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FIR LAKE J487
Lake Class Minesweeper
These were copies of the Admiralty type, 126-foot wooden-hulled minesweepers, of which 24 were completed in east-coast yards for the RN. Of the 16 for which orders were placed by the RCN, only 10 were completed as warships, VJ-Day having intervened, and these were transferred to the USSR. The 3 on which work was stopped were completed for civilian use. The remaining 3 were apparently never begun. - "Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910-1981" by Ken Macpherson and John Burgess
FIR LAKE J487 - completed as mission ship Regina Polaris
Catholic News Archives - FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES FORCE SALE OF FAMOUS MISSION SHIP OF FAR NORTH COUNTRY MISSIONERS MONTREAL, March 2k (NC) —The "Regina Polaris" Is going to be sold. The widely known mission ship has carried supplies annually for a number of years to the Far Northern Arctic missions of the Oblate Fathers but It has been costing too much to continue this operation. Father Joseph Eugene Pelletier, 0.M.1,, told reporters here that Bishop Marc Lacroix, 0.M.1., Vicar Apostolic of the Hudson Bay, no longer had the financial means to operate the ship. He said the announcement may come as a disappointment to the missionaries In the great polar areas who looked forward to the annual visit of the ship, which carried food, coal, lumber and mall. The story of the "Regina Polaris", a 300 ton ship, goes back to 19A4, when the previous mission ship the "M.P. Therese" struck a reef and sank with all Its cargo In the treacherous waters of the Arctic Ocean. There was no loss of life although members of the crew and several missionaries had a narrow escape. With the aid of generous benefactors and with many sacrifices on the part of the Oblate missionaries. Bishop Lacroix was able to replace the "M.F. Therese" with a sturdy new boat which was christened the "Regina Polaris"—the Queen of the Pole. Since that time the mission ship has made Its annual 15,000 mile voyage, carrying supplies and missionaries to the Far North. The sale of the mission ship will necessitate other means of sending supplies to the missions and will cause curtailment of these supplies. It Is a severe blow to the missionaries who serve faithfully and unselfishly In the Ice bound barrens of the Arctic. It was Pope plus XI who described these missions as the "most difficult In the world." (Dated 23 Mary 1953)
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