RCN Frigates (River Class): HMCS Montreal K319/HMCS Nene K270/HMCS New Glasgow K320/HMCS New Waterford K321/HMCS Orkney K448/HMCS Outremont K322

HMCS Montreal (K319)

(DND Photo)

HMCS Montreal (K319) (River-class).  Launched at Montreal on 12 Jun 1943, she was commissioned there 12 Nov 1943.  She arrived at Halifax on 29 Nov 1943, worked up locally and on 25 Feb 1944 left St. John's for Londonderry to join EG C-4.  She was employed continuously on convoy duty until late Sep 1944, when she joined EG 26, then forming at 'Derry.  On 17 Dec 1944, she rescued survivors of U-1209, wrecked on Wolf Rock southwest of Land's End.  HMCS Montreal remained in UK waters, and for short periods early in 1945 was based at Portsmouth and at Plymouth.  She left 'Derry for the last time on 12 Mar 1945 as escort to convoy ON.290.  Arriving at Shelburne, NS on 31 Mar 1945, she completed tropicalization refit there at the end of Aug 1945 then performed odd jobs out of Halifax until paid off 15 Oct 1945 to reserve in Bedford Basin.  Sold in 1947, she was broken up at Sydney.

HMCS Nene (K270)

(IWM Photo, FL16727)

HMCS Nene (K270) (River-class).  Built at South Bank-on-Tees, UK, HMS Nene was named for an English river. Commissioned  as HMS Nene, she was assigned to Canadian EG 5 based at St. John's, the group was re-numbered EG 6 in Nov 1943, to avoid confusion with EG C-5.  On 20 Nov 1943 HMS Nene, with HMCS Calgary and HMCS Snowberry, sank U-536 north of the Azores while escorting the combined convoys MKS.30 and SL.139.  From Feb 1944, onward HMS Nene was Senior Officer's ship of EG 6.  She was transferred to the RCN at Halifax on 6 Apr 1944, immediately prior to a refit at Dartmouth, NS, which was not completed until mid-Jul 1944.  She then proceeded to Bermuda to work up, and in Aug 1944 joined EG C-5.  After escorting three transatlantic convoys she was transferred in Oct 1944, to EG 9, Londonderry.  Except for a trip to North Russia with convoy JW.62, HMCS Nene served in UK waters until the end of the war, based at various times at Londonderry, Plymouth, Rosyth, and Portsmouth.  She left Greenock 12 May 1945, to join JW.67 for North Russia but was detached on 16 May 1945 to escort 14 surrendered U-Boats bound from Trondheim to Loch Eriboll.  She arrived at Sheerness on 27 May 1945 and was handed back on 11 Jun 1945 to the RN, which placed her in reserve at Southampton.  She was broken up at Briton Ferry, Wales, in 1955.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Nene (K270) (River-class).

HMCS New Glasgow (K320)

(DND Photo)

HMCS New Glasgow (K320) (River-class).  Commissioned on 23 Dec 1943, Yarrows Ltd., at Esquimalt, New Glasgow arrived at Halifax on 17 Feb 1944, and then proceeded to Bermuda to work up.  On her return late in Apr 1944 she joined EG C-1.  She left St. John's with her first convoy, HXS.291, on 15 May 1944, and for the next five months was steadily employed on convoy duty.  Late in Sep 1944 she was allocated to EG 26, then forming at Londonderry, and for the remainder oft he European war served in UK waters, based for short periods at Portsmouth and at Plymouth early in 1945.  On 21 Mar 1945, she rammed the fatally damaged U-1003 off Lough Foyle, and was herself laid up for repairs at Rosyth until 5 Jun 1945.  She then proceeded via Londonderry to Halifax and thence to Shelburne, NS, where she was paid off to reserve on 5 Nov 1945.  Rebuilt in the long interval as a Prestonian class ocean escort (315), she was re-commissioned on 30 Jan 1954, and served in a training capacity until 30 Jan 1967, when she was paid off at Esquimalt.  She was broken up in Japan that year.

(Brian Hayes Photo)

HMCS New Glasgow (K320) (River-class).

HMCS New Waterford (K321)

(IWM Photo, A 26130)

HMCS New Waterford (K321) (River-class).  Built at Esquimalt, she was commissioned on 21 Jan 1944, at Victoria, BC.  She arrived at Halifax on 9 Mar 1944 and in Bermuda on 22 Apr 1944 to work up.  Returning to Halifax, she was assigned to EG 6 as a replacement for the damaged HMCS Teme.  On 16 Oct 1944, while EG 6 was on A/S patrol south of the Faeroes, HMCS Annan engaged and sank U-1006.

The following is from New Waterford's Radar Operator, Lawrence Restall.  "After depth charges were dropped, the sub surfaced and opened fire.  Now evening.  We fired star shells and 20-mm guns with red tracers.  The sub used green tracers.  Eight men injured on HMCS Annan.  46 survivors picked up from sub, many injured including the U-boat's commanding officer who was brought to our ship for medical treatment.  I had  the opportunity to speak with the CO of the U-boat.  He told me that he had the ship in the crosshairs, just aft of the pendant number and was about to fire a torpedo when another ship (HMCS Annan) came out of the fog and forced him to dive.  I replied that I was glad he didn't fire as I was in my bunk at the time and it was in that area."

HMCS New Waterford remained with EG 6 until the end of the European war, detached for short periods to Portsmouth and Plymouth, and in Apr 1945, returned home for tropicalization refit at Liverpool, NS.  This was completed in Nov 1945, and HMCS New Waterford left in Jan 1946, for the west coast, where she was paid off to reserve at Esquimalt on 7 Mar 1946.  Briefly re-commissioned in 1953, she later underwent conversion to a Prestonian class ocean escort (304), commissioning as such on 31 Jan 1958.  In late 1959/early 1960, she left Esquimalt for a coast transfer to Halifax.  During this coast transfer, she had an unusual cargo, a totem pole carved by BC First Nations destined for England.  When she arrived in Halifax it was transferred to the gunnery school where it was stored till summer, then transferred to HMCS Kootenay for the voyage to England.  During the year 1962 HMCS New Waterford steamed 24,218.3 miles and spent a total of 114 days at sea.  It was a full year for one ship, a cruise to Africa, three months in refit at Sydney, Nova Scotia, five weeks of WUPs, anti-submarine exercises off the Nova Scotia coast and a two-week cruise to Bermuda and Boston.  With Christmas and the New Year festivities over, the New Waterford put to sea for a further week of exercises and on January 28 sailed from Halifax as part of the Seventh Escort Squadron, destination Bermuda and Exercise Maple Spring '63.  She was paid off for the last time on 22 Dec 1966, and broken up the following year at Savona, Italy.

HMCS Orkney (K448)

(Dennis Cardy Photo)

HMCS Orkney (K448) (River-class).  Originally to be named HMCS Yorkton tcommemorate Yorkton, Saskatchewan., she was named HMCS Orkney to avoid confusion with the USS Yorktown what was already in commission.  Laid down in Esquimalt, she was built by Yarrows Ltd.  Commissioned on 14 Apr 1944, at Victoria, Orkney arrived at Halifax 8 Jun 1944.  After working up in Bermuda she returned to Halifax in Aug 1944 to join EG 16, but was transferred as Senior Officer's ship to EG 25 at Londonderry, sailing late in Oct 1944 with eastbound convoy HX.317.  She remained on duty in UK waters until 13 Feb 1945 when she collided with SS Blairnevis which sank with no loss of life.  HMCS Orkney proceeded to Dunstaffnage, Scotland, for repairs.  At the time of the accident, HMCS Orkney was part of Escort Group 25, which was engaged in escorting merchant shipping into Liverpool.  The weather at the time of the accident was foul with heavy rain that further reduced visibility.  SS Blairnevis was a new merchant ship, loaded with valuable bauxite.  She had to be grounded to avoid her sinking and blocking the swept channel in the Mersey River estuary.  Following the collision, HMCS Orkney's repairs lasted until Apr 1945.  Following a week's workups at Tobermory, HMCS Orkney returned briefly to 'Derry, then sailed late in May 1945 for home and tropicalization refit at Louisbourg, NS.  This was completed on 20 Oct 1945, after which she served locally until paid off 22 Jan 1946, to reserve in Bedford Basin.  Following her service in the war, Orkney was disarmed and laid up in Bedford Basin.  She was purchased in early 1947, and moved to a ship breaker's yard in Brooklyn, NY, where she was stripped down to the upper deck.  Refitted to carry as many  passengers as possible and remamed Violette, she joined the sixty-two other vessels operated by "Haganah" to smuggle illegal Jewish immigrants to Palestine.  With the creation of the state of Israel on 14 May 1948, Violette was was laid up.  In 1952, she was re-acquired by the Israeli Navy, and re-armed as a warship.  She was then re-commissioned as the Mitvach K28, and for some time afterward, with former HMCS Hallowell (Misnak) and HMCS Strathadam (Misgav), were the largest ships in the Israeli Navy.  In 1959, Mitvach was sold to the then- Royal Ceylon Navy and served as Mahasena until 1964 when she was paid off and sold to a Hong Kong ship breaker on 31 May 64.

(Robert Chasse Photo)

HMCS Orkney (K448) (River-class), depth charge, training on the West Coast of Canada ca May 1944.

(USN Naval History and Heritage Photos)

HMCS Orkney (K448)

(Robert Chasse Photo)

...and the reason it was necessary to hunt down and sink U-boats before they got to the convoys.  Torpedoed British freighter sinking south of Newfoundland.

HMCS Outremont (K322)

(DND Photo)

HMCS Outremont (K322) (River-class).  Built at Quebec City, she was commissioned there on 27 Nov 1943.  HMCS Outremont K322 arrived at Halifax on 13 Dec 1943 and carried out working-up exercises in St. Margaret's Bay.  She left St. John's, Newfoundland, on 17 Feb 1944, to join EG 6, Londonderry, and served mainly on escort and patrol duties in UK waters. On 28 Apr 1944, HMCS Outremont, in company with HMCS Waskesiu K330, HMCS Grou K518 and HMCS Cape Breton K350 departed Kola Inlet with Convoy RA.59; arriving at Loch Ewe on 6 May 1944.  HMCS Outremont was present off Normandy on D-Day.  She left the UK on 30 Nov 1944 for tropicalization refit at Sydney, which kept her idle until 20 Aug 1945, only to be paid off on 5 Nov 1945 and sold to Marine Industries Ltd.  Later re-acquired by the RCN and converted to a Prestonian class ocean escort (310), she was re-commissioned 2 Sep 1955, and served in a training role until finally paid off 7 Jun 1965, and arrived at La Spezia on 11 Apr 1966 for breaking up.

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