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HMCS Chippawa (RCNR Division Winnipeg MB) Launches the Tender H.C. 162 c1954

by John MacFarlane 2012 (updated 2018)

H.C. 314

Launching a naval harbour craft at Winnipeg MB, now thought to be H.C. 162.

This story started out as a minor mystery – what was the identity of the tender in use at HMCS Chippawa in the early 1950s? I originally identified it as a Ville–class tug but this turned out to be incorrect. It now appears that the vessel has been identified and the circumstances around the taking of the pictures has been sorted out (somewhat). Roland Webb wrote quickly to say –

The vessel in the pictures isn’t a Ville–class tug. All the Ville–class were of steel construction. The vessel in the picture is of wooden construction and looks like one of the Harbour Patrol Craft built mainly in Maritime boat yards for use in East Coast Ports. There were many of these craft of a couple of different sizes and finding out which one ended up in Winnipeg won’t be easy. The recently published (2010?) history of the Naval Reserve has some info in it about the vessels used at the different locations which may help.

Taking his advice we found that the images are of the launching of a tender to HMCS Chippawa (the Canadian naval reserve division) in Winnipeg Manitoba in 1954. Thanks to the details found in the Article by Carl Gagnon (Appendix A in the amazing publication edited by Richard Gimblett and Michael Hadley Citizen Sailors: Chronicles of Canada’s Naval Reserve 1910-2010. Gagnon also emailed further details –

These boats did not have a name and they were referred to by their number. If a name was given, it was done so locally and unofficially. These wooden vessels had a displacement of 5.5 tons with the following dimensions, 46’ x 12.33’ x 3’, and could achieve 10 knots. They had a crew of three and no armament. Some were used to support diving operations. Research for Citizen Sailors indicates that HMCS Chippawa received the 46-ft harbour craft H.C.314 in January 1946 and it is unknown when exactly the vessel was retired. I suspect that is the vessel being put in the water; the photo resolution doesn’t allow to look for other clues.
H.C. 314

The tender to HMCS Chippawa – probably H.C. 162

During the devastating floods of 1950 HMCS Chippawa used many floating assets during the emergency. There was also a need for a real vessel on which to carry out training. This little vessel served that purpose – launched each Spring and dry–berthed each Autumn.

As a small boy I observed a training session given on the dry–berthed wooden whaler in the drill shed at Chippawa (which in those days was in what had once been the Winter Club. In an attempt to tighten up the seams in the whaler, which had opened up in the dry prairie air, a fire hose was used to fill her up with water. This resulted in massive spouts of leaking water. It is doubtful that the whaler was fit for other than dry land use. My father was the RCN Staff Officer attached to Chippawa. There was only a handfull of naval personnel in Manitoba – so we lived at the army base Fort Osborn. Chippawa was a going–concern with an active training and social life.

Captain Bill Wilson filled in more details –

In the early 1950s the boat wintered at Selkirk and later in Gimli or Riverton on the Lake. I was with the boat when we ran aground north of Gimli in a hell of a storm. There were 7 on board with a whaler in tow, and we were lucky there was no one injured, but suffered 6 terribly sick sailors. The Gimli fishermen hauled the boat off the beach two days later with no charge, but we had to pay a hefty bill for the repair of the finger jetty that we demolished when we hit it broadside. (The anchor would not hold in the sand.) I had nothing but trouble with the boat as it seemed to stall whenever I approached a jetty at slow speeds. (I insisted on lots of fenders for use when the panic set in.)
HMCS Chippawa Staff

This was the staff at HMCS Chippawa who were present at the launching. Can any of our readers identify any of them? One is an officer cadet, the others are naval and civilian personnel.

In 2017 researcher Bryon Taylor has been undertaking research at the Libraries and Archives Canada. He states, "I am still convinced that the vessel in question is HC 162. HC 314 was attached to HMCS Chippawa for use at the Ruttan Sea Cadet Camp. HC 314 was at HMCS Chippawa the Summer of 1945. (Source: Vessels for Reserve Divisions and Sea Cadets dated March 1946)

The HC 162 was allocated to HMCS Chippawa in the Spring of 1946. (Source: Vessels for Reserve Divisions and Sea Cadets dated March 1946) HC 162 was still at HMCS Chippawa in June 1954 (Source: List of Auxiliary Vessels Attached to Naval Divisions, dated 17 Jun 1954. HC 162 had been transferred to HMCS York (RCN Reserve Division Toronto) by the Summer of 1956 (Source: List of Auxiliary Vessels Attached to Naval Divisions, dated 26 Jul 1956). (Overall Reference: RG24 Accession 83–84/167 Box 3554 File 8000/400 General information – Warships – Auxiliary Vessels & Yard Craft Vol. 1, 2 and 3.)

Author’s Note:I thank all who sent in clues or searched their files for the identity of this vessel, continuing to contribute to solving an interesting minor naval mystery.

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