HMCS Red Deer was a Bangor-class minesweeper serving in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. Built to a British design, the vessel measured 180 feet (54.9 meters) in overall length, with a beam of 28 feet 6 inches (8.7 meters) and a draught of 9 feet 9 inches (3.0 meters). It displaced approximately 672 long tons (683 tons). The minesweeper was powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving a single shaft, fueled by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. These engines produced 2,400 indicated horsepower, allowing the vessel to reach a maximum speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h). Red Deer could carry up to 150 long tons (152 tons) of fuel oil, enabling operational endurance. The armament of HMCS Red Deer typically included a single 12-pounder (76 mm) QF 12 cwt HA gun or a 3-inch (76 mm) gun mounted forward, along with a QF 2-pounder Mark VIII aft. The ship was also fitted with single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns on the bridge wings and was equipped with LL and SA minesweeping gear designed to counter magnetic and acoustic mines. For convoy duty, Red Deer was armed with two depth charge launchers and four chutes capable of deploying 40 depth charges. Constructed by Canadian Vickers Ltd. in Montreal, the keel was laid on 10 January 1941, and the ship was launched on 5 October 1941. She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 24 November 1941, with the pennant number J255. Red Deer primarily served as a convoy escort, operating with the Western Local Escort Force, Sydney Force, Halifax Local Defence Force, and the Gulf Escort Force, notably participating in the Battle of the St. Lawrence. A notable event occurred on 12 January 1942 when she rescued 95 survivors from the torpedoed British merchant ship SS Cyclops. In 1944, Red Deer was assigned to the Newfoundland Force and underwent a refit at Liverpool, completing it in July of that year. After working up in Bermuda, she returned to Newfoundland Force and remained active until the end of the war. She was decommissioned and paid off at Halifax on 30 October 1945, then laid up at Shelburne. Postwar, Red Deer was placed in strategic reserve at Sorel, Quebec. Reacquired briefly in 1952 and refitted for active service, she was assigned a new pennant number 196 but was never recommissioned. Ultimately, she was sold for scrap in 1959, ending her maritime service.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.