HMCS Border Cities was an that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The ship served as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. After the war she was discarded and broken up. The ship was named for Windsor, Ontario but due to conflicts with other ships with that name, the actual name of the ship was chosen to commemorate the city, instead of naming it directly.
Border Cities was ordered 12 December 1941. The vessel was laid down on 26 August 1942 by Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company Ltd. at Port Arthur, Ontario and launched 3 May 1943. The ship was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 18 May 1944 at Port Arthur.
Background The class to which she belonged had been designed to overcome certain weaknesses which had been revealed in actual operation in the earlier . The relatively limited steaming radius of the Bangor class lessened its usefulness as the war progressed.It was pointed out at the 57th Meeting of the Naval Staff, 25 September 1941, that "the steaming radius of the Bangor Class Minesweeper was most disappointing (being only 2300 miles at 11 knots)." (Naval Staff Minutes, 57th Meeting, 25 September 1941 (Held by VCNS.) Quoted NHS 8000: Minesweepers (Bangor) General.) With the laying of mines in ever-deeper waters, swept areas had to be extended and, for this, a ship with greater endurance was desirable. This class of ship, too, lacked the space to conveniently accommodate the new types of equipment which were being added. It was for these reasons that, in 1941, the Admiralty began to develop a ship which eventually supplanted the earlier minesweepers in the construction programmes and was known as the Algerine minesweeper first and, later, coastal escort.Tucker, p.67
Like the Bangor class, the Algerine was prepared to function either as an anti-submarine escort or a minesweeper. However, when it became apparent that the submarine posed a greater danger than the mine in the areas for which the Royal Canadian Navy was responsible, a greater emphasis came to be laid on the former.Tucker, p. 77
Again, compared to the Bangors, the Algerines were a longer ship by 45 feet and had over 1,500 miles greater endurance at 12 knots. It could therefore carry more men and equipment and had a longer range.
In October 1941, the Naval Service decreed that from thenceforth the Algerine class should be ordered for construction. Approval was given at the same time for the building of thirty frigates and ten of the Algerine class. Among the latter was Border Cities. The entire Canadian contingent of the Algerine class was to be built by the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co of Port Arthur, Ontario.Tucker, p. 509
Service history Commissioning On 24 March 1943, the shipbuilding firm stated that the ship, CN-366, was ready for launching but that it would be necessary, because of ice conditions, to postpone it until at least 15 or 20 April. It was desirable that certain guests should be invited for the accompanying ceremony, particularly dignitaries from the sponsoring city of Windsor. Unfortunately, this was not done, as the launching of a ship had been required as a part of a Victory Loan ceremony held on 3 May 1943 and the shipyard picked Border Cities for the performance.NS 4052-374/1
The ship had been named for Windsor, Ontario, or, more strictly, for the adjoining "Border Cities" of East Windsor, Walkerville, Windsor and Sandwich, which had been amalgamated into one city, Windsor, by the Amalgamation Act of 1935.
Since the name Windsor was already borne by a British destroyer, the Board of Trade of the city had suggested the use of Border Cities and the name had been submitted by Mayor Reaume. The city's Rotary Club stated that if the suggestion were accepted, the club would be prepared to adopt the ship and provide comforts to the ship's company by way of extra equipment not supplied by the Naval Service, to the extent of $500 initial expenditure and $250 annually for the duration of the war.
Once the name had been accepted, citizens of Windsor pointed out that it would be a happy event if the ship could be commissioned in their city. The distillery firm of Hiram Walker and Sons, Ltd. had docking facilities in Walkerville and arrangements could be made with them if the department agreed to use them for the ceremony. Attached to the docks were lawns which were quite spacious and lovely, with a balcony which would lend itself nicely for the occasion.
As a precedent, it was maintained that the Bangor-class minesweeper, , which had been built by the Dufferin Shipbuilding Co of Toronto, had been commissioned at Westmount, Quebec. It was pointed out to these enthusiastic citizens, however, that Westmount had been commissioned in Toronto and had later paid a visit to Westmount. It was further pointed out that she could not have been sailed by the navy if she had not been commissioned first. For the same reason, Border Cities would have to be commissioned in Port Arthur. Presumably, though, the ship could visit Windsor for a similar dedication ceremony while passing through the lakes.NS 1057-1-21
So the ship was commissioned on 18 May 1944 at Port Arthur. Before this date she had carried out full power, endurance, steering, anchor and going astern trials.
All these had proved to be satisfactory.Director Naval Plans and Operations (DNPO) Cards.
Battle of the Atlantic – 1944 Two days following the commissioning, the ship left Port Arthur, steaming through Lakes Superior and Huron to Sarnia, where she arrived on the 22nd. Held up by fog, she did not leave this port until 0600, the 23rd. She then went on to Windsor where she found all preparations made to receive her. At the Hiram Walker dock in Walkerville, a presentation of gifts was made to her. These gifts had been stored in a warehouse on the dock and among them were such articles as a washing machine, electric irons, radios, phonographs, musical instruments, ash trays, games, toilet articles, kitchen utensils, writing materials and magazines. That she might be seen and inspected by the citizenry, the ship, following the presentation, proceeded to the Government Dock in Windsor. In the evening, officers and men were feted at the Prince Edward Hotel. The following day, the ship was open to the public and she departed in the early evening.NS 8000-374/1. – NS 4052-374/1.
Steaming on her way, she passed through Lake Erie into Lake Ontario to Toronto, which she reached on the 20th. Off the Queen City she carried out gun and depth charge trials. They were satisfactory although one of her depth charges failed to explode. The failure was promptly reported to authorities.
When she left Toronto on the 30th, trials were carried out with the hedgehog, the bomb-throwing mortar which was used as an extra anti-submarine battery along with the depth charge throwers.
Montreal was raised on 1 June 1944 and the ship remained in the port until the 6th when she went to Quebec City to embark ammunition and carry out further trials. From Quebec on the 14th, she proceeded down river to the Gulf. The Straits of Canso between Cape Breton and the mainland of Nova Scotia were negotiated, the town of Mulgrave being passed on the 16th. The day following this, the ship reached Halifax, her operational base, where she prepared herself to take her part in the great international struggle to maintain the country's freedom. The day following arrival, she commenced a refit. One of the chief undertakings included in it was the fitting in her of H/F D/F equipment.The H/F D/F or High-Frequency Direction-Finding equipment. It was pronounced "Huff-Duff" and could pick up from land or ship the radio transmissions of U-boats at sea. "Radar furnished the convoys with a cat's eye, sonar with its ears, while the high-frequency direction finders…acted as a highly sensitive and elongated cat's whiskers." A generator, being defective, also required attention.
Border Cities passed the month of July 1944 in Bermudan waters, engaged in working-up exercises. She left Halifax on the 8th and did not return until 3 August. Two days before her return, she had been allocated to the Western Escort Force for duty with the escort group, W-2.There were 7 "W" groups in October 1944. In December of the same year, the number was increased to 8 and, on 27 April 1945, to 9. (NHS 8440-130).
The Western Escort Force was based in Halifax and was employed in escorting eastbound convoys as far as WESTOMP, the western ocean meeting-point. This was on or about Longitude 52° West, thus east of Cape Race, Newfoundland. Here, the escorts of the Force were relieved by ships of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force. Turning around, they picked up a westbound convoy and returned with it to Halifax or New York.NHS 8440-130. See also pertinent notes in Samuel E Morison: Op. Cit.
On 12 August 1944, Border Cities steamed to St. Margaret's Bay, near Halifax, to be taken in hand for H/F D/F calibration. On the 19th, she left Halifax and, after some exercising with other ships, proceeded to New York where she, in company with her group, picked up her first convoy, HXF-305.An HX convoy ran from New York to the United Kingdom. Earlier, its starting point had been Halifax, which accounts for the "H" in its designation. The "F" qualifies it as a fast, while an "S" indicates that it was a slow convoy. An extra "H" before the designation refers to the Halifax section of the main HX convoy. It was accompanied to HOMP, a position fixed according to the individual convoy, where Western Escort groups from the south were relieved by others from the north or vice versa. On this occasion, W-2 was relieved by W-3 and then returned to Halifax.
HXF-305 was later turned over to the mid-ocean group, C-5, . On 8 September, it was attacked by U-boats, which sank, with heavy loss of life, a large British tanker, SS Empire Heritage, and, a half hour later, a rescue ship, HMS Pinto, who had been engaged in picking up survivors.NHS 8280: HXF-305; RCN-RCAF Monthly Operational Review for September 1944, p 7; Convoy Books (NHS).
Border Cities had joined W-2 as Senior Officer of the group. When, on 2 September 1944, she left Halifax with Convoy HHXS-306, she had as fellow members, the corvettes, , , and . The mid-ocean escort C-1, sailed out from St. John's and emerged on the 12th, to meet ONS 251.The ON convoys reversed the direction taken by the HX convoys, making the passage from the British Isles to North America. As with the HX convoys, the added "F" and "S" refer to fast and slow convoys. Orillia detached with ships for Halifax and the rest went on to New York.
One of Orillias charges was a rescue ship laden with survivors. The convoy had been shepherded across the ocean by Escort Group, C-4. Soon after nightfall on the 2nd, about 90 miles north-west of Londonderry, what appeared to be a lone U-boat sank the Norwegian steamship Fjordheim. Thirty-five of the crew of thirty-eight were picked up, thirty-three by and the other two by a merchant ship, Empire Mallory. They were later transferred to a rescue ship, SS Fastnet, and so taken to Halifax.NHS 8440: C-4. vol 2; RCN-RCAF Monthly Operational Review for September 1944, p 21
After leaving ONS 251 at New York, W-2 turned around and went northward with HXF 310. Relieved by W-3, the ships entered Halifax on the 25th. Another convoy escorted during September 1944 was HHX 311. Convoys ON 256, HX 315 and HHX 316 received the close support of the Group during October.
Border Cities and her group escorted ON 261 and HX 320 during the first part of November 1944. From the 22nd to 26th, the ship was in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, having defects attended to. Sailing independently, she rejoined the others, assuming as before the duties of Senior Officer. They were escorting ONS 36 at the time.