HMCS BUCTOUCHE K179

 

Flower Class Corvette

 

 

HMCS BUCTOUCHE K179

 

Laid down: 14 Aug 1940

Launched: 20 Nov 1940

Commissioned: 05 Jun 1941

Paid off: 15 Jun 1945

Fate: Broken up in 1949

 

Commissioned at Quebec City on 05 Jun 1941, BUCTOUCHE arrived at Halifax on 12 Jun 1941. After working up, she joined Newfoundland Force at St. John's on 29 Jul 1941. On 26 Aug 1941 she left St. John's for Iceland with convoy SC.41, and thereafter escorted convoys to and from Iceland until Jan 1942, when Londonderry became the eastern terminus. In Jun 1942, she was transferred to WLEF, with which she was to remain until the end of the war except for two months in the summer of 1944, when she was attached to Quebec Force. 

 

On 7 July 1942, BUCTOUCHE under Skr. Lt. G.N. Downey, RCNR, rescued 15 survivors from the Norwegian merchant ship Moldanger that was torpedoed and sunk by U-404 on 27 June at 30-03N, 70-52W. 

 

On 21 Nov 1942, BUCTOUCHE attacked U-518 with depth charges following the U-boat's attack on Convoy ON-145, 200 miles SE of Sydney, NS. U-518 was severely damaged, unable to close #3 torpedo tube, flooding torpedo room & forcing U-boat to return to base.

 

After the formation of escort groups by WLEF in Jun 1943, BUCTOUCHE served principally with EG W-1. In Oct 1943, she commenced a fourth-month refit at Saint John, completing on 29 Jan 1944, in the process acquiring an extended fo'c's'le. 

 

On 28 Jun 1944, BUCTOUCHE was damaged in a grounding incident at Hamilton Inlet, Labrador but made Pictou on her own for two months' repairs. She was paid off at Sorel on 15 Jun 1945, and broken up at Hamilton, Ont., in 1949.

 

Photos and Documents          Ship's company photos

 

 

Commanding Officers

 

Lt William Watt Hackney, RCNR - 05 Jun 1941 - 28 Mar 1942

Lt William Alexander Dobie, RCNR - 29 Mar 1942 - 06 May 1942

Skpr/Lt George Norval Downey, RCNR - 07 May 1942 - 28 Apr 1944

Skpr/Lt Henry Esson Young, RCNR - 29 Apr 1944 - 04 Dec 1944 

Skpr/Lt E.S.N. Pleasance, RCNR - 05 Dec 1944 - 01 Jan 1945

Skpr/Lt Henry Esson Young, RCNR - 02 Jan 1945 - 15 Jun 1945  

  

 

     In memory of those who have crossed the bar    

They shall not be forgotten

 

 

 

Former Crew Members

 

Annear, Ernest Arthur, SLt, RCNVR - 25 Apr 1944

 

Baines, Gordon William, SLt, RCNVR - 14 May 1945

 

Barbour, Wilfred Orvin Oakley, Mate, RCNR - 04 Jun 1941 (Stand by) / 05 Jun 1941

 

Barlow, James Edward, Lt, RCNVR - 06 Mar 1944

 

Blyea, Peter Macmillan, SLt, RCNVR - 08 Apr 1942

 

Cooper, Harold William LeHeur, Lt, RCNVR - Jan 1944

 

Dobie, William Alexander, Lt, RCNR - 05 Jun 1941

 

Doe, Learmont Anstice Earlston, SLt, RCNVR - Jan 1943

 

Field, Edward William

Fry, Herbert I., Lt, RCNVR - 07 Mar 1944

 

Gardiner, William Douglas Haig, SLt, RCNVR - 05 Jun 1941

 

Grenier, John Robert, A/Lt, RCNVR - 06 Feb 1945

 

Hackney, William Watt, Lt, RCNR - 10 Apr 1941 (Stand by) CO / 05 Jun 1941

 

Hurlburt, Richard Heman, Lt, RCNVR - 29 Apr 1944

 

Macdonald, Hugh

 

MacKeracher, Donald, SLt, RCNVR - 20 Feb 1943

 

Malkin, Robert Eldridge, Lt, RCNVR - 15 Feb 1943

Mann, Donald Edward, SLt, RCNVR - 08 Feb 1945

 

McDonald, Kenneth Reginald, A/Wt (E), RCNVR - 03 Apr 1944

 

Paul, Herbert Stanley, SLt, RCNVR - 09 Jun 1944

 

Potts, Charles Ower, Lt, RCNVR - 01 May 1941 (Stand by) / 05 Jun 1941

 

Poole, William Robert, Lt, RCNVR  - 24 Feb 1942

 

Stewart, David Howden McFarlane, Lt, RCNVR - 09 Apr 1945

 

Warren, Donald Cameron, SLt, RCNVR - 25 Feb 1942

 

Williams, Owen Stephen, SLt, RCNVR - Jan 1944

 

 

Photos and Documents

 

3 crew members of HMCS BUCTOUCHE

Hamilton Inslet Labrador June 1944

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Crew members of HMCS BUCTOUCHE

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Frank Millar Connolly on the stern of HMCS BUCTOUCHE

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Frank Millar Connolly on the stern of HMCS BUCTOUCHE

(cropped version of photo immediately above)

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Frank Millar Connolly in the crow's nest of HMCS BUCTOUCHE

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Frank Millar Connolly in the crow's nest of HMCS BUCTOUCHE

(cropped version of photo immediately above)

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Frank Millar Connolly on HMCS BUCTOUCHE

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Ship's captain, Henry Esson Young

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Remembering the Wavy Navy

by Dan Connolly

Remembrance Day article from the blog of Dan Connolly about his father Frank Connolly

Officers of HMCS BUCTOUCHE

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

HMCS BUCTOUCHE K179 - Port Bow

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

HMCS BUCTOUCHE K179 - Port side

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Photo of unknown ship

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

HMCS BUCTOUCHE K179 - STBD Stern

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

HMCS BUCTOUCHE K179 - Stern

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Two mess mates of Frank Connolly

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Frank Millar Connolly

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Frank Millar Connolly, him Mum, and friend Tommy

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Paint Ship Routine on HMCS BUCTOUCHE

From the collection of Frank Millar Connolly

Courtesy of Dan Connolly

Gunshield art on HMCS BUCTOUCHE K179

Source: Hazegray and Underway

HMCS BUCTOUCHE K179

From the collection of Jim Silvester

Courtesy of Jim Silvester

 

 

The photos in this series show the sinking of a merchant ship, a depth charge attack by HMCS BUCTOUCHE, and the rescuing of survivors.

 

The ship sunk and the convoy it was in is not known. The first photo shows the torpedoed merchant ship with one of the convoy escorts just ahead of it. In the following photos (all taken from HMCS BUCTOUCHE) you will see the depth charge attack and the crew re-loading the depth charges.  This is happening in daylight.  It is hard to imaging these men guarding a convoy and conducting a depth charge attack in the dark of night. The convoy moves on - it does not stop. These men were lucky and rescued by HMCS BUCTOUCHE. As long as there was a U-boat threat, it was not safe for a ship to stop and pick up survivors.

 

                 

 

                 

 

                 

 

From the collection of LS Stan Leyland, Wireless Operator, RCNVR, HMCS BUCTOUCHE

Courtesy of AB Ken George, RCN and Bill Cummins

 

 

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