HMCS Grilse

Built in 1912 as the private yacht Winchester for the son of an American industrialist; she was purchased in the US in June 1915 and brought to Canada.  She was fitted with guns and a torpedo tube and was commissioned as HMCS Grilse, a torpedo boat, in July 1915. She was the Royal Canadian Navy's fastest ship during the First World War, serving on Atlantic coast. As she was unsuited for service in Canada's winter waters, HMCS Grilse left Halifax on 11 December 1916 for Bermuda. 

While enroute to the Caribbean, HMCS Grilse was damaged in a storm, and believed sunk.  However, she made it back to Shelburne, NS, and was towed to Halifax for a refit.  She re-entered service and performed duty as a patrol and escort boat for the remainder of the War. She was paid off on 10 December 1918.

An attempt was made to sell her in 1920, but no adequate bid was received. In 1921-1922, HMCS Grilse was attached to a youth training establishment in Halifax Dockyard. In 1922 she was purchased by Solomon Guggenheim, who renamed her Trillora. She foundered in a hurricane on Long Island, NY on 21 September 1938. 


Reference Links:
Government of Canada – HMCS Grilse
Canadian War Museum – HMCS Grilse
For Posterity's Sake – HMCS Grilse