London Free Press - City & Region - Former war ship lands in dry dock SARNIA -- Sarnia's own Second World War submarine chaser has been stripped down and finally lifted out of the water by a 500-tonne super crane. "The keel is good and straight. All of a sudden I feel a lot better," said Paul Woolley, president of Friends of the Q105, which intends to restore the 64-year-old ship. Woolley and about 100 onlookers waited hours for the moment Sunday when the vessel was finally airborne. On Saturday, about 200 people lined the shoreline at the end of Exmouth Street. However, after six hours and several attempts, the operation was postponed. Historical records had led organizers to estimate the Q105 weighed between 45 and 65 tonnes and could easily be lifted by a Sterling crane with a 90-tonne capacity. However, the calculations proved wrong. The Q105 weighed in at more than 90 tonnes. More counterweight and a superlift were added to the crane by 8 a.m. Sunday for another try. Spectators again lined the shore. This time, the bottom of the old wooden ship brushed the water's surface. But crane operator Mait Noyle set her down again. The risk was still too great at that weight, Sterling officials said. Ballast from the ship had already been removed Saturday, along with other sundry items. On Sunday, everything that could be removed was off-loaded. Life jackets, ropes, tires, countertops and pipe littered the dock. Volunteers sawed off the upper rail and canopy. The last remaining litres of fuel were pumped out. This time, with the ship hooked up by a series of spreaders and chainfalls, the Q105 could move closer to shore and give the crane more capacity. At 2:30 p.m., a supervisor ordered the crowd back as the hull cleared the water and slowly rose overhead. A silence fell as the ship was carried high into the air and swung to a cradle on shore. Among the onlookers was Bill Randall, a retired crane operator, who remembers the day in August 1943 when the Q105 was launched in Sarnia. She'd been built at the Mac Craft company, a few hundred metres from where she was lifted out Sunday. "I was only 11 and I remember it looked very different from the way it does today," he said. "I'm really glad to see it's being put back to its original shape." Friends of the Q105 intend to make her the only Second World War vessel in original condition under power in Canada, Woolley said. "It's the most exciting thing happening in Sarnia and we've got people coming out of the woodwork to help," he said. Lloyd Pardo, 80, is one of many interested Sarnians. Pardo was 17 when he helped build the Q105. "I lay the keel and put all the ribs in. When it gets assessed, I'm anxious to see what kind of shape it's in," he said. The hull will be analyzed to to determine the cost of the restoration, expected to be about $350,000. Long operated as a St. Clair cruise boat named the Duc d'Orleans, the boat still triggers memories for many. "I bet she's still got a lot of years left in her," Pardo says.
That must have been an impressive site. Any idea whether they were like the US subchasers? Though from the description and weight it sounds like a Fairmile B motor launch
Volunteer group to restore a piece of Canadian naval history | Macleans.ca - Canada - wire - Features This gives a little more detail.
And I finally found a pic of her: The Sarnia Observer - Ontario, CA I've got a book on a USN sub-chaser that served in the Med. Written by her commander, I haven't read it yet of course, but they were busy little ships. Q105 appears smaller than what I've seen in that book (stunningly presented paperback).
Yep it was a Fairmile B but an upguned version: WW2Ships.com: Fairmile Type B Motor Launch Canadian B Type (Q050 to Q111) 1 x twin 20-mm Oerlikon 1 x single 20-mm Oerlikon 2 x twin 0.303-in Machineguns 1 x 3-lb HA/LA gun 12 Depth charges 1 x Holman projector 1 x Y-gun (4 reloads)
