HMCS Cowichan was a that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Invasion of Normandy. After the war she was sold for mercantile use. She was named for Cowichan Valley in British Columbia. Design and description A British design, the Bangor-class minesweepers were smaller than the preceding s in British service, but larger than the in Canadian service. They came in two versions powered by different engines; those with a diesel engines and those with vertical triple-expansion steam engines. Cowichan was of the latter design and was larger than her diesel-engined cousins. Cowichan was long overall, had a beam of and a draught of . The minesweeper had a displacement of . She had a complement of 6 officers and 77 enlisted. Cowichan had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of and gave a maximum speed of . The minesweeper could carry a maximum of of fuel oil. Cowichan was armed with a single quick-firing (QF) /40 caliber Mk IV gun mounted forward. This was later replaced with a 12-pounder () 12 cwt HA gun. For anti-aircraft purposes, the minesweeper was equipped with one QF 2-pounder Mark VIII and two single-mounted QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns. The 2-pounder gun was later replaced with a powered twin 20 mm Oerlikon mount. As a convoy escort, Cowichan was deployed with 40 depth charges launched from two depth charge throwers and four chutes. Service history Cowichan was ordered on 23 February 1940 as part of the 1939–40 shipbuilding programme. The minesweeper was laid down on 24 April 1940 by North Vancouver Ship Repairs Ltd. at North Vancouver, British Columbia and launched on 8 September later that year. The ship was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 7 April 1941 at Vancouver, British Columbia. After commissioning, Cowichan transferred to the east coast, arriving in September 1941. She worked up at Bermuda and upon her return, was assigned to the Halifax Local Defence Force for local patrol and minesweeping duty. In January 1942, she transferred to Newfoundland Force. Cowichan was assigned to escort group 4.1.17 alongside the destroyer , corvettes , , and Free French and . From 29 December 1941 to 11 January 4.1.17 escorted convoy SC 62, handing the convoy over