GENERALFrom the book "Ships of Canada's Naval Forces" :
"In 1919 a hydrofoil craft developed by Alexander Graham Bell and F. W. Baldwin attained the unheard of speed of 60 knots in trials on Cape Breton's Bras d'Or Lake. It was pow-ered by two aircraft engines and air propellers. The potential of such a craft as an A/S vessel was finally considered in the early 1950s, when a small test vessel was built in Britain to Naval Research Establishment specifications. It arrived at Halifax aboard HMCS Bonaventure in 1957, and its performance led to the awarding of a contract to DeHavilland Aircraft of Canada in 1963. HMCS Bras d'Or, named for the scene of the first tests and designated a fast hydro-foil escort (FHE), was commissioned in 1968. When "hull-borne" at low speeds, the craft is driven by a 2,400 BHP diesel engine, but at about 23 knots the foils lift the hull clear of the water, and propulsion is taken over by a 30,000 SHP gas turbine engine powering twin screws. Trial speeds as great as 63 knots were attained. Despite the evident success of the prototype FHE, she was laid up in 1971 and, in 1982, presented to the Bernier Maritime Museum at L'Islet-sur-Mer, Quebec , on the St. Lawrence River below Quebec City'"
Type: Experimental hydrofoil
Builder: Marine Industries Limited (MIL) of Sorel Quebec. Commissioned: 19 July,1968 Paid off: 1/May, 1972 due to project cancellation Displacement: 180 tons.in testing stage. 250 toms if fully loaded. Radio call sign: CZCK Hull-borne speed: 12 knots maximim Foil-borne speed: 60 knots maximum. Gas turbine type: Pratt and Whitney FT4-A2 Gas Turbine output:: 25,000 SHP continuous.. 30,000 SHP intermittent Diesel engine: 2,000 BHP; Paxman Ventura; `16 cylinder Dimensions: Length: 151 ft; Beam: 21 ft; Draught: 23 ft. Crew compliment: 4 Officers and 24 Crew. - a Captain, Executive Officer, Deck Officer (or Watchkeeper) and an Engineer. |
Extracts from the book "The Flying 400" by Thomas Lynch provide an overview into the ships electronics and systems.COMMUNICATIONS
Although a comprehensive sensor fit was planned and built for FHE-400, only the Phase I fit was ever implemented. This included a communications fit, intercom, radar, gyro-compass, Decca navigator and echo sounder. For communications, there were two single-sideband (SSB) , high-frequency transceivers and one ultra-high frequency transceiver fitted aboard the ship . Destroyer-type whip antennae were found to be too short for the lower frequencies of the HF set, thus stressing the antenna-matching components to their maximum limits. The HF antennae were eventually replaced in April, 1971 after corrosion made the old ones nearly useless. The Fleet communication fit of radioteletype and second UHF set was not made. These sets were supplied by Collins Radio on February 15, 1966 at a cost of $17,946.
Pat Barnhouse adds this about communications:
"I can confirm that the whip antennas were 25 foott fibreglass. I do not remember if they were built by Andrews or Valcom.but there was difficulty when tuning in the lower HF range.
My instinct is that it was Andrews. I remember the first version of the whip being wind and ice-load tested at NETE. That version was very limp. Subsequent design changes made it more sturdy. The 25 foot length was rather short for the lower frequencies of the HF and in the hydrofoil, the difficulty of tuning to low frequencies was compounded by the whips being secured to the inner cowling of the gas turbine housing. This resulted in a lack of ground plane and made the antennas half wavelength rather than one quarter wavelength. My suggestion of a grounding strap from the base of the antennas to the outside cowling was rejected by deHavilland as not suitable for “their” ship"RADAR
The selection of appropriate radar began in 1963, with searches conducted in the UK and the USA. However, nothing suitable for the ship was found in these countries. Weight was a prime factor, as well as performance, resistance to shock failure, robustness of the scanner head, versatility and availability of parts. It was finally decided in 1965 that the best of the two finalists was the type 8GR300-03A (or is it 8GR300-4?) X-band surveillance radar originally made by NV Hollandse Signaalapparaten of Holland. The company was swallowed up by several mergers (Phillips being one of them) and is now called Thales Nederland. Without modification, the 8GR-300 was purchased by Canadian Westinghouse for $82,000 from Philips Sweden.
Modifications were made by Canadian General Electric to allow integration with the AIS (Action Information System) including the provision for repeaters on the bridge and the AIS, but the latter was never fitted. The radar performed admirably, with only minor clutter observed on the screen during rough weather. One major glitch occurred in 1970 with the near loss of the scanner head when the mounting bolts were sheared off.
NAVIGATION
A Decca Navigator system (Mk 8) with a Mk 23 gyro repeater was fitted aboard the hydrofoil thus providing satisfactory fixes until late in 1970 when errors of one mile threw serious doubts regarding the reliability of its bearings. Ultimately the problem was traced to electrical interference.
The T1 echo sounder (or was it the model 9006?) produced fair results , however, returning echoes were masked by “acoustic wash” any time the ship was travelling at speeds of higher than 4 knots. That made it only suitable for spot checks.
A Pelorus , fitted on the bridge, made visual navigation easy during daylight hours. It could be swung out of the way against the bridge's deckhead, just abaft of the windows. However, navigation was limited by the bridge structure supports and when foil-borne, FT4 turbine stack effluent masked the whole stern horizon. It made astral fixes nearly impossible. Hence, navigation was largely done by Decca and the radar set.
Night navigation was limited by the bridge structure supports towards the stern and when foil-borne, FT4 stack effluent masked the whole stern horizon and made astral fixes next to impossible. Hence, navigation was largely done by Decca and the radar set. There were no provisions made for lookouts, which showed that a seaman or serving officer hadn't been consulted in the design phase!
FIGHTING EQUIPMENT
This project was broken down into two phases. Phase I of the Fighting Equipment called for the installation of the radar, navigation equipment and intercom, all of which were provided in late 1966. Phase Ii called for the installation of the Action Information Centre, software, integration of the AN/SQS-507 sonar and Phillips radar into this system. It would also integrate ASW torpedo ballistics computation and arming, etc
Phase I saw numerous uses throughout the trials of 1968-71, but the Phase II equipment never made it past the Maritime Warfare School. The completed AIS system was installed at the Maritime Warfare School by Cameron Windows Ltd., under a contract dated April 30 1968 for $3,843.27 Additionally, the AIS Hughes display equipment was purchased from the USN at a cost of $594,700 under a contract dated July 3, 1968.
Sonar: with an established need for a lightweight variable depth sonar, it was only natural to turn to Canadian Westinghouse for assistance in design, since they had been instrumental in the nearly-finished design and construction of the AN/SQS-504 and 505 VDS sonar arrays for conventional frigates and destroyers.
Torpedo tubes: Originally four groups of three Mk.32 lightweight torpedo tubes were to be installed. This was later changed to two fits of triple tubes with Mk.46 torpedoes, angled at 90° to the ship's centreline and angled downward. A limiting sensor was developed to inhibit firing a torpedo when ship roll made the torpedo entry angle too oblique. This system although complete, was not fitted. Overall this was an entirely separate program from the actual construction of Bras D’or.
What was intended but not fitted:
* Shipborne AIS (Action Information System)
* AN/SQS-507 VDS with a unique energy storage system
* VDS handling gear – it was a separate contract with Fleet Manufacturing in Fort Erie, Ontario
* Two, triple barrel MK NC-32 Torpedo mounts and associated Weapons Control Panel
* Mk 44 torpedoes (likely).
* Hughes Display Equipment AN/UYA-4. The AN/UYA-4 is a series of system consoles developed by Hughes Aircraft Company for the United States Navy.
* IBM 1311 Ffile storage for 2 million characters. Circa 1962. (Photo by Informatica)
* Various computer interfaces, sonar azimuth converter and ancillaries
* ATS (Program Generation Centre (Ashore) – linked (when needed) to shipborne AIS through an umbilical cord for loading and updating software
* IBM 360/30 Computer System 8 to 64 Kbytes of core memory. Circa 1964
*`Simulation equipment
* Computer-computer interfaceWestinghouse was the contractor for the Fighting Equipment (FE), but for some reason the Marsland interior communication system was on a separate sub contract with DeHavilland Canada.
MISCELLANEOUS
The equipment featured in the table below is on display at the Bernier Maritime Museum, inside Bras D'or. It is not known if this equipment is original to the ship or not If you can confirm model numbers and actual usage, please contact: jerry.proc@sympatico.ca
This article by Thomas Lynch, appeared in Warship International No.2, 1982, It does an excellent job of describing the engineering aspects of the Bras D'or. More Bras D'or photos can be found here. FATE
The fate of Bras D’or is well summarized in the book “The Flying 400”.
"With the Bras D'or project cancellation and the Naval and DeHavilland personnel reeling in shock, National Defence Headquarters rapidly made plans to decommission the ship. Cdr. Ian Sturgess was given orders to begin posting some of the crew ashore for retraining and deployment to other ships in the fleet.
Remaining crew members would be utilized in preparing the ship for its five year 'hibernation'. Starting just after the New Year, 1972, the pace of preparation accelerated. The turbine engine was drained of oil and inhibited against corrosion and weathering. The fuel tanks were drained and steamed clean of sludge; the hydraulic systems were drained and sealed. Electrical circuits were coated and slowly the electronics were sealed against dust with plastic wrap and duct tape. There were a thousand and one small things that had to be done by the skeleton crew.
By May 1, the major inhibiting efforts were complete. In a final ceremony the ship was officially decommissioned. A small group of officers and men trooped aboard the hydrofoil which was perched atop her transport barge. Facing toward the mast, they watched as the Canadian flag and the small commissioning pennant were slowly lowered for the last time. After the decommissioning, the preservation procedures continued.
After the ship had been thoroughly mothballed, she was vacuumed to remove as much dust as possible from the hull. Next, Shell VPI-260 was brought aboard. This was a vapor phase corrosion inhibitor. VPI 260 forms a thin protective layer on the surface of the metal which minimizes the transmission of moisture and oxygen. The hatches were then sealed and tamper-proof seals applied to the dogs to prevent entry. The bow foil was enclosed in a climate-controlled enclosure of plywood . The anhedral foil tips were removed and crated, as were the propellers. Then, the entire main foil structure and the FT4 housing were enclosed in a climate-controlled shelter and the ship, on its barge, was moved to Jetty Nine, the farthermost corner of the Halifax Dockyard, to await her final outcome. She sat, neglected, in this state with her only visitors being CFAV watch-keepers until 1976. By this time it was known by all that the ship would never be re-activated and the ship was unsealed.
Slowly, items that were declared to be surplus disappeared from the ship and handed over to Crown Assets for disposal. Over 1,500 spare parts were inventoried and declared surplus and sold for scrap value. The super-cavitating propellers which had cost nearly $750,000 to design, build and use were sold as scrap.
Bunks, microwave ovens, freezers, radios, and electronic gear had been stripped and sold by this time. The Paxman diesel had been removed years before in 1971. Neglect was everywhere. Shortly thereafter, Bras d'Or was moved to Jetty Six, the old Naval Armament Depot Wharf in Dartmouth. Here the dismantling began in earnest in 1981-82. The turbine was spirited away to DRB facilities in Quebec. By April, 1983, the destruction of the ship's interior was in its last stages, with the engine room a mass of tangled stainless steel piping, slippery with red hydraulic oil, making the ship appear to have bled to death. It had been stated that Bras d'Or had been offered to various museums over the years, however the estimated cost of $1 million to set up the ship as a practical exhibit had scared off any potential takers. Eventually the ship was presented to the Bernier Maritime Museum at L'Islet-sur-Mer, Quebec , on the St. Lawrence River just below Quebec City'"
Credits and References:1) Pat Barnhouse was the Assistant Project Manager for the Fighting Equipment (FE) .on the Bras D'or.
2) APX-25 IFF https://www.vintageavionics.nl/index_bestanden/APX25.htm
3) International Hydrographic Bureau 9006 sounder image
4) 600T mentioned in ad for Lufthansa .https://www.ebay.ca/itm/352178776782+
5) 360 photo from Computers In Business by Donald Sanders. 1968. McGraw Hill
6) Knots, Volts and Decibels by John Longard, Defence Research Establishment Halifax1993
7) Jacques Hamel - Founding President of the former Musée Québécois de la radio. Web: http://www.va2mqr.ca
8) Muirhead D649 info: http://www.r-type.org/addtext/add121.htm
9) Extracts from https://www.cntha.ca/static/documents/design/jrw-6.pdf
10) Deck plan was an extract from the Youtube video "The World's Fastest Warship And The Pinnacle Of Hydrofoil Development In Canada'.
11) Canadian Warships Since 1956. Page 36. Roger G. Steed. Vanwell Publishing 1999
12) Warship Internationsl No,2, 1982
13) Radio and radar exrracts from the book "The Flying 400: Canada's Hydrofoil Project" by Thomas G. LynchDec 6/34 Back to Table of Contents