HMCS Venture

HMCS Venture was a three-masted schooner built for the Royal Canadian Navy as a training ship in 1937. She served during the Second World War at Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was the second vessel commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy to bear the name Venture. In 1943, the schooner was renamed Harbour Craft 190. The schooner was sold to private interests following the war and renamed Alfred & Emily before being lost by fire in 1951.

History
Canada
Name: Venture
Ordered: 1935
Builder: Meteghan Shipbuilding Ltd. Co., Meteghan, Nova Scotia
Laid down: 4 January 1937
Launched: 9 June 1937
Commissioned: 25 October 1937
Decommissioned: 1 September 1939
Maiden voyage: 1 January 1938
Recommissioned: November 1941
Decommissioned: 13 May 1943
Out of service: December 1945
Renamed: Harbour Craft 190 (19 May 1943)
Fate: Sold 10 December 1945 to private investors, renamed Alfred & Emily
 
Renamed: Alfred & Emily
In service: 10 December 1945
Fate: Sank after catching fire, 1951
General characteristics
Class and type: Three-masted schooner
Tonnage: 250 long tons (250 t; 280 short tons)
Length: 142 ft (43.3 m)
Beam: 27 ft (8.2 m)
Draught: 14.5 ft (4.42 m)
Propulsion: sail, diesel auxiliary engine
Sail plan: 12,000 sq ft (1,100 m2) of sail
Complement: 40 including 24 trainees
Armament: 2 × 3-pounder naval gun

Description

Venture was a three-masted schooner that had a tonnage of 250 long tons (250 t; 280 short tons) and was 142 ft (43.3 m) long overall, with a beam of 27 ft (8.2 m) and a draught of 14.5 ft (4.42 m).[1] The vessel was equipped with 12,000 sq ft (1,100 m2) of sail and a diesel auxiliary engine.[2] The schooner had a complement of 40, including 24 trainees. The vessel was armed with two 3-pounder guns.[3]

Construction and service

Venture was ordered in 1935 as the Royal Canadian Navy began to expand.[4] The vessel was constructed by Meteghan Shipbuilding Ltd. Co. at Meteghan, Nova Scotia. The schooner was launched in June 1937 and was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 25 October 1937. Venture was based at Halifax, Nova Scotia as a training ship.[1][5]

Venture was paid off on 1 September 1939 with war imminent.[1] She was one of only thirteen Royal Canadian Navy ships in service at the outbreak of the Second World War.[6] She became an accommodation vessel at Halifax for Royal Navy ratings assigned to the 3rd Battleship Squadron. In November 1941, she was recommissioned as a guard ship at Tuft's Cove, which lies at the entrance to Bedford Basin.[1]

Venture served as such until 13 May 1943, when she lost her name to the former yacht Seaborn. The schooner was renamed Harbour Craft 190 and remained as such until sold on 10 December 1945 to a Halifax firm. Upon being sold she was renamed Alfred & Emily and initially served as a sealing vessel. The vessel eventually became a coal carrier, which she served as until she was lost in an explosion/fire off of Bellburns, Newfoundland on 3 October 1951.[1]

Citations
  1. Macpherson and Barrie, p. 34
  2. Tucker, p. 510
  3. Colledge, p. 660
  4. Johnston et al., p. 1072
  5. "Venture (6110361)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  6. Tucker, p. 6

Sources
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Johnston, William; Rawling, William G.P.; Gimblett, Richard H.; MacFarlane, John (2010). The Seabound Coast: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Navy, 1867–1939. 1. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 978-1-55488-908-2.
  • Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 1-55125-072-1.
  • Tucker, Gilbert Norman (1952). The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History – Volume 2: Activities on Shore During the Second World War. Ottawa: King's Printer. OCLC 4346983.
  • "HMCS Venture". Venture Association. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  • Ready, Aye, Ready. "HMCS Venture". Retrieved 1 September 2013.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)


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