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Royal Canadian Navy - Marine Royale
Canadienne - Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel AOPV 432 HMCS Max Bernays |
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| 08/24 | ||
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Type,
class: Harry DeWolf class Arctic and Offshore Patrol
Vessel / AOPV Builder: Irving Shipbuilding Inc., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada STATUS: Ordered: - Laid down: December 5, 2018 Launched: October 23, 2021 Commissioned: May 3, 2024 IN SERVICE Homeport: Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, Victoria Namesake: CPO Max Leopold Bernays (1910-1974) Ship's Motto: INTERRITI IMPETUS (undaunted by fire) Technical Data: see INFO > Harry DeWolf class AOPV |
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     commissioning ceremony - Vancouver, British Columbia - May 3, 2024                      |
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HMCS Max Bernays (AOPV 432): The patrol vessel keel was laid down on 5 December 2018 by Irving Shipbuilding at Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ship was launched on 23 October 2021, and is scheduled to be delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy in 2022. |
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Max Leopold Bernays (January 3,
1910 - March 30, 1974) ... was a Royal Canadian Naval Reserve Acting Chief Petty Officer who fought in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War. He was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his actions aboard HMCS Assiniboine on August 6, 1942. Early life: Bernays was born in 1910 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He had served in the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) in 1929 and served with Canadian National Steamships in the 1930s. Wartime service: Bernays was recalled by the Royal Canadian Navy at the outbreak of the Second World War. By March 1942 Bernays had achieved the rank of Acting Chief Petty Officer and was the Coxswain aboard HMCS Assiniboine, a River-class destroyer. Actions aboard HMCS Assiniboine: On August 6, 1942, the Assiniboine engaged the German U-Boat U-210. A fierce gun-battle ensued, causing a major fire aboard the Assiniboine. Lieutenant-Commander John H. Stubbs, commander of the Assiniboine, maneuvered the vessel to ram the U-Boat. Bernays ordered his telegraph operators who were giving orders to the engine room to leave, as the fire began to surround the wheelhouse. Bernays manned the helm and did the work of the two telegraph operators while Stubbs gave orders to ram U-210. As the gun battle grew in intensity, Assiniboine rammed U-210 abaft of her conning tower, crippling the submarine. 38 of the 48 German crew were rescued. Assiniboine's losses were minimal, with one killed and 13 wounded. Recognition of service: Bernays was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his heroic actions. His actions displayed such a degree of courage that a prominent flag officer in the RCN recommended him for the Victoria Cross. Rear Admiral L.W. Murray believed that "the manner in which this comparatively young rating remained at his post, alone, and carried out the 133 telegraph orders as well as the many helm orders necessary to accomplish the destruction of this submarine, whilst the wheelhouse was being pierced by explosive shell from the enemy's Oerlikon gun and his only exit was cut off by fire, is not only in keeping with the highest traditions of the Service but adds considerably to those traditions. I am proud of the privilege to recommend Acting Chief Petty Officer Bernays for the Victoria Cross." Bernays did not receive the Victoria Cross due to conflicts with the British Admiralty, which was hesitant upon receiving the recommendation despite a push from Canadian authorities. This was one of the first cases where the Canadian Government had intervened in the process, but like many other cases after it, the attempt failed. Post-war: At the close of the Second World War, Bernays remained in the RCN and later served in the Korean War. His medals can be seen on display at the CFB Esquimalt Museum. Decorations + awards: Conspicuous Gallantry Medal 1939-1945 Star Atlantic Star with France Germany Bar Canadian Volunteer Service Medal War Medal 1939-1945 United Nations Korea Medal Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal Canadian Forces Decoration source: wikipedia - - - - - another biography: Chief Petty Officer Bernays was born in Vancouver, BC in 1910. He joined the merchant marine at an early age, later in the 1930s serving with Canadian National Steamships. In 1929 he joined the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) and was mobilized for the Second World War in 1939. Serving in small ships, in 1941 he became the Coxswain in the corvette HMCS Matapedia conducting convoy escort duties in the Atlantic. In March 1942, he was promoted to Acting Chief Petty Officer and drafted, as the Coxswain, to the River-class destroyer HMCS Assiniboine, also engaged in Atlantic convoy escort, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander John Stubbs RCN. On 6 August 1942, in an intense surface gun action against the German submarine U-210, HMCS Assiniboine maneuvered in and out of fog attempting to ram and sink the enemy submarine. Both vessels were firing high explosive shells at very close range, causing a fire which engulfed the bridge and wheelhouse of Assiniboine. Surrounded by smoke and flames, while steering the ship, CPO Bernays ordered the two junior sailors to get clear, leaving him alone at the helm and trapped by the blaze. Besieged by flames, he executed all the helm orders as Assiniboine maneuvered for position against the U-boat, and did the work of the two telegraphmen, dispatching over 130 telegraph orders to the engine room. Several bullets and shells penetrated the wheelhouse as the enemy concentrated their machine-gun and cannon fire on the bridge. Eventually Assiniboine rammed and sank U-210 in what was considered to be an extremely hard fought action, during which the Canadians suffered one fatality and 13 wounded. He was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) for his valour and dauntless devotion to duty during the action. There remained some controversy with this award, as the Flag Officer Newfoundland Force, Rear-Admiral L.W. Murray RCN, initially recommended him for the Victoria Cross (VC). While the RCN Honours and Awards Committee upheld this recommendation, British authorities decided the recommendation did not meet the strict criteria of a VC and he was awarded the CGM instead - he was one of only two members of the RCN to receive the CGM during the Second World War. Regardless, there remains a strong feeling that he deserved the higher award. Post-war he stayed in the RCN and retired as a Chief Petty Officer on February 20, 1960. He died in North Vancouver, BC on 30 March 1974. source: DND-MDN Canada
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