Navarin-class minesweeper
The Navarin class was a class of 12 minesweepers built by Canadian Car and Foundry for the French Navy in 1918, near the end of World War I. The class is mainly remembered for the disappearance of two of its members, Inkerman and Cerisoles, during their maiden voyage on Lake Superior in November 1918.
Description
The ships were designed to clear naval mines along the coast of France and in the English Channel. French naval documents refer to the ships as chalutiers rather than dragueurs de mines, as the ships were designed to function as fishing trawlers after the war.A contract for $2.5 million awarded to Canadian Car and Foundry to construct 12 minesweepers for the French government was reported in February 1918. Built in what was then known as Fort William, Ontario, half of the order was completed by early November 1918, and the entire order was finished before the end of the year.
Each vessel was long and rated at 321 gross register tonnage. Their steel-framed wooden hulls were divided into four water-tight compartments. Each ship was fitted with twin screws and a single funnel, and had a top speed of about. Two deck-mounted guns, with a range of about, were located forward and aft.
In November 1918, three of the minesweepers—Inkerman, Cerisoles, and Sebastopol—encountered severe weather while attempting to cross Lake Superior; Sebastopol reached its destination, but the other two ships and their crews were lost; no wreckage of the ships has been located.