HMCS Rossland

There has been only one vessel named HMCS Rossland in the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Rossland (J358)

With the entry of Japan and the United States into the Second World War in 1941, Naval authorities on the west coast were faced with the likelihood of Japanese submarine and mining activities for the first time. It was recognized that the existing steel-hulled Bangor, Suderoy and Fundy Class minesweepers were only partially adequate against magnetic mines, degaussing being difficult and not completely effective. Smaller wooden minesweepers, which could be more easily degaussed, were ordered instead – eight for the west coast and two for the east coast.

Named for the town in British Columbia, the wooden-hulled Llewellyn Class minesweeper HMCS Rossland was built by Vancouver Shipyards Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia, and was commissioned there on 15 July 1944. She was equipped with “double-L” magnetic minesweeping gear.

She was employed on the west coast mainly as a patrol vessel, alternating between Esquimalt Force and Prince Rupert Force until the end of 1945. HMCS Rossland was paid off 1 November 1945 and handed over to the War Assets Corporation in Bedwell Bay, Vancouver. She was sold the following year to Vancouver Tug Boat Co. Ltd.

• Builder: Vancouver Shipyards Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia
• Date commissioned: 15 July 1944
• Date paid off: 1 November 1945
• Displacement: 231.7 tonnes
• Dimensions: 36.4 m x 6.7 m x 2.6 m
• Speed: 12 knots
• Crew: 23
• Armament: four 12.7-mm machine-guns (2 x II)