HMCS Somers Isles facts for kids
HMCS Somers Isles was a special place where the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) trained its ships during the Second World War. It was located in Bermuda and was used from 1944 to 1945. After the war ended, this training base was closed down.
Before 1944, Canadian ships trained in places like St. Margaret's Bay and Pictou, Nova Scotia. But these places had bad weather in winter, making training hard. Bermuda was a much better choice because ships could train there all year round.
Why a Training Base in Bermuda?
During the Second World War, the RCN needed a place to train its ships. This training, called "work-up training," helped ships get ready for battle. It was important that this training area was far from busy war zones.
Usually, this training happened near the RCN's main base in Halifax, Nova Scotia. But the RCN wanted to make their training better, especially for finding submarines using a special sonar system called asdic. So, they decided to move their training to Bermuda. Bermuda was a British colony, and the RCN had worked there before. Since 1939, they had helped the Royal Navy set up a program to fight submarines at Casemates Barracks.
Where Was the Base Located?
The training base was set up at a place called Convict Bay in St. George's Parish. This area was first built for the Royal Navy. It got its name from the old prison ships, called prison hulks, that were kept there. These ships held prisoners who were forced to work.
Later, the Royal Navy moved its main dockyard and offices to other parts of Bermuda. In the 1860s, Convict Bay was given to the army. It became part of the nearby army base, St. George's Garrison. In 1944, the local army unit, the Bermuda Militia Artillery, moved out so the Canadian Navy could use the base.
This base also helped in 1940 to change 50 old United States Navy destroyers. These ships were given to the British and Canadian navies through a program called Lend-Lease.
How the Base Was Used
In January 1943, the RCN started looking for a new place to train its warships. The existing training spots in St. Margaret's Bay and Pictou, Nova Scotia often had bad winter weather. This made it very difficult to train properly. Bermuda was suggested as a good location.
Planning for the Bermuda base began in January 1944. An agreement was made with the United Kingdom to lend the base to Canada. The base officially opened on August 1, 1944. It was named HMCS Somers Isles, which is another name for Bermuda.
This new base allowed Canadian ships to practice fighting submarines before they went into service. This was very important because Canadian warships often didn't get much anti-submarine training once they were already active in the war. By May 1945, 119 Canadian ships had trained at the facility.
Towards the end of the war, the base helped prepare larger ships called frigates. These frigates were getting ready to serve in the Pacific Ocean. The RCN closed HMCS Somers Isles when the war ended. It was one of eleven bases that were shut down by March 1946. Before closing, the RCN thought about keeping four small boats, called motor launches, at Somers Isles for target practice. But this idea was dropped when the base closed, and the motor launches were no longer needed.
