RCN - Various Auxiliaries and Support Ships

[Rainmaker]

Hi all - in this thread, I will be posting various auxiliaries, support vessels, and smaller ships of the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Cormorant (ASL-20)

HMCS Cormorant was a diving support vessel that served as a part of the Royal Canadian Navy. She began her life as the Italian stern factory trawler Aspa Quarto, laid down at Marina di Carrara in December 1963 and completed in June 1965. She was purchased by the Canadian government in July 1975 and taken to Davie Shipbuilding at Lauzon, Quebec where the ship underwent conversion to a diving support vessel. The ship was commissioned into Maritime Command on 10 November 1978 at Lauzon, becoming the second Canadian naval unit to bear this name.

As part of her conversion, Cormorant was lengthened, and her displacement was correspondingly increased from 1,643 tons to 2,350 tons fully loaded. A submersible hangar was constructed, which was capable of holding two Submersible Diver Lockout (SDL-1) submersibles, built by International Submarine Engineering (ISE Ltd.) of Vancouver, BC. The SDL-1 submersibles were capable of operating at depths of 610 metres (2,000 ft) with a lock-out compartment for divers.

HMCS Cormorant is notable as the first Royal Canadian Navy vessel to host a mixed-gender crew, with crew trials taking place from 1980-1984. She was also an integral part of the November 1994 expedition to recover the ship's bell from the wreck of SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior.

Cormorant was decommissioned on 2 July 1997 and sold to United States owners for diving operations. The ship underwent conversion to an offshore support vessel in 1998, however, the new owners never took possession of the vessel, and she was docked in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia in 2000, where she would remain, derelict, for more than twenty years. On 18 November 2020, the ex-Cormorant was finally towed out of Bridgwater Harbour for scrapping. Demolition of the ship was declared completed on 7 July 2021.



As always, comments, constructive criticism, and feedback of all kinds are warmly welcomed!

[Colombamike]

Cormorant was decommissioned on 2 July 1997 and sold to United States owners for diving operations. The ship underwent conversion to an offshore support vessel in 1998, however, the new owners never took possession of the vessel, and she was docked in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia in 2000, where she would remain, derelict, for more than twenty years. On 18 November 2020, the ex-Cormorant was finally towed out of Bridgwater Harbour for scrapping. Demolition of the ship was declared completed on 7 July 2021.

"On March 21, 2015, the ship sunk in the LaHave River due to the amount of ice on the river. In May 2015, because of the fear of pollution issues, (contaminated oil and oil/water remaining on the ship), the Canadian Coast Guard took charge of the salvage effort and refloated the Cormorant and reduced the ship’s list to 8 degrees at a cost of 1 million dollars."

WTF the bad ending

[GarethDavies1]

Something I did a few years ago

[Hood]

Very nice work, the Cormorant looks great.

[eswube]

Very nice additions, particulary the poor Cormorant.

[Rainmaker]

Anticosti - class Auxiliary Minesweepers

The Anticosti - class auxiliary minesweepers were a class of two former oil rig logistics support vessels that were acquired by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1988. In the late stages of the Cold War, the RCN was in a difficult financial situation, as the majority of the fleet was required to either be replaced or modernized at a time when the Canadian public was increasingly calling for the defence budget to be reigned in. In an effort to preserve some of its niche capabilities, the RCN made the decision to spin off some of its non-core roles, such as minesweeping and coastal operations, to the Naval Reserve.

The Naval Reserve was at that time operating six former Bay - class minesweepers of late 1950s vintage, however, they had been converted to patrol escorts and reassigned to the West Coast Training Squadron with their minesweeping gear removed. It was determined that a new class of minesweepers would need to be procured, but such a vessel would not be available until at least the mid-90s, as Canadian shipyards were preoccupied with the construction of the Halifax - class frigates. In the interim, it was decided to procure and convert two civilian vessels, which would be able to provide training on the latest minesweeping techniques to naval reservists.

The two vessels had been constructed by Allied Shipbuilders Ltd. of Vancouver in 1973 and named Joyce Tide and Jean Tide - once acquired by the RCN, they were renamed HMCS Anticosti (MSA-110), and HMCS Moresby (MSA-112), respectively, after Canadian islands. The vessels sailed to Marystown, Newfoundland for conversion. In April 1990 they had their mechanical sweep gear and towed side-scan sonar fitted. Anticosti and Moresby were assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) as minesweeping training vessels in preparation for the future Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel Project (MCDV), which would become the Kingston - class in the late 1990s. In March 1997, Moresby transferred to CFB Esquimalt on the West Coast. Throughout the 1990s, the two vessels of the Anticosti - class tested various technologies that would be used on the Kingston - class vessels.

After the Kingston - class MCDVs entered service, the Anticosti - class was identified as surplus and both vessels were paid off in March of 2000. They were sold to commercial interests in January 2002.

[eswube]

Nice work, although the hull shading uses that rather awkward style, and shading on propeller covers is "shaded" both on top and bottom, while it would be rather logical to have it "highlighted" on top, and "shaded" only on bottom.

[Hood]

Nice on a lesser known class.
Well drawn, as eswube says the propeller shroud should be highlighted on top, but otherwise it looks good to me.

[Rainmaker]

I've edited the shading on the propeller shroud so that the highlight is now on top.

I'm also posting the line plans that I have in the hope that someone can shed some light on how to comply with the 45-degree shading convention more appropriately. It seems quite obvious to me how most of it should be shaded, as it's easy to tell which parts of the hull are underneath the 45-degree line. However, when it comes to the bow, when it transitions to more or less vertical, I'm not sure how to taper the shading on the bottom of the hull in a way that meaningfully shows the viewer the shape of the hull as I'm trying to depict it. If I understand correctly, the shading should taper off towards the keel as the hull form becomes more vertical? Any pointers would be appreciated.

[heuhen]

At this scale we don't need to be that accurate, because that would be impossible at this scale, we just have to just accurate enough!

some points:
1. The Blue purple line is how I draw it.
2. Orange line is more or less how it is shaped (acelanceloet can say it more accurate than me, it's his thing here at SB)
3. I have colored what those various lines present. Red, Green, Pink.
4. Note the line drawing isn't so accurate, the lines are going everywhere, Unless it is a hull full of humps.