HMCS Husky was an armed yacht originally constructed as the luxury vessel Wild Duck in 1930 by the Defore Boat Company in Bay City, Michigan. Measuring 153 feet (46.6 meters) in length with a beam of 25 feet (7.6 meters) and a draught of 10 feet (3.0 meters), the yacht had a gross register tonnage of approximately 245.36 tons. The vessel's maximum speed was 10 knots (19 km/h), powered by two 450-horsepower diesel engines installed later during its commercial service. The yacht's initial construction cost was $210,934.31, and it was designed for private use with a luxurious interior, changing owners several times in the 1930s under the names Wild Duck and Xania II. During World War II, the Royal Canadian Navy requisitioned the vessel in 1940 from its owner George Herrick Duggan for $1, as part of Canada's effort to bolster its coastal defenses. After acquisition, it was renamed HMCS Husky and converted into an armed patrol vessel, equipped with a QF 4-inch gun, a machine gun, sonar, twenty depth charges, and two depth charge throwers. The conversion involved removing much of the yacht’s luxury fittings to accommodate military hardware. Commissioned at Halifax on 23 July 1940, Husky was tasked with patrol and escort duties along the Atlantic coast, including antisubmarine operations off Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia. Husky played a vital role in convoy escort and patrols, notably escorting SC convoys from Sydney and, in early 1941, operating in the Caribbean Sea where it intercepted neutral tankers overrun by Nazi Germany, later reflagging them with British insignia. After returning to Canada, the vessel served as an examination vessel and port defense ship at Saint John, New Brunswick, and Halifax. From March 1943 until the end of the war, Husky was primarily employed as a training ship in the Bay of Fundy, attached to HMCS Cornwallis. The vessel was decommissioned and paid off in August 1945. Post-war, the ship was sold into commercial service, renamed Wild Duck, and later Good Neighbor, serving as an inspection vessel in New Orleans. It underwent significant modifications, including the installation of new diesel engines and re-painting, and hosted notable visitors such as Charles de Gaulle and royalty from Greece. Throughout its subsequent commercial career, the vessel served as a cruise yacht, a diving tender in Honduras under the name Aquarius No. 2, and ultimately as a floating restaurant in New Orleans, marking its long maritime and historical significance from luxury yacht to wartime patrol vessel and commercial asset.

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