View source for HMS Walmer Castle

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=
|Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=''Walmer Castle''
|Ship namesake= [[Walmer Castle]]
|Ship ordered=19 January 1943
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder= [[Smiths Dock Company]], [[South Bank, Redcar and Cleveland|South Bank]]
|Ship yard number=
|Ship laid down=23 September 1943
|Ship launched=10 March 1944
|Ship completed=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]: K405
|Ship fate=Transferred to the [[Royal Canadian Navy]]
|Ship homeport=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=Canada
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Canada|naval-1911}}
|Ship name=''Leaside''
|Ship namesake=[[Leaside|Leaside, Ontario]]
|Ship acquired=1943
|Ship commissioned=21 August 1944
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=16 November 1945
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship refit=
|Ship captured=
|Ship honours=Atlantic 1944–45<ref name=Britain>{{cite web|title= Battle Honours | url=http://www.britainsnavy.co.uk/Battle%20Honours/A%20Battle%20Honour%20Date.htm#1900|website=Britain's Navy|access-date=21 November 2015}}</ref>
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship identification=Pennant number: K492
|Ship fate= Sold for mercantile service 1946
|Ship homeport=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship name=* ''Coquitlam'' (1946–1957)
* ''Glacier Queen'' (1958–1979)
|Ship namesake=
|Ship operator=* [[Union Steamship Company of British Columbia|Union Steamship Company]] (1946–1958)
* [[Alaska Cruise Lines Ltd.]] (1958–1973)
* M. J. Stanley (1973)
|Ship registry= * {{flagicon|Canada|1868}} (1946–1950)
* {{flagicon|Liberia}} (1950–1973)
* {{flagicon|United States}} (1973–1979)
|Ship acquired=1946
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=1946
|Ship out of service=1978
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship identification=
|Ship fate= * Sank 8&nbsp;November&nbsp;1978
* Refloated
* [[Scuttling|Scuttled]] 19&nbsp;January&nbsp;1979
|Ship homeport=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(as built)
|Ship type={{sclass2|Castle|corvette}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|1060|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|252|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|36|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|13|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*2 × water-tube boilers
*{{convert|2750|ihp|kW|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*1 × 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine
*Single screw
|Ship speed= {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= {{convert|6200|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn|abbr=on}}
|Ship complement=120
|Ship sensors=*Type 272 radar
*Type 145 sonar
*Type 147B sonar
|Ship armament=*1 × [[QF 4 inch Mk XIX naval gun|QF 4-inch Mk XIX gun]]
*1 × [[Squid (weapon)|Squid]] [[anti-submarine mortar]]
*1 × [[Depth charge]] rail, 15 depth charges
*4–10 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm]] anti-aircraft cannon
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Walmer Castle''''' was a {{sclass2|Castle|corvette}} constructed for the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Royal Navy during the Second World War]]. Before completion, the ship was transferred to the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] and renamed '''HMCS ''Leaside'''''. The corvette was used as an ocean convoy escort during the war and was sold for mercantile use following it. The ship was purchased for use as a [[passenger ship]] and renamed '''''Coquitlam''''', then in 1958, '''''Glacier Queen'''''. In 1970 ''Glacier Queen'' was acquired for use as a floating hotel in [[Alaska]]. The ship sank in 1978 and was raised and [[scuttling|scuttled]] in Alaskan waters in 1979.

==Design and description==
The Castle class were an improved corvette design over their predecessor {{sclass2|Flower|corvette|4}}. The Flower class was not considered acceptable for mid-Atlantic sailing and was only used on Atlantic convoy duty out of need. Though the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] would have preferred {{sclass2|Loch|frigate}}s, the inability of many small shipyards to construct the larger ships required them to come up with a smaller vessel. The increased length of the Castle class over their predecessors<ref name=chesneau1>Chesneau, p. 63</ref> and their improved hull form gave the Castles better speed and performance on patrol in the North Atlantic and an acceptable replacement for the Flowers.<ref name=brown1>Brown 2007, p. 142</ref> This, coupled with improved anti-submarine armament in the form of the [[Squid (weapon)|Squid]] mortar led to a much more capable anti-submarine warfare (ASW) vessel.<ref name=chesneau1/> However, the design did have criticisms, mainly in the way it handled at low speeds and that the class's maximum speed was already slower than the speeds of the new [[U-boat]]s they would be facing.<ref name=brown2>Brown 2007, p. 127</ref>

A Castle-class corvette was {{convert|252|ft|m}} [[Length overall|long]] with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|36|ft|8|in|m}} and a [[Draft (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|13|ft|6|in|m}} at deep load.<ref name=chesneau1/><ref group=note>Brown states the beam at {{convert|36.5|ft|m}} and the draught at {{convert|13.5|ft|m}}</ref> The ships displaced {{convert|1060|LT|t}} standard<ref name=chesneau1/> and {{convert|1580|LT|t}} deep load.<ref name=brown2/><ref group=note>Chesneau states the displacement at deep load as {{convert|1590|-|1630|LT|t|abbr=on}}</ref> The ships had a complement of 120.<ref name=chesneau1/><ref group=note>Brown states the complement as 99 and Johnston states the complement of Canadian ships at 112 (7 officers and 105 ratings).</ref>

The ships were powered by two [[Three-drum boiler#Admiralty boiler|Admiralty three-drum boilers]] which created {{convert|2750|ihp|kW|lk=in}}. This powered one [[vertical triple expansion]] engine that drove one shaft, giving the ships a maximum speed of {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}.<ref name=chesneau1/> The ships carried 480 tons of oil giving them a range of {{convert|6200|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}}.<ref name=brown2/>

The corvettes were armed with one [[QF 4 inch Mk XIX naval gun|QF 4-inch Mk XIX gun]] mounted forward.<ref name=chesneau1/><ref group=note>Mk XIX = Mark 19. Britain used [[Roman numerals]] to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. This was the nineteenth model of British QF 4-inch gun</ref> Anti-air armament varied from 4 to 10<ref name=chesneau1/> [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]s.<ref name=brown3>Brown 2007, p. 126</ref> For ASW purposes, the ships were equipped with one three-barreled Squid anti-submarine mortar with 81 projectiles. The ships also had two depth charge throwers and one depth charge rail on the stern that came with 15 [[depth charge]]s.<ref name=brown2/>

The ships were equipped with Type 145 and Type 147B [[ASDIC]].<ref name=brown2/> The Type 147B was tied to the Squid anti-submarine mortar and would automatically set the depth on the fuses of the projectiles until the moment of firing. A single Squid-launched attack had a success rate of 25%.<ref name=Brown4>Brown 2012, p. 129</ref> The class was also provided with [[High-frequency direction finding|HF/DF]] and [[Type 277 radar]].<ref name=brown3/>

==Construction and career==
''Walmer Castle'', named for the [[Walmer Castle|castle]] in [[Kent]], was ordered on 19 January 1943.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/7941.html |title=HMS Walmer Castle (K 492) |website=uboat.net |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> The ship was [[Keel laying|laid down]] by [[Smiths Dock Company]] at [[South Bank, Redcar and Cleveland|South Bank-on-Tees]] on 23 September 1943.<ref name=mac1>Macpherson and Barrie, p. 165</ref> At some point in 1943, the ship was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy<ref name=colledge>Colledge, p. 359</ref> and [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 10 March 1944.<ref name=mac1/> The ship was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] into the Royal Canadian Navy as ''Leaside'', named for [[Leaside|a small town]] in Ontario on 21 August 1944, with the pennant number K492.<ref name=mac1/>

The corvette worked up at [[Tobermory, Mull|Tobermory]] in September before joining the [[Mid-Ocean Escort Force]] in October as part of escort group C-8. ''Leaside'' was deployed as an escort for trans-Atlantic convoys for the rest of the war. In May 1945, she returned to Canada, and departed for the West coast in June. ''Leaside'' was [[Ship decommissioning|paid off]] on 16 November 1945 at [[Esquimalt, British Columbia]].<ref name=mac1/>

The ship was sold for mercantile use to the [[Union Steamship Company of British Columbia|Union Steamship Company]] and was converted to cargo/passenger ship with a [[gross register tonnage]] of 1,833 tons.<ref name=miramar>{{csr|register=MSI|id=5131610|shipname=Leaside |accessdate=13 May 2016}}</ref><ref name=pitfield>Pitfield, p. 65</ref> The ship entered service as a coastal passenger ship ''Coquitlam'' in 1946, sailing along the [[British Columbia Coast|British Columbia coast]].<ref name=pitfield/> In 1950, the ship was renamed ''Glacier Queen'' and registered under a [[Liberia]]n flag.<ref name=mac1/><ref group=note>Miramar claims that ownership was transferred in 1958 to Alaska Cruise Lines Ltd. and her port of registry remained at Vancouver.</ref>

In 1973, ''Glacier Queen'' was purchased by M.J. Stanley and prepared for use a floating hotel.<ref name=mac1/><ref name=miramar/> The ship arrived at [[Valdez, Alaska|Valdez]], [[Alaska]], in 1974, for use by the tourist industry after the town's growing population took over all the pre-existing hotels during the construction of the [[Trans-Alaska Pipeline System]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19740917&id=CYY0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=7qEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4099,389672 |title=Pipeline wakes sleepy Alaskan town |work=Montreal Gazette |agency=Associated Press |page=24 |date=17 September 1974 |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19740523&id=R55RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kG0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7151,1106445 |title=People & Places |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |page=11 |date=23 May 1974 |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> On 8 November 1978, the ship sank at [[anchor]]
in [[Seldovia Bay]] ({{coord|59.4274|N|151.7249|W|name=Seldovia Bay}})<ref name=mac1/><ref name=alaskashipwrecksg>{{cite web |url=https://alaskashipwreck.com/shipwrecks-a-z/alaska-shipwrecks-g/ |website=alaskashipwreck.com |title=Alaska Shipwrecks (G) |access-date=17 March 2019}} {{reliable source|date=March 2019}}</ref> in [[Cook Inlet]]<ref name=colledge/><ref name=pitfield/> on the [[Southcentral Alaska|south-central]] coast of Alaska. The ship was later refloated, [[Towing|towed]] out to sea by the [[Marine salvage|salvage]] [[Tugboat|tug]] ''Salvage Chief'', and [[Scuttling|scuttled]] in the [[Gulf of Alaska]] {{convert|100|nmi}} west of [[Cape Saint Elias]] on 19 January 1979.<ref name=mac1/><ref name=colledge/><ref name=miramar/><ref name=alaskashipwrecksg/>

==Commemoration==
The ship's bell is located at [[Leaside High School]] in [[Toronto]].<ref name=pitfield/>

==References==

===Notes===
{{reflist|group=note}}

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

===Sources===
* {{cite book |last=Brown |first=David K. |date=2007 |title=Atlantic Escorts Ships: Ships, Weapons & Tactics in World War II |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |location=Barnsley, UK |isbn=978-1-84415-702-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Brown |first=David K. |date=2012 |title=Nelson to Vanguard: Warship Design and Development 1923–1945 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |location=Barnsley, UK |isbn=978-1-84832-149-6}}
* {{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}}
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book |last=Macpherson |first=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=Pitfield |first=Jane |date=2000 |title=Leaside |edition=Second |publisher=Natural Heritage Books |location=Toronto |isbn=978-1-55002-875-1}}

{{Castle class corvette}}
{{1978 shipwrecks}}
{{1979 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walmer Castle}}
[[Category:Ships of the Royal Canadian Navy]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:Castle-class corvettes]]