Royal Canadian Navy Destroyers (Tribal Class): HMCS Huron (G24) (216), HMCS Iroquois (G89)(217), HMCS Micmac (R10) (214), HMCS Nootka (R96) (213)
HMCS Huron (G24) (216)
(TheEastCoastRoys Photo)
HMCS Huron (G24). Built by Vickers-Armstrong, Ltd., at Newcastle-on-Tyne, she was commissioned there on 19 Jul 1943. She was assigned, like HMCS Haida, to the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla of the British Home fleet. She made a trip in Oct 1943 to Murmansk with technical personnel and special naval stores, and for the rest of the year escorted convoys to and from North Russia. In Feb 1944, she joined the 10th Flotilla at Plymouth for invasion duties, spending the next seven months in the Channel and the Bay of Biscay. She was present on D-Day. HMCS Huron assisted HMCS Haida in sinking torpedo boat T29 and destroyer Z 32, and in Aug 1944 made her first visit to Canada for refit at Halifax. In Nov 1944 she returned to the UK to carry out escort duties in the Western Approaches. In April 1945, HMCS Haida G63, HMCS Huron G24 and HMCS Iroquois G89 made one more round trip escorting a convoy to and from Kola Inlet.
Departing Greenock on 4 Jun 1945, HMCS Huron returned to Halifax with HMCS Haida and HMCS Iroquois, arriving there on 10 Jun 1945, and began tropicalization refit, but this was discontinued owing to VJ-Day and she was paid off on 9 Mar 1946. She was re-commissioned at Halifax (216) for training purposes in 1950, but sailed on 22 Jan 1951 on the first of three tours of duty in Korean waters. Following her Korean tours, she returned to her training role.
On 30 Jul 1962, the RCN sent the 3rd Destroyer Escort Squadron (Atlantic) under Capt. Gordon Edwards, on a good will / work up tour. The squadron consisted of HMCS Sioux 225, HMCS Huron 216 and HMCS Iroquois 217 (as flagship). The ships sailed from Halifax NS to Bermuda and then on to Jamaica, arriving on 05 Aug 1962. The squadron joined a large fleet of naval vessels already assembled, as all Royal Navies and the United States Navy, had sent “good will” ships of various classes to Jamaica. In essence, it served to form one of the largest allied fleets to be assembled since the Second World War, and spent six days in Jamaica celebrating their independence from Briton which occurred on the 6 Aug 1962. The squadron then sailed back to Bermuda before heading to Prince Edward Island to par-take in their official Lobster Festival. From PEI the squadron returned to Halifax for fuel and provisions, and again departed for Bermuda. From Bermuda it was on to Trinidad & Tobago to take part in their independence celebrations. From 12 Sep to 17 Sep 1962, the 3rd Destroyer Escort Squadron paid a visit to Newfoundland to take part in the 67th annual meeting of the National Council of the Navy League of Canada.
Huron was paid off at Halifax on 30 Apr 1963. She was broken up at La Spezia, Italy, in 1965.
(John Lyon Photo)
HMCS Huron (G24).
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Huron (G24).
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Huron (216).
(Brian McCormick Photo)
HMCS Huron (216).
(John Knudsen Photo)
HMCS Huron (216).
(Gordon Rymes Photo)
HMCS Huron (216) with HMCS Micmac (214) outboard, New York, ca 1951.
(Erling Baldorf Photo)
HMCS Huron (216) entering Grand Harbour, Malta, ca 1950s.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3204728)
HMCS Huron in rough seas, en route to Amsterdam, 10 Oct 1950.
(USN Naval History and Heritage Photos)
HMCS Huron (216).
HMCS Iroquois (G89) (217)
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Iroquois (G89). The first of the Canadian Tribals to commission, she did so at Newcastle-on-Tyne, on 30 Nov 1942. HMCS Iroquois was assigned to the 3rd Flotilla, Home Fleet, but proved to have structural flaws and was not fully operational until 30 Jan 1943. On a quick round trip to Canada in Mar 1943 she incurred weather damage that kept her under repairs at Plymouth until early Jun 1943, following which she was employed on Gibraltar convoys. In Jul 1943 three troopships she was escorting to Freetown were attacked by German aircraft 300 miles off Vigo, Spain, and two were sunk, HMCS Iroquois rescuing 680 survivors from the Duchess of York. HMCS Iroquois then spent several months escorting Russian convoys. In Feb 1944, she arrived at Halifax for a refit, returning to Plymouth early in Jun 1944 to join the 10th Flotilla for invasion duties. After D-Day she carried out patrols in the Channel and the Bay of Biscay, and for some months escorted capital ships and troopships in UK coastal waters. She rejoined the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow in Mar 1945. On 16 Apr 1945, HMCS Haida G63, HMCS Huron G24 and HMCS Iroquois G89 departed Clyde with convoy JW.66 for Kola Inlet; arriving at Kola Inlet on 25 Apr 1945. They departed Kola Inlet for Clyde with convoy RA.66 on 29 Apr 1945. On 29 Apr 1945 HMCS Haida G63 and HMCS Iroquois were G89 attacked by U-427 (Oblt Karl-Gabriel Graf von Gudenus). The attack resulted in near misses by U-427. They arrived at Clyde on 8 May 1945. Following D-Day, she sailed to Oslo as an escort to Crown Prince Olaf, who was returning to liberated Norway. Shortly afterward she visited Copenhagen, Denmark, whence she escorted the German cruisers Prinz Eugen and Nurnberg to Kiel for their formal surrender. On 4 Jun 1945 she left Greenock with HMCS Haida and HMCS Huron, arriving at Halifax on 10 Jun 1945. The end of the Pacific war brought a halt to her tropicalization refit, and Iroquois was paid off on 22 Feb 1946. The following year she began a long refit and on 24 Jun 1949, was re-commissioned (219)as a cadet training ship. HMCS Iroquois completed 3 tours of duty in the Korean theatre. During her first tour, on 2 Oct 1952, HMCS Iroquois was making a daylight interdiction bombardment on a coastwise stretch of the main North Korean railway line when she received fire from the shore battery. A shell hit “B” gun deck and killed LCdr Quinn and AB Baikie instantly. AB Burden was critically wounded and died several hours later.
Following her Korean tours, she returned to her training role. In Dec 1959, during a 6-week deployment that included a NATO Exercise, HMCS Bonaventure, in company with HMCS Algonquin, HMCS Iroquois, HMCS Sioux and, HMCS Athabaskan encountered a major storm that battered the squadron. On 30 Jul 1962, the RCN sent the 3rd Destroyer Escort Squadron (Atlantic), under Capt. Gordon Edwards, on a good will / work up tour. The squadron consisted of HMCS Sioux 225, HMCS Huron 216 and HMCS Iroquois 217 (as flagship). The ships sailed from Halifax, NS, to Bermuda and then on to Jamaica, arriving on 5 August 1962. The squadron joined a large fleet of naval vessels already assembled, as all Royal Navies and the United States Navy, had sent “good will” ships of various classes to Jamaica. In essence, it served to form one of the largest allied fleets to be assembled since the Second World War, and spent six days in Jamaica celebrating their independence from Briton which occurred on 6 Aug 1962. The squadron then sailed back to Bermuda before heading to Prince Edward Island to par-take in their official Lobster Festival. From PEI the squadron returned to Halifax for fuel and provisions, and again departed for Bermuda. From Bermuda it was onto Trinidad & Tobago to take part in their independence celebrations.
Shortly after entering the Caribbean Sea, the fresh water evaporator broke down. The Admiralty in Halifax was advised, and a replacement was requested. This was easier said than done. HMCS Iroquois was a Second World War Tribal class Destroyer, built in the UK in 1941. Although some spares were on hand in Halifax, an evaporator was not one of them. A request was sent to the Royal Navy in Britain, and they in turn advised that they could supply. When HMCS Iroquois reached Port of Spain, she received the replacement evaporator. The unit was brought onboard, still packed in its original crate. There was the usual adornment of numbers and code letters printed on the wooden crate. What caught everyone’s eye however was the name printed on the crate in block letters “HMS Hood“. Apparently not all of the spares for HMS Hood were disposed of. The unit was identical and fitted nicely, but not everyone was happy. Some of the older members of the crew (veterans of the Battle of the Atlantic) saw it as an “omen”. They predicted it was the end of HMCS Iroquois. HMCS Iroquois departed Port of Spain and headed for Bermuda again.
From Bermuda, the Squadron proceeded to Newfoundland where on 12 Sep to 17 Sep 1962. While at St. John’s, the squadron’s actives included onboard entertainment of local dignitaries, day cruises for members of HMCS Avalon, HMCS Cabot and RCSCC Terra Nova and open house to the general public. Prior to leaving port, HMCS Iroquois was advised to wear its “Paying off Pennant” upon leaving harbour, as this was to be her last port of call. On 24 Oct 1962, HMCS Iroquois was paid off at Halifax and placed in operation reserve (Moth balled), at Point Edward Naval Station, Cape Breton NS. She was broken up at Bilbao, Spain, in 1964.
(Dave Shirlaw Photo)
HMCS Iroquois (G89).
(Dennis Cardy Photo)
HMCS Iroquois (G89).
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Iroquois (G89).
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4951351)
HMCS Iroquois (DDE207), refueling from British tanker off Korea, 1952.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Iroquois (217).
(Mike O’Keefe Photo)
HMCS Iroquois (217).
(Charles Case Photo)
HMCS Iroquois (217). This photo was taken in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. She was probably secured at bouy 1 or 2 just off HMS Tamar. Early 1950’s during the Korean War period.
(Claus Mathes Photo)
HMCS Iroquois (217).
(Claus Mathes Photo)
HMCS Iroquois (217).
(Claus Mathes Photo)
HMCS Iroquois (217).
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Iroquois (217).
(USN Naval History and Heritage Photos)
HMCS Iroquois (217).
HMCS Micmac (R10) (214)
(Mike O’Keefe Photo)
HMCS Micmac (R10) served with the RCN from 1945 to 1964. HMCS Micmac was the first modern, high-performance warship built in Canada. She was the first of four Tribal destroyers built at the Halifax Shipyard and one of eight Tribal-class destroyers to serve in the Royal Canadian Navy. She was armed with six 4.7-inch (120-mm) guns (3 double mounts), two 4-inch (102-mm) guns (1 double mount), four 2-pound (0.9 kg) guns (1 x quadruple mount); eight 20-mm guns (4 double mounts), four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (1 quadruple mount) and depth charges; (Escort) four 4-inch (102-mm) guns (2 double mounts), two 3-inch (76-mm) guns (1 double mount), six 40-mm guns (6 single mounts), four 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (1 quadruple mount) and two Squid mortars.
Built by Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Micmac was commissioned at Halifax on 18 Sep 1945 . Alone of her class, she never fired a shot in anger but spent her entire career as a training ship. On 16 Jul 1947, she collided in fog with SS Yarmouth County off Halifax, suffering very extensive damage to her bows. While under repair she was partially converted to a destroyer escort, returning to her duties early in 1950. Her conversion was completed during 1952, and she was re-commissioned (214) on 14 Aug 1953. In Apr 1963, 12 RCN ships, HMCS Algonquin, Micmac, Cayuga, St. Croix, Terra Nova, Kootenay, Swansea, La Hulloise, Buckingham, Cape Scott, CNAV Bluethroat and CNAV St. Charles, took part in NATO Exercise New Broom Eleven, an exercise designed to test convoy protection tactics. In Oct 1963, HMCS Bonaventure, Algonquin, Cayuga, Micmac and Saskatchewan took part in a NATO exercise in which all participating ships were battered by a severe North Atlantic storm. At the end of 1963, after ten further strenuous years of training, NATO exercises, and “showing the flag”, she was declared surplus and, on 31 Mar 1964, paid off at Halifax. Sold in 1964 to marine salvage Co., she was resold and in Oct 1964 she arrived at Faslane, Scotland and was broken up in 1965.
(Steve Hlasny Photo)
HMCS Micmac (R10), during builder’s trials.
(John Rochon Photo)
HMCS Micmac (214), Hamburg, Germany.
(Gerald Sullivan Photo)
HMCS Micmac (214).
(Francis Dowdall Photo)
HMCS Micmac (214) refueling from HMCS Magnificent.
(Gordon Stewart Photo)
HMCS Micmac (214) arriving at (TBC) Belfast, Ireland.
(DND Photo)
HMCS Micmac (214).
(DND Photo)
HMCS Micmac (214).
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Micmac (214), HMCS Athabaskan (219), HMCS Nootka (213), HMCS Cayuga (218).
(Harry Pot Photo)
HMCS Micmac (214), behind HMCS Huron (216), 11 Oct 1950.
HMCS Nootka (R96) (213)
(Cathy Robinson Photo)
HMCS Nootka (R96). Built by Halifax Shipyards Ltd., HMCS Nootka was commissioned on 7 Aug 1946, at Halifax. She served as a training ship on the east coast and in the Caribbean until her conversion to a destroyer escort (213) in 1949 and 1950. Ear-marked for Korean duty, she transited the Panama Canal in Dec 1950, for the first of two tours of duty in that theatre of war. Returning to Halifax via the Mediterranean at the end of 1952, she became the second RCN ship to circumnavigate the globe. During 1953 and 1954 she underwent further conversion and modernization, afterward resuming her original training duties. In 1963, with HMCS Haida, she toured the Great lakes in the course of a summer’s cruising. She was paid off at Halifax on 6 Feb 1964, and broken up at Faslane, Scotland in 1965.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Nootka (213).
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Nootka (213).
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Nootka (213).
(Bruce Walter Photo)
HMCS Nootka (213), ca 1963.
(Bruce Walter Photo)
HMCS Nootka (213), ca 1963.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3598672)
RCN gunners loading a 4-inch round on HMCS Nootka.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3205249)
HMCS Nootka’s port A/A Batteries during gunnery training between San Pedro and Pearl Harbour, 22 December 1950.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3207657)
RCN in the Korean War, No. 2 Sam Pan Boarding Party on HMCS Nootka. Front row: L/STO D. McCoy, LT/CDR F.P.R. Saunders, ABSM M. Messervey, L/SCV W.F. Wickson. At the back: ABTD W. Murray, LSCR G. Mason, LSCR R. Hornecastle, ABCR J. MacKinnon, 7 July 1952.
(USN Naval History and Heritage Photos)
HMCS Nootka (213).
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4951352)
HMCS Nootka (213) Replenishment At Sea (RAS) off the coast of Korea, 1952.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4951353)
HMCS Nootka (213) Replenishment At Sea (RAS) off the coast of Korea, 1952.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 2242383)
HMS Cossack (L03) a Royal NavyTribal Class Destroyer, similar to HMCS Iroquois (G89) and HMCS Athabaskan (G07) which were still under construction at the time, was used as the study for the 1942 Canadian $1 stamp.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 2185091)
Canadian $1 stamp issued on 1 July 1942, depicting a Tribal Class Destroye