HMCS Caraquet

There has been only 1 vessel named Caraquet in the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Caraquet (J38)

Named for a New Brunswick bay, the Bangor class minesweeper HMCS Caraquet was built for the Royal Navy but transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy for manning. She was commissioned April 2, 1942 at Vancouver, British Columbia.

In May 1942, she joined Esquimalt Force on the west coast and in September was transferred to Prince Rupert Force, returning to Esquimalt, British Columbia, in March 1943 with orders to proceed to the east coast. She left Esquimalt for Halifax, Nova Scotia, on March 17, arriving on May 2, 1943, and was allocated to Western Local Escort Force. In June, she was transferred to Halifax Force and in December to Newfoundland Force. During this period, she underwent a 6-week refit at Baltimore, Maryland, from mid-July 1943.

On February 19, 1944, with HMCS Cowichan, HMCS Malpeque and HMCS Vegreville, she left for Plymouth via the Azores, arriving on March 13. She was assigned to the 31st Minesweeping Flotilla for invasion duties and was present on D-Day.

HMCS Caraquet proceeded to Canada at the end of September 1944 to refit at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, returning to Plymouth in March 1945 for further mine-clearance work. Paid off on September 26, 1945 and returned to the Royal Navy at Sheerness, she was sold to the Portuguese Navy in 1946 and renamed Almirante Lacerda. She remained in service as a survey vessel until 1975.

• Builder: North Van Ship Repairs Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia
• Laid down: January 31, 1941
• Launched: June 2, 1941
• Displacement: 672 tons
• Dimensions: 54.9 m x 8.7 m x 2.5 m
• Speed: 16 knots
• Crew: 83
• Armament: one 12-pound (5.45 kg) gun, two 20-mm guns (2 x I) and depth charges.

Battle honours

• Atlantic 1943-44
• Normandy 1944