HMCS Baddeck (K147)

HMCS Baddeck was a that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served in several theatres of operations during the war. After the war the ship was retired but the ship's name, pennant number and badge continue to be used by the K147 Baddeck Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Corps.

Background
Flower-class corvettes like Baddeck serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different to earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes. The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877. During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design. The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.

Corvettes commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were named after communities for the most part, to better represent the people who took part in building them. This idea was put forth by Admiral Percy W. Nelles. Sponsors were commonly associated with the community for which the ship was named. Royal Navy corvettes were designed as open sea escorts, while Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles which was exemplified by their minesweeping gear. Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified to allow them to perform better on the open seas.

Construction
Named for the village of Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Baddeck was ordered on 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down on 14 August 1940 by Davie Shipbuilding and Repairing Co. Ltd. in Lauzon, Quebec and launched on 20 November 1940. Baddeck was commissioned at Quebec City on 18 May 1941. She had many issues with her engines, being sent or held in port several times on issues dealing with them. Baddeck had major repairs done over the first half of 1942 to fix her engines, after suffering engine failure for the third time in late 1941.

Wartime career
After commissioning Baddeck' at Halifax on 29 May 1941. In June 1941 the ship attempted to escort the SS Lady Rodney from Quebec City to Halifax, but was forced to return to her builders following an engine breakdown. In September 1941 she escorted the SS Lady Rodney from Halifax to Jamaica despite again experiencing engine failure. After her repairs were completed she joined Newfoundland as an ocean escort. In August 1943 the ship underwent a major retrofit at Liverpool, Nova Scotia where her fo'c'sle was extended.

On 5 October 1941 the ship escorted convoy SC 48 from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Iceland. Nine ships were lost to German U-boat attacks near Greenland. On 17 October 1941 HMCS Baddeck rescued two survivors of the Norwegian merchant ship Barfonn after she had been sunk by German submarine U-432. Again in late 1941 her engines had issues and she was kept at Hvalfjord, Iceland to repair until mid-December. After her work up in June 1942 she served with the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) until November. In November 1942 the ship arrived in Londonderry and escorted Mediterranean-bound convoys from the UK for four months. In April 1943 she was assigned to escort group C-4 for two round trips across the Atlantic before transferring back to WLEF in mid-July as part of escort group W-2. She stayed with WLEF until March 1944.

In March 1944 Baddeck was part of the Royal Navy escort group EG-9 based out of Londonderry. In April 1944 the ship was based in Portsmouth as part of Western Approaches Command and tasked with invasion escort duties and was involved in the D-Day landings as part of Operation Neptune. While acting as an invasion escort on 13 June 1944 the ship beat off an attack by motor torpedo boats.

In September 1944 she was assigned to Nore Command based at Sheerness. On 24 May 1945 Baddeck was sent home as her final duty during the war.

Post-war career
Paid off 4 July 1945 at Sorel, Quebec, Baddeck was sold into civilian service, becoming the mercantile Efthania in 1947. She was renamed Yusuf Z. Alireza in 1948. In 1955 she was renamed Evi and sailed under the Greek flag. She ran aground and was wrecked near Jeddah in 1966. The ship's builder's plate is on display at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 53 Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command in Baddeck, Nova Scotia.

Badge
The ship's badge features five aces, representing a "bad deck" of cards, a play on words representing the ship's namesake village of Baddeck. The badge is used by the K147 Baddeck Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Corps.