View source for HMCS Pictou

{{Short description|Flower-class corvette}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox ship
|section1={{Infobox ship/image
 |image=HMCS Pictou K146 MC-2774.jpg
 |image_caption=HMCS ''Pictou'', likely escorting a convoy, circa 1944–1945. Note the merchant ships in the distance
 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career
 |hide_header=
 |country=Canada
 |flag={{shipboxflag|Canada|naval-1911}}
 |name= ''Pictou''
 |namesake=[[Pictou|Pictou, Nova Scotia]]
 |ordered= 22 January 1940
 |awarded=
 |builder=[[Davie Shipbuilding]], [[Lauzon, Quebec|Lauzon]]
 |original_cost=
 |yard_number=
 |way_number=
 |laid_down=12 July 1940
 |launched=5 October 1940
 |sponsor=
 |christened=
 |completed=
 |acquired=
 |commissioned=29 April 1941
 |recommissioned=
 |decommissioned=12 July 1945
 |maiden_voyage=
 |in_service=
 |out_of_service=
 |renamed=
 |reclassified=
 |refit=Fo'c's'le extended at [[New York Navy Yard]], [[New York, New York|New York]] on 31 March 1944.
 |struck=
 |reinstated=
 |homeport=
 |identification=[[Pennant number]]: K146
 |motto=
 |nickname=
 |honours=Atlantic 1941–45<ref name=Britain>{{cite web |title= Battle Honours |url=http://www.britainsnavy.co.uk/Battle%20Honours/A%20Battle%20Honour%20Date.htm#1900 |website=Britain's Navy |access-date=22 August 2013}}</ref>
 |honors=
 |captured=
 |fate=Sold in 1950 as mercantile ''Olympic Chaser''. Resold in 1956 as mercantile ''Otori Maru No. 7''. Converted in 1963 to a barge.
 |notes=
 |badge=
 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics
 |hide_header=
 |header_caption=
 |class={{sclass2|Flower|corvette}}
 |displacement={{convert|925|LT|t ST|lk=in}}
 |length={{convert|205|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}[[Length overall|o/a]]
 |beam={{convert|33|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
 |height=
 |draught={{convert|11.5|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
 |power=
 |propulsion=*single shaft
             *2 × fire tube Scotch boilers
             *1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine
             *{{convert|2750|ihp|abbr=on}}
 |speed={{convert|16|kn|km/h|1}}
 |range={{convert|3500|nmi|km|0}} at {{convert|12|kn|km/h|1}}
 |endurance=
 |complement=85
 |sensors=*1 × SW1C or 2C radar
          *1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
 |EW=
 |armament=*1 × [[BL 4 inch Mk IX naval gun|BL {{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} Mk.IX gun]]
           *2 × [[Vickers .50 machine gun|.50 cal machine gun (twin)]]
           *2 × [[Lewis gun|Lewis .303 cal machine gun]] (twin)
           *2 × Mk.II depth charge throwers
           *2 × depth charge rails with 40 depth charges
 |armour=
 |armor=
 |aircraft=
 |aircraft_facilities=
 |notes=
 }}
}}

'''HMCS ''Pictou''''' was a [[Royal Canadian Navy]] {{sclass2|Flower|corvette}} which took part in convoy escort duties during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. She fought mainly in the [[Battle of the Atlantic]]. She was named for [[Pictou|Pictou, Nova Scotia]].

==Background==
{{main|Flower-class corvette}}
Flower-class corvettes like ''Pictou'' serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ossian |first=Robert |url=http://www.thepirateking.com/ships/ship_types.htm |title=Complete List of Sailing Vessels |website=The Pirate King |access-date=13 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Fitzsimons |editor-first=Bernard |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons & Warfare |location=London |publisher=Phoebus |year=1978 |volume=11 |pages=1137–1142 }}</ref><ref name=Jane>{{cite book |title=Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II |location=New Jersey |publisher=Random House |year=1996 |isbn=0-517-67963-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/janesfightingshi00fran/page/68 68] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/janesfightingshi00fran/page/68 }}</ref>  The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877.<ref>{{cite book |last=Blake |first=Nicholas |last2=Lawrence |first2=Richard |title=The Illustrated Companion to Nelson's Navy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I59v6rkg8egC&pg=PA39 |publisher=Stackpole Books |year=2005 |pages=39–63 |isbn=0-8117-3275-4}}</ref> During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, [[Winston Churchill]] reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a [[whaling ship]] design.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chesneau |first=Roger |last2=Gardiner |first2=Robert |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJBMBvyQ83EC&pg=PA62 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |date=June 1980 |page=62 |isbn=0-87021-913-8}}</ref> The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.<ref name=Milner>{{cite book |title=North Atlantic Run |last=Milner |first=Marc |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1985 |pages=117–119, 142–145, 158, 175–176, 226, 235, 285–291 |isbn=0-87021-450-0}}</ref>

Corvettes commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were named after communities for the most part, to better represent the people who took part in building them. This idea was put forth by Admiral [[Percy W. Nelles]]. Sponsors were commonly associated with the community for which the ship was named. Royal Navy corvettes were designed as open sea escorts, while Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles which was exemplified by their minesweeping gear. Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified to allow them to perform better on the open seas.<ref name=Macpherson2>{{cite book |last=Macpherson |first=Ken |last2=Milner |first2=Marc |year=1993 |title=Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy 1939–1945|publisher=Vanwell Publishing |location=St. Catharines |isbn=1-55125-052-7}}</ref>

==Construction==
''Pictou'' was ordered on 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down by [[Davie Shipbuilding|George T. Davie & Sons Ltd.]] at [[Lauzon, Quebec|Lauzon]] on 12 July 1940 and launched on 5 October 1940.  She was commissioned into the RCN on 29 April 1941 at [[Quebec City|Quebec City, Quebec]].<ref name=uboat>{{cite web | url = http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5577.html | work = Uboat.net | title = HMCS ''Pictou'' (K 146) | access-date = 22 August 2013}}</ref> During her career, ''Pictou'' had several periods in the dockyard. The first took place after being sent back three times during convoy duties with mechanical problems. The repairs began at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] Dockyard and were completed at [[Liverpool, Nova Scotia]]. The second period in refit was due to a collision. Repairs began in August 1942 and were completed in September. Her third major period of overhaul began in December 1942 after developing serious mechanical issues while on convoy escort. She needed emergency repairs at Halifax before heading to Liverpool to commence a serious refit. The final period of yard work of ''Pictou''{{'}}s career took place from January to 31 March 1944 at [[New York City|New York]] during which her [[fo'c'sle]] was extended.<ref name=Macpherson>{{cite book |last=Macpherson |first=Ken |last2=Burgess |first2=John |year=1981 |title=The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910–1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships |publisher=Collins |location=Toronto|pages=82 |isbn=0-00216-856-1}}</ref>

<blockquote>"When the RCN took over from the British in Newfoundland in mid-1941, [Commodore [[Leonard W. Murray]]] saw escort ships streaming from the builders - and the shortage of skippers steadily worsening. For want of experienced captains, the four-month-old corvette ''Pictou'' lay idle in St John's. Murray summoned Lieutenant A.G.S.Griffin, temporarily in charge. "Just want to let you know I'm doing all I can to find another CO to get you to sea," said Murray. "Sir -," Griffin swallowed hard. "Let me have her." Murray reached a decision in seconds. "All right, I'll take a chance on you. She's yours." And he made a corvette captain of a life insurance man ... Now, with only eight weeks' sea time, the "old man", at 28, he took her to sea."<ref>Ronald, George, ''An Admiral Comes Home: His Day Of Vindication'', in The Atlantic Advocate, Fredericton, January 1972</ref></blockquote>

==Service history==
After completing workups, ''Pictou'' was assigned to the [[Newfoundland Escort Force]]. She was one of the first two corvettes to become trans-Atlantic Ocean escorts. She spent the rest of 1941 as an ocean convoy escort. She was sent back to port three times with mechanical difficulties which led to her being sent for major repairs. In June 1942 she joined the [[Mid-Ocean Escort Force]] (MOEF) as part of escort group C-4.<ref name=Macpherson/>

On 5 August 1942, ''Pictou'' was rammed in fog by the Norwegian merchant SS ''Hindanger'' near [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]]. She suffered severe damage to her stern and was sent back to port for repairs. After workups she joined MOEF escort group C-2. In December 1942 she developed severe mechanical problems again and departed for repairs and then refit, not returning to service until May 1943.<ref name=Macpherson/>

In May 1943 ''Pictou'' joined MOEF escort group C-3 and remained with them until departing for refit in January 1944. After workups in [[Bermuda]] she joined the [[Western Local Escort Force]] escort group W-5 in June 1944 and remained with them until the end of the war.<ref name=Macpherson/>

''Pictou'' was [[paid off]] from the RCN on 12 July 1945 at [[Sorel, Quebec]].<ref name=Macpherson/>  She was sold for mercantile conversion and in 1950 reappeared as the {{GRT|708}} [[Whaling ship|whalecatcher]] ''Olympic Chaser''.<ref name=miramar>{{csr|register=MSI|id=5267029|shipname=Pictou|access-date=14 July 2016}}</ref> She was renamed in 1956 as ''Otori Maru No. 7''. In 1963 she was converted to a [[barge]].<ref name=uboat/><ref name=miramar/>

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.naval.ca/cnmh/ An eight-episode record of life aboard HMCS ''Pictou'', 'A Naval Officer's War'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031231162511/http://naval.ca/cnmh/ |date=31 December 2003 }}
* [http://www.thememoryproject.com/stories/1774:anthony-griffin/ Additional information, including an audio recording in which former captain, Anthony Griffin, describes life at sea aboard HMCS ''Pictou'']
* [http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/hague/search3.php?query=Pictou&Submit=Find+Vessel HMCS ''Pictou'' on the Arnold Hague database at convoyweb.org.uk.]

{{Flower class corvette|original}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pictou, HMCS}}
[[Category:Flower-class corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy]]
[[Category:1940 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Lévis]]