# HMCS Milltown

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{{Short description|1942 Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox ship
|section1={{Infobox ship/image
 |image=
 |image_caption=
 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career
 |hide_header=
 |country=Canada
 |flag= {{shipboxflag|Canada|naval-1911}}
 |name= ''Milltown''
 |namesake=[Milltown](/source/Milltown%2C_Ontario), [Ontario](/source/Ontario)
 |ordered= 
 |awarded=
 |builder= [Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co.](/source/Port_Arthur_Shipbuilding_Company), [Port Arthur](/source/Port_Arthur%2C_Ontario)
 |original_cost=
 |yard_number=
 |way_number=
 |laid_down= 18 August 1941
 |launched= 27 January 1942
 |sponsor=
 |christened=
 |completed=
 |acquired=
 |commissioned=18 September 1942
 |recommissioned=
 |decommissioned= 16 October 1945
 |maiden_voyage= 
 |in_service=
 |out_of_service=
 |renamed=
 |reclassified=
 |refit=
 |struck=
 |reinstated=
 |homeport=
 |identification= [Pennant number](/source/Pennant_number): J317
 |motto=
 |nickname=
 |honours=[Gulf of St. Lawrence](/source/Battle_of_the_St._Lawrence) 1942,<ref name=Gulf>{{cite web|title=Royal Canadian Warships that Participated in the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence|url=http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/battlegulf/canwarship|publisher=Veterans Affairs Canada|access-date=13 October 2018|archive-date=27 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927080617/http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/battlegulf/canwarship|url-status=dead}}</ref> Normandy 1944
 |fate=Sold for scrap 1959
 |notes=
 |badge=
 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics
 |hide_header=
 |header_caption=
 |class={{sclass|Bangor|minesweeper|1|ship}}
 |displacement={{convert|672|LT|t|abbr=on}}
 |length={{convert|180|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} [oa](/source/Length_overall)
 |beam={{convert|28|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
 |draught={{convert|9|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
 |propulsion=2 Admiralty 3-drum water tube boilers, 2 shafts, vertical triple-expansion reciprocating engines, {{convert|2400|ihp|kW|-1|abbr=on}}
 |speed={{convert|16.5|kn|km/h|0}}
 |complement=83
 |armament=*1 × [12-pounder ({{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}) 12 cwt HA gun](/source/QF_12-pounder_12_cwt_naval_gun)
           *1 x [QF 2 pdr Mark VIII](/source/QF_2_pounder_naval_gun)
           *2 × [QF 20 mm Oerlikon](/source/Oerlikon_20_mm_cannon) guns
           *40 [depth charge](/source/depth_charge)s as escort
 }}
}}

'''HMCS ''Milltown''''' ([pennant](/source/Pennant_number) J317) was a {{sclass|Bangor|minesweeper}} that served with the [Royal Canadian Navy](/source/Royal_Canadian_Navy) during the [Second World War](/source/World_War_II). The vessel entered service in 1942 and took part in the [Battle of the Atlantic](/source/Battle_of_the_Atlantic), [Battle of the St. Lawrence](/source/Battle_of_the_St._Lawrence) and the [invasion of Normandy](/source/invasion_of_Normandy). ''Milltown'' was laid up following the war, but reacquired in 1952 during the [Korean War](/source/Korean_War). The ship never re-entered service with the Royal Canadian Navy and was sold for scrap in 1959.

==Design and description==
A British design, the ''Bangor''-class minesweepers were smaller than the preceding {{sclass|Halcyon|minesweeper|1}}s in British service, but larger than the {{sclass|Fundy|minesweeper|4}} in Canadian service.<ref name=chesneau>Chesneau, p. 64</ref><ref name=mac167>Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 167</ref> They came in two versions powered by different engines; those with a [diesel engine](/source/diesel_engine)s and those with [vertical triple-expansion steam](/source/Marine_steam_engine) engines.<ref name=chesneau/> ''Milltown'' was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. The minesweeper was {{convert|180|ft|m|1}} [long overall](/source/Length_overall), had a [beam](/source/Beam_(nautical)) of {{convert|28|ft|6|in|m|1}} and a [draught](/source/Draft_(hull)) of {{convert|9|ft|9|in|m|1}}.<ref name=chesneau/><ref name=mac180>Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 180</ref> ''Milltown'' had a [displacement](/source/Displacement_(ship)) of {{convert|672|LT|t}}. She had a complement of 6 officers and 77 enlisted.<ref name=mac180/>

''Milltown'' had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two [Admiralty three-drum boiler](/source/Admiralty_three-drum_boiler)s. The engines produced a total of {{convert|2400|ihp|lk=in}} and gave a maximum speed of {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}. The minesweeper could carry a maximum of {{convert|150|LT|t|0}} of [fuel oil](/source/fuel_oil).<ref name=chesneau/>

''Milltown'' was armed with a single [quick-firing](/source/Quick-firing_gun) (QF) [12-pounder ({{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on|0}}) 12 cwt HA gun](/source/QF_12-pounder_12_cwt_naval_gun) mounted forward.<ref name=chesneau/><ref name=mac70>Macpherson (1997), p. 70</ref>{{efn|name=gun nomenclature}} The ship was also fitted with a [QF 2-pounder Mark VIII](/source/QF_2_pounder_naval_gun) aft and were eventually fitted with single-mounted [QF 20 mm Oerlikon](/source/Oerlikon_20_mm_cannon) guns on the [bridge](/source/Bridge_(nautical)) wings.<ref name=mac>Macpherson (1997), p. 58</ref> The 2-pounder gun was later replaced with a twin 20&nbsp;mm Oerlikon mount.<ref name=mac70/> Those ships assigned to convoy duty had two [depth charge](/source/depth_charge) launchers and four chutes to deploy the 40 depth charges they carried.<ref name=chesneau/><ref name=mac70/>

==Operational history==
The minesweeper was ordered as part of the 1941–1942 construction programme.<ref name=mac70/> The ship's [keel](/source/keel) was laid down on 18 August 1941 by [Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co](/source/Port_Arthur_Shipbuilding_Company) at their yard in [Port Arthur](/source/Port_Arthur%2C_Ontario), [Ontario](/source/Ontario). Named for a [community](/source/Milltown%2C_Ontario) in Ontario, ''Milltown'' was [launched](/source/Ship_naming_and_launching) on 27 January 1942. The ship was [commissioned](/source/Ship_commissioning) on 18 September 1942 at Port Arthur.<ref name=mac192>Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 192</ref>

After arriving at [Halifax, Nova Scotia](/source/Halifax%2C_Nova_Scotia) on 27 October 1942, the vessel was assigned to Halifax Force, the local patrol and escort force operating from the city in December. ''Milltown'' transferred to the [Western Local Escort Force](/source/Western_Local_Escort_Force) in March 1943 as a [convoy](/source/convoy) escort in the [Battle of the Atlantic](/source/Battle_of_the_Atlantic) and served with them for a couple of months. In June, the minesweeper transferred to Gaspé Force, the group tasked with escorting convoys through the [Gulf of St. Lawrence](/source/Gulf_of_St._Lawrence) and the [Saint Lawrence River](/source/Saint_Lawrence_River) in the [Battle of the Saint Lawrence](/source/Battle_of_the_Saint_Lawrence).<ref name=mac192/>

In November 1943, ''Milltown'' returned to Halifax Force and remained with the unit until February 1944. That month, the ship sailed to Europe as part of Canada's contribution to the [invasion of Normandy](/source/invasion_of_Normandy). Upon arrival in March, ''Milltown'' was assigned to the 31st Minesweeping Flotilla. During the invasion, ''Milltown'' and her fellow minesweepers swept and marked channels through the German minefields leading into the invasion beaches in the American sector.<ref>Schull, pp. 233–34</ref> The 31st Minesweeping Flotilla swept channel 3 on 6 June.<ref>Schull, pp. 270–273</ref> The Canadian ''Bangor''s spent most of June sweeping Channel 14, the widened area that combined assault channels 1 to 4.<ref>Douglas et al., ''A Blue Water Navy'', pp. 290–291</ref>

The minesweepers spent the following months clearing the shipping lanes between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. Towards the end of 1944, the minesweepers were also being used as a cross channel convoy escorts.<ref>Douglas et al., ''A Blue Water Navy'', p. 334</ref> ''Milltown'' returned to Canada in March 1945 to undergo a refit at [Saint John, New Brunswick](/source/Saint_John%2C_New_Brunswick). The refit was completed in June and the ship returned to European waters and remained there until 21 September.<ref name=mac192/>

The ship returned to Canada and on 16 October 1945, ''Milltown'' was [paid off](/source/Ship_decommissioning) at [Sydney, Nova Scotia](/source/Sydney%2C_Nova_Scotia) and laid up at [Shelburne, Nova Scotia](/source/Shelburne%2C_Nova_Scotia). In 1946, the minesweeper was taken to [Sorel, Quebec](/source/Sorel%2C_Quebec) and placed in strategic reserve. Reacquired in 1952 by the Royal Canadian Navy during the height of the [Korean War](/source/Korean_War), the vessel was taken to Sydney and given the new [hull number](/source/Hull_classification_symbol_(Canada)) FSE 194 and re-designated a coastal escort.<ref name=mac192/><ref>Blackman, p. 99</ref> However, the ship never re-entered service with the Royal Canadian Navy and remained at Sydney until 1959.<ref name=mac192/> ''Milltown'' was sold to [Marine Industries](/source/Marine_Industries) in February 1959 and [broken up](/source/Ship_breaking) for scrap at Sorel.<ref>Colledge, p. 411</ref><ref>{{csr|register=MSI|id=6113710|shipname=Milltown|accessdate=12 November 2016}}</ref>

==References==
===Notes===
{{notes
| notes =

{{efn
| name = gun nomenclature
| "Cwt" is the abbreviation for [hundredweight](/source/hundredweight), 20 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
}}
}}

===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book |editor-last=Blackman |editor-first=Raymond V.B. |date=1953 |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1953–54 |publisher= Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd |location=London |oclc=913556389}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Chesneau |editor-first=Roger |date=1980 |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=Greenwich, UK |isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
* {{Colledge: Ships RN|year=2006}}
* {{cite book |last1=Douglas |first1=W.A.B. |last2=Sarty |first2=Roger |last3=Whitby |first3=Michael |title=A Blue Water Navy: The Official Operational History of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War, 1943–1945 Volume II, Part II |publisher=Vanwell Publishing |location=St. Catharines, Ontario |date=2007 |isbn=978-1-55125-069-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Macpherson |first=Ken |date=1997 |title=Minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy 1938–1945 |publisher=Vanwell Publishing Limited |location=St. Catharines, Ontario |isbn=0-920277-55-1}}
* {{cite book |last1=Macpherson |first1=Ken |last2=Barrie |first2=Ron |date=2002 |title=The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002 |edition=Third |publisher=Vanwell Publishing |location=St. Catharines, Ontario |isbn=1-55125-072-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Schull |first=Joseph |date=1961 |title=The Far Distant Ships: An Official Account of Canadian Naval Operations in the Second World War |publisher=Queen's Printer |location=Ottawa |oclc=19974782}}

==External links==
* {{cite web |url=http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/ww2/bangor/ |title= Bangor Class |publisher=Hazegray.org |work= Canadian Navy of Yesterday and Today}}

{{Bangor class minesweeper}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milltown (J317)}}
Category:Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Canadian Navy
Category:Ships built in Thunder Bay
Category:1942 ships
Category:World War II minesweepers of Canada

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [HMCS Milltown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Milltown) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Milltown?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.