HMCS Amherst

HMCS Amherst
History
Canada
Name	Amherst
Namesake	Amherst, Nova Scotia
Ordered	24 January 1940
Builder	Saint John Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Saint John
Laid down	23 May 1940
Launched	4 December 1940
Commissioned	5 August 1941
Out of service	paid off 16 July 1945
Identification	Pennant number: K148
Honours and awards	Atlantic 1941–45, Gulf of St. Lawrence 1944
Fate	Sold to Venezuelan navy
Venezuela
Name	Carabobo
Acquired	1945
Out of service	1945
Fate	Wrecked Gulf of St. Lawrence 1945
General characteristics
Class and type	Flower-class corvette (original)
Displacement	950 long tons (970 t)
Length	205 ft 1 in (62.51 m) o/a
Beam	33 ft 1 in (10.08 m)
Draught	13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Propulsion	single shaft 2 × Scotch boilers 1 × 4-cylinder triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range	3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	47
Sensors and processing systems	1 × SW1C or 2C radar 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament	1 × BL 4 in (102 mm) Mk.IX single gun 2 × .50 cal machine gun (twin) 2 × Lewis .303 cal machine gun (twin) 2 × Mk.II depth charge throwers 2 × depth charge rails with 40 depth charges originally fitted with minesweeping gear, later removed

HMCS Amherst was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic on convoy protection duty during the Second World War. She was named for Amherst, Nova Scotia. The ship was laid down at Saint John Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in Saint John, New Brunswick, on 23 May 1940 and launched on 3 December later that year. Amherst was commissioned on 5 August 1941 and served in the Battle of the Atlantic and Battle of the St. Lawrence, earning battle honours for both actions. After the war, the ship was decommissioned and sold to Venezuelan Navy in 1945 and renamed Carabobo. However, while en route to Venezuela, the ship was wrecked in the Gulf of St. Lawrence that same year.