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HMCS Fort Frances
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<h2 id="design-and-description">Design and description</h2> <p>The reciprocating group displaced 1,010–1,030 long tons (1,030–1,050 t) at <a href="/facts/Displacement_(ship)/19jbfNuM">standard</a> load and 1,305–1,325 long tons (1,326–1,346 t) at <a href="/facts/Deep_load/19jbfNuM">deep load</a> The ships measured 225 feet (68.6 m) <a href="/facts/Length_overall/YMeByubQ">long overall</a> with a <a href="/facts/Beam_(nautical)/kG7egDLm">beam</a> of 35 feet 6 inches (10.8 m). They had a <a href="/facts/Draft_(hull)/MHGIRjC0">draught</a> of 12 feet 3 inches (3.7 m). The ships' complement consisted of 85 officers and <a href="/facts/Naval_rating/YsUSYzyl">ratings</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> </p><p>The reciprocating ships had two <a href="/facts/Marine_steam_engine/222EjKnT">vertical triple-expansion steam engines</a>, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two <a href="/facts/Admiralty_three-drum_boiler/FwoMQFBN">Admiralty three-drum boilers</a>. The engines produced a total of 2,400 <a href="/facts/Horsepower/jRMwmIxA">indicated horsepower</a> (1,800 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16.5 <a href="/facts/Knot_(unit)/Sho0TF2y">knots</a> (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph). They carried a maximum of 660 long tons (671 t) of <a href="/facts/Fuel_oil/5Qbta9f5">fuel oil</a> that gave them a range of 5,000 <a href="/facts/Nautical_mile/V4yJzvKw">nautical miles</a> (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p>The <i>Algerine</i> class was armed with a <a href="/facts/QF_4_inch_Mk_V_naval_gun/Yz3BxKFb">QF 4 in (102 mm) Mk V</a> <a href="/facts/Anti-aircraft_gun/fHtGQpLy">anti-aircraft gun</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> and four twin-gun mounts for <a href="/facts/Oerlikon_20_mm_cannon/UL9r7E0U">Oerlikon 20 mm cannon</a>. 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 <a href="/facts/Bofors_40_mm_Automatic_Gun_L/60/zmDs1A9M">Bofors 40 mm</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Depth_charge/bLMx1yF9">depth charges</a>. Many Canadian ships omitted their sweeping gear in exchange for a 24-barrel <a href="/facts/Hedgehog_(weapon)/44K5xtt8">Hedgehog</a> <a href="/facts/Spigot_mortar/2vs8xEBx">spigot mortar</a> and a stowage capacity for 90+ depth charges.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="construction-and-career">Construction and career</h2> <p><i>Fort Frances</i> was ordered on 25 November 1942 as part of the 1943 building program.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> The minesweeper was <a href="/facts/Keel_laying/0GjIvoG1">laid down</a> on 11 May 1943 by <a href="/facts/Port_Arthur_Shipbuilding_Company/GKB8nrC3">Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company Ltd.</a> at <a href="/facts/Port_Arthur,_Ontario/tPTEg1KD">Port Arthur, Ontario</a> and <a href="/facts/Ceremonial_ship_launching/kFSJFllx">launched</a> on 30 October.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> The ship was <a href="/facts/Ship_commissioning/aPxGm7yB">commissioned</a> into the Royal Canadian Navy on 28 October 1944 at Port Arthur.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>After working up in <a href="/facts/Bermuda/dYgp0TF4">Bermuda</a> in January 1945, <i>Fort Frances</i> returned to <a href="/facts/Halifax,_Nova_Scotia/Tcm27J9I">Halifax, Nova Scotia</a> and joined the <a href="/facts/Western_Local_Escort_Force/pzm94EBM">Western Escort Force</a> convoy escort groups W-8 and W-9 for short periods before the end of the war in Europe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> The minesweeper was <a href="/facts/Ship_decommissioning/aPxGm7yB">paid off</a> into maintenance reserve on 3 August 1945.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> The ship was recommissioned on 23 October 1945 and this deployment lasted until 5 April 1946, when <i>Fort Frances</i> was paid off for the final time.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p><p>In 1948, <i>Fort Frances</i> was transferred to the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys for use as a hydrographic ship. In 1958 she was converted into an oceanographic survey ship.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> Three laboratories were installed along with the ability to carry up to eight scientists, her main purpose being underwater acoustic research.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> <i>Fort Frances</i> served in this duty until she was sold in 1974 for scrap and broken up.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> In 2009, Fort Frances was presented with a framed history of the ship in commemoration of the Canadian Naval Centennial.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/List_of_ships_of_the_Canadian_Navy/XVDAbyPp">List of ships of the Canadian Navy</a></li></ul> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <h2 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h2> <ul><li>Arbuckle, J. Graeme (1987). <i>Badges of the Canadian Navy</i>. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-920852-49-1.</li> <li>Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). <i>Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946</i>. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-85177-146-7.</li> <li><a href="/facts/J._J._Colledge/8VECpWmW">Colledge, J. J.</a>; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. <i><a href="/facts/Ships_of_the_Royal_Navy/JkAbzhHw">Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy</a></i> (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-86176-281-8.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Henry_Trevor_Lenton/jo0PMQS2">Lenton, H. T.</a> (1998). <i>British & Empire Warships of the Second World War</i>. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1-55750-048-7.</li> <li>Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). <i>The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002</i> (3 ed.). St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1-55125-072-1.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/ww2/algerine/">Haze Gray and Underway</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.readyayeready.com/cgi-bin/query/display.pl?index=1136">ReadyAyeReady.com</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Lenton, p. 261 <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Lenton, p. 261 <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Chesneau, p. 65 <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Lenton, p. 261 <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"HMCS Fort Frances (J 396)". uboat.net. Retrieved 5 April 2014. <a href="http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3814.html" target="_blank">http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3814.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"HMCS Fort Frances (J 396)". uboat.net. Retrieved 5 April 2014. <a href="http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3814.html" target="_blank">http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3814.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Macpherson & Barrie, p. 195 <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Macpherson & Barrie, p. 195 <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Macpherson & Barrie, p. 195 <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"HMCS Fort Frances (J 396)". uboat.net. Retrieved 5 April 2014. <a href="http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3814.html" target="_blank">http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3814.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Macpherson & Barrie, p. 195 <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Macpherson & Barrie, p. 195 <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"HMCS Fort Frances (J 396)". uboat.net. Retrieved 5 April 2014. <a href="http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3814.html" target="_blank">http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3814.html</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Canadian oceanographic research ships" (PDF). Department of Fisheries and Oceans. 1961. Retrieved 5 April 2014. <a href="http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/52151.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/Library/52151.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Macpherson & Barrie, p. 195 <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"Town presented piece of naval history". Fort Frances Times Online. 16 December 2009. Archived from the original on 30 December 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2014. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20101230135733/http://fftimes.com/node/229839" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20101230135733/http://fftimes.com/node/229839</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>