For Posterity's Sake         

A Royal Canadian Navy Historical Project

HMCS EYEBRIGHT K150

Former HMS EYEBRIGHT K150

Then HMS EYEBRIGHT K150 (1945)

Then Dutch Whale-Catcher ALBERT W. VINKE (1947)

Built for the RN, she was commissioned at Montreal on 26 Nov 1940 as HMCS Eyebright. She arrived incomplete at Halifax on 11 Dec 1940 and, after working up, left on 21 Jan 1941, with convoy HX.104 for Sunderland. There she was completed on 16 Apr 1941, and proceeded to Tobermory to work up. Transferred to the RCN on 15 May 1941 and commissioned as HMCS Eyebright K150, she was later allocated to EG 4 (RN), based at Iceland, whence she sailed on 12 Jun 1941 to join convoy OB.332 for Halifax. She joined Newfoundland Command in Jun 1941, and for the next five months was employed as escort to convoys between St. John's and Iceland. In Nov 1941 she began a refit at Charleston, S.C., resuming escort duty late in Jan 1942, and arrived at Londonderry with her first transatlantic convoy, SC.66, on 06 Feb 1942. In Jan 1943, she joined EG C-3, and in Jul 1943 commenced two months' refit at Baltimore, Md., including fo'c's'le extension. Following repairs at Pictou and workups at Bermuda in the summer of 1944, she joined EG W-3, WLEF, and saw continuous service in the western Atlantic until the end of the war, with one further round trip to Londonderry as a temporary member of EG C-5. Eyebright was returned to the RN at Belfast on 17 Jun 1945, and sold in 1947 for conversion to a whale-catcher. She entered service in 1950 as the Dutch Albert W. Vinke, last appearing in Lloyd's list for 1964-65.

(Note: Although the place & date of foc'sle extension of HMCS Eyebright (K150) is listed as 21 Aug 43, at Baltimore, MD, was obtained from official records, photographic evidence seems to prove this wrong. It is more likely that Eyebright's Fo'c'le extension was completed between Dec 41, & Jan 42 Charleston, SC. Source: RCN News Magazine)

Photos and Documents