HMCS Chaleur

There have been three units named Chaleur in the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Chaleur (1st of name) (Z20 / J20) / Patrol Vessel

HMCS Chaleur was the name given to the Naval Officer In Charge (NOIC) responsible for the examination service in Quebec City throughout the Second World War. The NOIC was established in September 1939 and located in in the Customs House building. Her tender, HMCS Chaleur, was a former RCMP patrol vessel acquired by the RCN in 1939. While she acted as tender to the NOIC, she remained actively engaged in examining vessels coming through Quebec City. The tender was paid off in June 1945, several months before the NOIC would be paid off.

• Date commissioned: 27 April 1940
• Date paid off: 21 October 1945

HMCS Chaleur (2nd of name) (144) / Bay-class Minesweeper

In 1951 and 1952, fourteen replacements were laid down for the aging minesweepers of wartime construction. Dubbed the Bay-class, these ships were very similar to the Royal Navy’s Ton Class of the same vintage. Six were transferred to the French Navy in 1954, but were replaced by six of the same name in 1956-57. HMCS Chaleur was transferred on 9 October 1954 to the French Navy, serving as La Dieppoise until 1985.

• Builder: Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Port Arthur, ON
• Date laid down: 8 June 1951
• Date launched: 21 June 1952
• Date commissioned: 18 June 1954
• Date paid off: 30 September 1954
• Displacement: 396.3 tonnes
• Dimensions: 46.3 x 8.5 m x 2.4 m
• Speed: 16 knots
• Crew: 38
• Armament: 1-40 mm

HMCS Chaleur (3rd of name) (164) / Bay-class Patrol Vessel

Built as a replacement for the second Chaleur, she was commissioned on 12 September 1957 and, with her five surviving sisters, was reclassed as a patrol escort in 1972. They served as members of Training Group Pacific, providing ship-handling for junior officers on a rotating basis until paid off for disposal in the 1990s. HMCS Chaleur was broken up at Port Hope, BC, in 1999.

• Builder: Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel, QC
• Date laid down: 20 February 1956
• Date launched: 11 May 1957
• Date commissioned: 12 September 1957
• Displacement: 396.3 tonnes
• Dimensions: 46.3 x 8.5 m x 2.4 m
• Speed: 16 knots
• Crew: 38
• Armament: 1-40 mm

Motto: Spirit and Determination