The Challenges of Corvette Construction

In this earlier post, I profiled all the ships built in Kingston for the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy. What doesn't come through in such a compendium of construction is the complications and conundrums of construction, particularly in communication and written conversations between Kingston and Collingwood shipyards! Kingston, Collingwood, Port Arthur and Midland were all proud of their contributions to the war effort, as shown in the September 21, 1940 National Post advertisement (top photo).

Reading through World War II documents in the Kingston Shipyards Collection, Queen's University Archives, I could almost feel the champing-at-the-bit as the war grew perilous after the Battle of Britain, but before Canada could contribute much to the 'Old Country' (yes, that term appears in at least two letters I read!).

Some of the challenges that the Kingston Shipbuilding Co. shipyard encountered:

• not receiving proper or any plans
• questions about exactly what materials certain components were to be made from
• design changes being made 'on the fly'
• parts being sent to other shipyards in error, like the brass letters for HMCS Prescott being shipped to Midland
• ships carrying parts from the 'Old Country' being sunk by enemy action like the Sulaira which was carrying portlights, and (below) steamer Corrientes sunk by U-37 on September 28, 1940 while en route from Glasgow to Montreal
• having to add parts to corvettes destined for the sea like HMCS Collingwood, Galt and Orillia, then not getting their tools back!
• dealing with British Admiralty Technical Mission overseer of construction at the shipyard, one of whom was a Mr Potts, an electrical overseer

A sample of components and suppliers, of which there were many, from the archival documents:

• Propeller brackets from Canadian Car & Foundry, Montreal
• Brass screws for pilot house from Dofasco, Hamilton
• Fifty and 70-ton pumps from John Inglis. Co., Toronto
• Galley ranges from Geo. Prouse, Co., Montreal
• Electrical fittings from Parker Fountain Pen Co., Toronto
• Boat davits from Manitoba Bridge & Iron Works
• Flanges and fittings from Grinnell
• Plumbing fixtures from Empire Brass Mfg. Co., Toronto
• Anchor windlasses from Progressive Engineering Works, Vancouver
• Boilers from John Inglis, Toronto (see letter - below)
• Steel plates for keel, centre girders, floors from Stelco and Dofasco, both of Hamilton
• Steel shapes from Algoma Steel, Sault Ste Marie
• Wire from Phoenix Iron Co., Phoenixville, PA
• Bulb angles from Bethlehem Steel, US

Bulletproof steel from Manganese Steel Forge, Philadelphia (see telegram - below)

Ironically, the boilers for HMCS Napanee and Prescott were inadvertently sent to Collingwood in October, 1940 and the spare parts were not supplied to Kingston. This letter concerns the boilers for HMCS Sudbury:

There was a regular flow of parts and equipment between Collingwood and Kingston shipyards. At one point, about a dozen men were sent to Kingston to aid in production. This CN waybill shows a car (no reporting marks filled in) of rough brass castings, wood drawers, doors and setee [sic], chart table, teak wood, benches and a glass cabinet sent from Collingwood to Kingston dated November 26, 1941:

Another car of joiner work, CN 406664 was leaving Collingwood for Kingston on February 27, 1941 according to this telegram:

In one case, a "ship leaving tonight" (due to wartime security, ship names were not used in these communications) on December 2, 1941 required a Retel isolating valve gear from Collingwood. A telegram asks that shipyard to send the parts to Montreal, perhaps for installation when the corvette, possibly HMCS Charlottetown, reached port there:

There were several testy exchanges, no doubt fuelled by high levels of stress and activity at the shipyards. These involved mundane things like designs, supplies, drawings and filling out extensive status reports! One such exchange involved heavy slings for the lifting of boilers and engines, loaned to Kingston by Collingwood:

Despite all these communication challenges, the tiny ships produced by lakes shipyards were important additions to the Navy in the early, desperate years of the war!

A further six to eight Castle-class lengthened corvettes were planned, with delivery dates from September, 1944 to May, 1946 with up to three built per year.