modelled on contemporary British

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

trawlers, since the standard types of Canadian fishing vessels were considered unsuitable for patrol work. Twelve vessels were ordered on 2 February 1917 from two shipyards,

Polson Iron Works The Polson Iron Works was an Ontario-based firm which built large steam engines, as well as ships, barges and dredges. Founded by William Polson (Canadian shipbuilder), William Polson (1834–1901) and son Franklin Bates Polson, the firm was i ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Canadian Vickers Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada from 1911 until 1944. A subsidiary of Vickers Limited, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. Canadair absorbed the Canadian Vi ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

.Johnston et al., p. 417 Those vessels built at Polson Iron Works displaced and were

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 ...

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 .Macpherson and Barrie, p. 27 They were propelled by a steam-powered

triple expansion A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

engine driving one shaft creating giving the vessels a maximum speed of .Maginley and Collin, p. 67 All twelve trawlers were equipped with a QF 12-pounder 12 cwt naval gun mounted forward. This was considered to be the smallest gun that stood a chance of putting a surfaced U-boat out of action, and they also carried a small number of

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 ...

s.Tucker, p. 257 The trawlers were named after battles of the Western Front during the First World War that Canadians had been involved in. They cost between $155,000 and $160,000 per vessel.

Service history

Named after the Action of the St. Eloi Craters, the trawler was built by Polson Iron Works at Toronto,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and was launched on 2 August 1917.Macpherson and Barrie, p. 30 Intended for use during the 1917 shipping season, the construction of the vessels was delayed by the entry of the United States into the war. With higher wages found south of the border, a shortage of skilled labour developed in the shipyards, coupled with a shortage of construction material. ''St. Eloi'' was commissioned on 13 November 1917. ''St. Eloi'' sailed to the east coast where for the 1918 shipping season, all the Battle-class trawlers were assigned to patrol and escort duties based out of

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 ...

. Following the sinking of the merchant vessel ''Luz Blanca'' off

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 ...

, ''St. Eloi'', and were tasked with hunting for the German submarine , which had been operating off the coast of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. The Battle class was used for patrol and escort duties off the Atlantic coast of Canada until the end of the war. The trawler remained in RCN service until being

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 ...

in 1920. ''St. Eloi'' was turned over to the Department of Marine and Fisheries and, like

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 ...

s , , and , was converted to a

.Maginley and Collin, p. 113 This involved placing an electric light at the

foremast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

head and installing a

foghorn A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. ...

atop a latticework tower. The ship was re-designated ''Lightship No. 20'' and remained as such until 1940. Returned to the RCN in 1940, ''St. Eloi'' became a gate vessel, designated ''Gate Vessel 12'', and spent part of the war at

Shelburne, Nova Scotia Shelburne is a town located in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. History Shelburne lies at the southwest corner of Nova Scotia, at roughly the same latitude as Portland, Maine, in the United States. The Mi'kmaq people, Mi'kmaq call the large an ...

. Handed over to the Department of Transport (the successor department of the Department of Marine and Fisheries) in June 1945, ''St. Eloi'' was ultimately disposed of in 1962.Colledge, p. 550

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

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External links

Battle-class trawlers
{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Eloi Battle-class trawlers World War I naval ships of Canada 1917 ships Auxiliary ships of the Royal Canadian Navy Ships built in Toronto