HMCS Quinte (MCB 149)

HMCS Quinte was a that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Cold War. Entering service in 1954, the minesweeper was the second ship to bear the name. The ship was taken out of service in 1964 and declared surplus in 1965.

Design and description

The Bay class were designed and ordered as replacements for the Second World War-era minesweepers that the Royal Canadian Navy operated at the time. Similar to the, they were constructed of wood planking and aluminum framing.
Displacing standard at at deep load, the minesweepers were long with a beam of and a draught of. They had a complement of 38 officers and ratings.
The Bay-class minesweepers were powered by two GM 12-cylinder diesel engines driving two shafts creating. This gave the ships a maximum speed of and a range of at. The ships were armed with one 40 mm Bofors gun and were equipped with minesweeping gear.

Operational history

The ship's keel was laid down on 14 June 1952 by Port Arthur Shipbuilding at their yard in Port Arthur, Ontario. Named for a bay in Ontario, Quinte was launched on 8 August 1953. The ship was commissioned on 15 October 1954.
The First Canadian Minesweeping Squadron, of which Quinte was assigned, sailed to the Caribbean Sea in April 1955 for a training cruise, making several port visits. Quinte and three other ships of the Bay class comprised the First Minesweeping Squadron in 1960. In October 1960, Quinte was among the minesweepers that took part in the NATO naval exercise Sweep Clear V off Shelburne, Nova Scotia. The vessel remained in service until paid off on 26 February 1964. The minesweeper was declared surplus in 1965.