 HMCSBelleville at commissioning | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada | |
| Name | HMCSBelleville |
| Namesake | Belleville, Ontario |
| Ordered | June 1942 |
| Builder | Kingston Shipbuilding Co.,Kingston |
| Laid down | 21 January 1944 |
| Launched | 17 June 1944 |
| Commissioned | 19 October 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 5 July 1945 |
| Identification | Pennant number: K332 |
| Honours and awards | Atlantic 1945[1] |
| Fate | Sold to theDominican Republic in 1947 |
 Dominican Republic | |
| Name | Juan Bautista Cambiaso |
| Namesake | Admiral Juan Bautista Cambiaso |
| Commissioned | 1947 |
| Decommissioned | 1972 |
| Fate | Scrapped 1972 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | ModifiedFlower-classcorvette |
| Displacement | 1,015long tons (1,031 t; 1,137 short tons) |
| Length | 208 ft (63.4 m)o/a |
| Beam | 33 ft (10.1 m) |
| Draught | 11 ft (3.35 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 16 knots (29.6 km/h) |
| Range | 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h) |
| Complement | 90 |
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
HMCSBelleville was a modifiedFlower-classcorvette that served in theRoyal Canadian Navy during theSecond World War. She fought primarily in theBattle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named forBelleville, Ontario. After the war she was sold to theDominican Navy and served with them until 1972.
Flower-class corvettes likeBelleville serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes.[2][3][4] 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.[5] 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 awhaling ship design.[6] The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.[7]
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 AdmiralPercy 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.[8]
Belleville was ordered in June 1942 as part of the 1943–44 Increased Endurance Flower-class building program, which followed the main layout of the 1942–43 program. The only significant difference is that the majority of the 43–44 program replaced the 2-pounder Mk.VIII single "pom-pom"anti-aircraft gun with two twin 20 mm and two single 20 mm anti-aircraft guns.[8]Belleville was laid down byKingston Shipbuilding Co. atKingston, Ontario 21 January 1944 and launched 17 June later that year. She was commissioned into the RCN 19 October 1944 at Kingston.[9][10]
Before heading toHalifax for deployment,Belleville stopped at her namesake town. After arriving at Halifax she was sent to workup atBermuda and required repairs upon her return. After they were completed she was assigned to theMid-Ocean Escort Force. She was allocated to the escort group C-5 and escorted her first convoy at the end of March 1945. She spent the rest of the war with the group. She made her final return trip to Canada in June 1945.[10]
Belleville waspaid off 5 July 1945 atSorel, Quebec and laid up. She was transferred to the War Assets Corporation and sold to the Dominican Navy in 1947. She was renamedJuan Bautista Cambiaso and served with them until 1972 when she was sold for scrap.[10]
