Royal Canadian Navy Destroyers, (A and C Class): HMCS Saguenay (HO1/D79/179); HMCS Skeena (D59); HMCS Fraser (H48) HMCS St. Laurent (H83); HMCS Restigouche (H00); and HMCS Ottawa (H60); and HMCS Assiniboine (I18)

Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Warships Commissioned 1931–1949, Destroyers, A and C Class

The RCN entered the Second World War with six destroyers in 1939, HMCS Saguenay (HO1/D79/179) (A class destroyer); HMCS Skeena (D59) (A class destroyer) were the first two, built to Canadian specifications.  In 1937 and 1938 they were joined by HMCS Fraser (H48) (C class); HMCS St. Laurent (H83) (C class); HMCS Restigouche (H00) (C class); and HMCS Ottawa (H60) (C class), which were purchased by the RCN from the RCN.  HMCS Assiniboine (I18) (C class destroyer) joined the RCN shortly after the war broke out in 1939.

HMCS Margaree (H49) (D class) joined the RCN in 1940, followed in 1943 and 1944 by HMCS Chaudière (H99) (H class destroyer); HMCS Gatineau (H61) (E class destroyer); HMCS Kootenay (H75) (D class destroyer); HMCS Qu’Appelle (H69) (F Class destroyer); HMCS Ottawa (H31) (G class destroyer) - the 2nd to carry its name during the war;  and HMCS Saskatchewan (H70) (F class). Details on a separate page on this website.

HMCS Saguenay (HO1/D79/179)

(Bob Senior Photo)

HMCS Saguenay (H01) entering Willemstad Harbour, Netherlands Antilles, 1934.  HMCS Saguenay and her sister, HMCS Skeena, were the first ships built for the RCN. HMCS Saguenay was built by Thornycraft, England for the cost of £670,000.  Her hull was strengthened to withstand ice pressure which made her ideal for deployments in Newfoundland waters.  She was commissioned on 22 May 1931, at Portsmouth and made her maiden arrival at Halifax on 3 Jul 1931.  On 5 Jan 1935, HMCS Skeena and HMCS Vancouver departed Esquimalt for exercises in the Kingston, Jamaica area with HMCS Champlain and HMCS Saguenay.  In Jan 1938, HMCS Saguenay once again sailed south on a Spring Cruise with port visits at in Bermuda; Puerto Culebra, Costa Rica; Talara, Peru; Acapulco, Mexico; and Panama and San Diego, California.  With the outbreak of the Second World War she escorted local convoys until late Sep 1939, when she was assigned to the America and West Indies Station, and based at Kingston, Jamaica.  On 23 Oct 1939, in the Yucatan Channel, she intercepted the German tanker Emmy Friederich, which scuttled herself.  She returned to Halifax in mid-Dec 1939 to resume local escort duty until 16 Oct 1940, when she sailed for the UK to join EG 10, Greenock.  On 1 Dec 1940, while escorting convoy HG.47, she was torpedoed by the Italian submarine Argo, 300 miles west of Ireland.  With her bows wrecked and 21 dead, HMCS Saguenay made Barrow-in-Furness largely under her own power, and was under repairs until 22 May 1941.  She left Greenock on 23 May 1941, and arrived on 7 Jun 1941 at St. John's, where she joined the NEF, which was then forming.  From Jun 1941 to Jan 1942 she escorted convoys to Iceland.  From Jan 1942 to Jun 1942 she was assigned to WS convoys.

WS convoys were iron ore carriers traveling between Bell Island (located in Conception Bay Newfoundland, just north of St. John's) and Sydney, Nova Scotia.  The Dominion Oil and Steel Company (DOSCO) at Sydney, Cape Breton, NS, owned the iron ore mines on Bell Island at Wabana, and the Steel Mills at Sydney NS.  At that time they were producing one third of Canada's total steel output.  Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War,, Germany was their biggest foreign customer for iron ore.  The letters 'W' (for Wabana) and 'S' (for Sydney) were assigned to convoys between the two locations.  (For Posterity's Sake)

From 19 Apr 1942 to 02 Nov 1942 she was assigned to the Newfie - Derry run (convoys from St. John's, Newfoundland to Londonderry, Ireland).  During the months of Sep - Nov 1942, U-boat activity increased off Newfoundland.  On 4 Sep 1942 a U-boat sank 2 ore carriers at their loading docks at Wabana.  On 14 Oct 1942, the ferry Caribou was sunk with the loss of 137 lives.  On 2 Nov 1942 (in broad daylight) 2 more ore carriers were sunk at the moorings at Bell Island and the ore carrier PML27 was torpedoed shortly after leaving Bell Island.  With the increase in sinkings, an increase in escort vessels was made to the WS convoys and HMCS Saguenay was re-assigned to the WS convoys.  On 15 Nov 1942 HMCS Saguenay was escorting convoy WS13.  At a distance of approximately 12 miles South of St. John's and 50 miles South East of Cape Spare, HMCS Saguenay was struck in the stern by the freighter SS Azra.  Depth charges from HMCS Saguenay were dislodged overboard and exploded beneath both ships.  The HMCS Saguenay had her stern blown off and the Azar her bow.  Damage to the Azar was sufficient to cause her to sink at the site.  The HMCS Saguenay stayed afloat and took Azar's crew members onboard.  The collision occurred within sight of Cape Spear near the entrance to St. John's harbour and the naval command center at HMCS Avalon dispatched an RCN Tug (possibly W 47) to tow the damaged HMCS Saguenay to the graving dock in St. John's harbour.  Once in the graving dock, the stern was sealed to enable the ship to be towed to the ship yards at Saint John, NB.  After further repairs at Saint John, NB, she was then taken to Cornwallis in Oct 1943, to serve as a training ship.  Paid off 30 Jul 1945, she was sold for scrap in 1945 to International Iron and Metal in Hamilton, Ontario and was broken up in either 1946, or 17 Jul 1948.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3399179)

HMCS Saguenay (HO1) (A class destroyer), Montreal, 1934.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3399174)

HMCS Saguenay (HO1) (A class destroyer), Montreal, 1932.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3399173)

HMCS Saguenay (HO1) (A class destroyer), Montreal, 1932.

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Saguenay (HO1), ca 1934.

(Bob Senior Photo)

HMCS Saguenay (D79), Miami, Florida, April 1935.

(Bob Senior Photo)

HMCS Saguenay (D79) and HMCS Champlaine, Miami, Florida, April 1935.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3576681)

HMCS Saguenay (HO1/D79/179) Depth Charge Thrower, 30 Oct 1941.

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Saguenay (D79)

(Bob Senior Photo)

HMCS Saguenay (D79) in the Panama Canal, Jan 1938

(Peter Hanlon Photo)

HMCS Saguenay (I79), with a disruption paint scheme.

HMCS Skeena (D59)

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Skeena (D59) (A class destroyer).  Commissioned at Portsmouth on 10 Jun 1931, she arrived at Halifax with HMCS Saguenay on 3 Jul 1931 and proceeded to Esquimalt the following month.  On 24 Jan 1932 HMCS Skeena and HMCS Vancouver provided protection to British assets and civilians in El Salvador at the request of the British Consul in San Salvador following the outbreak of a peasant uprising.  A landing party was briefly sent ashore at Acajutla, but the situation there improved and the sailors saw no combat, although the two ships remained in the area until the end of the month.  On 5 Jan 1935, HMCS Skeena and HMCS Vancouver departed Esquimalt for exercises in the Kingston, Jamaica area with HMCS Champlain and HMCS Saguenay.  HMCS Skeena returned to Halifax in Apr 1937.  In 1938, HMCS Skeena, HMCS Fraser, HMCS Saguenay and HMCS St. Laurent paid a port visit to San Diego as part of the spring training cruise.  The East and West ships rendezvoused at the Panama Canal for joint exercises.  When war broke out, HMCS Skeena was engaged in local escort duties until ordered to the UK.  On her arrival at Plymouth, on 31 May 1940, she was assigned to Western Approaches Command taking part in the evacuation of France and escorting convoys in British waters.  On 23 Nov 1940, while escorting convoy SC.11, HMCS Skeena rescued 6 survivors from the torpedoed merchant ship SS Bruse.  She returned to Halifax on 3 Mar 1941, for refit, then joined Newfoundland Command, Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF).  In Apr 1943, she became a member of EG C-3.  During this period she saw continuous convoy duty and on 31 Jul 1942, while escorting convoy ON.115, shared with HMCS Wetaskiwin in the sinking of U-588.  In May 1944, she was assigned to EG 12 for invasion duties, and was present on D-Day.  On 8 Jun 1944, HMCS Skeena was attacked by U-953 (Oblt Karl-Heinz Marbach).  The Gnats (acoustic torpedoes) exploded in the ship's wake with no damage to the ship.  HMCS Skeena participated in operation "Dredger" against German escort vessels at the U-boat meeting points off Brest and southward.  During the night of 5/6 Jul the 12th EG, comprised of HMCS Qu'Appelle, HMCS Saskatchewan, HMCS Skeena and HMCS Restigouche, attacked three German patrol boats off Brest: V715 was sunk but not before hitting HMCS Qu'Appelle and HMCS Saskatchewan many times with small calibre gunfire.  That Sep 1944 she was transferred to EG 11.  On the night of 24/25 Oct 1944, HMCS Skeena was wrecked in a storm.  She was anchored off Reykjavik, Iceland and dragged her anchor and grounded in 50-foot (15 m) waves off Viðey Island with the loss of 15 crewmembers.  Her hulk was written off and sold to Iceland interests in June 1945; she was then raised to be broken up.  Her propeller was salvaged and used in a memorial near the Viðey Island ferry terminal.

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Skeena (D59) (A class destroyer).

(Bob Senior Photo)

HMCS Skeena (D59), entering Willemstad Harbour, Netherlands Antilles, 1934.

(David Chamberlain Photo)

HMCS Skeena (D59).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203464)

HMCS Skeena, with a Quadruple Vickers gun mount with the upper two guns removed, June 1940.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3203465)

Quadruple Vickers anti-aircraft guns on HMCS Skeena, June 1940.

(Roger Litwiler Photo)

HMCS Skeena (159).

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Skeena (159) aground on Viðey Island.  HMCS Skeena was anchored off Reykjavik, Iceland on the night of 24/25 Oct 1944, when a storm caused her to drag her anchor.  She grounded in 50-foot (15 m) waves off Viðey Island with the loss of 15 crewmembers.  Her hulk was written off and sold to Iceland interests in June 1945; she was then raised to be broken up.  Her propeller was salvaged and used in a memorial near the Viðey Island ferry terminal.

HMCS Fraser (H48)

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Fraser (H48) was a C-class destroyer initially built for the Royal Navy and commissioned as HMS Crescent in the early 1930s.  HMCS Crescent was sold to the RCN in late 1936 and renamed HMCS Fraser.  She was stationed on the west coast of Canada until the beginning of the Second World War when she was transferred to the Atlantic coast for convoy escort duties.  The ship was transferred to the United Kingdom in May 1940 and helped to evacuate refugees from France upon her arrival in early June.  HMCS Fraser was sunk on 25 June 1940 in a collision with the anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Calcutta while returning from one such mission.

"Shortly after 8:30 p.m. 12 miles due west of Pointe de la Coubre light at the Gironde River mouth, HMS Calcutta's bows sliced into HMCS Fraser's starboard side, cutting through to the centre line of the destroyer and stopping inside the crushed wheelhouse.  HMCS Fraser's bow broke off at the forecastle while the aft portion, engines still going astern in obedience to the order which sought to avoid the collision, moved quickly off the cruiser's port side."

"HMCS Fraser went to the bottom in the early hours of 26 June 1940, becoming Canada's first naval loss of the Second World War.  Rescue efforts by the Restigouche and Calcutta, and by the officers and men of the Fraser themselves saved many, but 45 of her ship's company were lost.  Most of those who survived went down four months later, on 23 October with HMCS Margaree."  (Daily Colonist 28 Jun 1957)

(Don Gorham Photo)

HMCS Fraser (H48) on 22 Jun 1940, shortly before her loss.

(City of Vancouver Archives Photo, AM54-S4-: Bo P282.2)

HMCS Fraser (H48), with one of her four QF 4-7-inch Mk. IX main guns being serviced by one of her sailors, ca 1940.

(Bob Macklem Photo)

HMCS Fraser (H48)

HMCS St. Laurent (H83)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3724153)

HMCS St. Laurent (H83) (C class), 15 Aug 1941.  HMS Cygnet was a C-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s.  After the ship commissioned on 9 Apr 1932, she was assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet.  She spent a lot of time in dockyard hands during her first two years of service.  She was repaired at Devonport in Nov 1932 - Jan 1933, Mar - May 1933, July - Aug 1933 and Nov 1933 - Jan 1934 before deploying to the West Indies with the Home Fleet between Jan and Mar 1934.  The ship required more repairs upon her return in Apr - May 1934 and then a refit from 25 Jul to 31 Aug 1934.  HMS Cygnet was detached from the Home Fleet during the Abyssinian Crisis, and deployed in the Red Sea from Sep 1935 to Apr 1936.  She returned to the UK in Apr 1936 and refitted at Devonport between 20 Apr and 18 June 1936 before resuming duty with the Home Fleet.  In Jul - Aug 1936 she was deployed for patrol duties off the Spanish coast in the Bay of Biscay to intercept shipping carrying contraband goods to Spain and to protect British-flagged shipping during the first stages of the Spanish Civil War.  Together with her sister HMS Crescent, HMS Cygnet was sold to Canada on 20 Oct 1936 for a total price of £400,000.  She was refitted again to meet Canadian standards, including the installation of Type 124 ASDIC, and handed over on 1 Feb 1937.  The ship was renamed as HMCS St. Laurent and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 17 Feb 1937.  HMCS St. Laurent was assigned to Halifax, Nova Scotia and arrived there in May 1937.  She remained there for a year before she was transferred to Esquimalt in 1938.  In the summer of 1938, HMCS Skeena, HMCS Fraser, HMCS Saguenay and HMCS St. Laurent paid a port visit to San Diego as part of the spring training cruise.  HMCS St. Laurent was stationed on the west coast of Canada when the Second World War began and shortly thereafter she returned to the east coast, arriving at Halifax on 15 Sep 1939, and for several months escorted convoys on the first leg of the transatlantic journey.  HMCS St. Laurent left Halifax for the UK on 24 May 1940, and on arrival at Plymouth on 31 May 1940, was assigned to Western Approaches Command, playing a brief role in the evacuation of France.  On 2 Jul 1940, she rescued 860 survivors of the torpedoed liner Arandora Star.  She returned to Halifax on 3 March 1941, for refit, on completion of which she joined Newfoundland Command as a mid-ocean escort, serving continuously for the following three years . In Apr 1943, she became a member of EG C-1.  During this period "Sally" assisted in the destruction of two U-boats: U-356 on 27 Dec 1942, while escorting convoy ONS.154; and U-845 on 10 Mar 1944, while with convoy SC.154.  In May 1944, she was transferred to EG 11 for invasion duties, remaining with the group on patrol and support duties until the end of Nov 1944, when she returned to Canada for major repairs at Shelburne, NS.  She afterward remained in Canadian waters as a member of Halifax Force and after VE-Day was employed in transporting troops from Newfoundland to Canada.  Paid off on 10 Oct 1945, she was broken up at Sydney, NS, in 1947.

(Penny Duncan Photo)

HMCS St. Laurent (H83) (C class).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3399121)

HMCS St. Laurent (H83) (C class), 15 Aug 1941.

(RN Photo)

HMCS St. Laurent (H83) (C class), as HMS Cygnet.

(Brian Carpenter Photo)

HMCS St. Laurent (H83) (C class).

HMCS Restigouche (H00)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3207420)

HMCS Restigouche (H00) (C class), 1940.  Built by the Naval Dockyard, Portsmouth, UK, she was commissioned on 2 Jun 1932 as HMS Comet.  She was purchased at the same time as HMCS Ottawa and commissioned as HMCS Restigouche at Chatham, UK, on 15 Jun 1938.  Like her sister, she arrived at Esquimalt 7 Nov 1938, and left for Halifax 15 Nov 1939.  She performed local escort duties from that port until 24 May 1940, when she left for Plymouth,  Upon arriving there on 31 May 1940 HMCS Restigouche was assigned to Western Approaches Command.  On 11 Jun 1940, HMCS Restigouche took part in the evacuation of St. Valery and came under shore fire.  While assisting in the evacuation of the French ports she rescued survivors of HMCS Fraser.  She left Liverpool at the end of August for a brief refit at Halifax, returning to the UK in Jan 1941.  In Jun 1941, "Rustyguts" was allocated to Newfoundland Command, and in Apr 1943, became a member of EG C-4, in the interval toiling ceaselessly as a mid-ocean escort.  On 13 Dec 1941, she suffered storm damage en route to join convoy ON.44, and extensive repairs were carried out at Greenock.  From 12 Aug 1943 to 17 Dec 1943, she underwent refit at Jarrow-on-Tyne, England.  She was allocated to EG 12 in May 1944, for invasion duties, including D-Day, and afterward carried out Channel and Biscay patrols from her base at Plymouth.  HMCS Restigouche participated in operation "Dredger" against German escort vessels at the U-boat meeting points off Brest and southward.  During the night of 5/6 Jul the 12th EG, whihc included HMCS Qu'Appelle, HMCS Saskatchewan, HMCS Skeena and HMCS Restigouche, attacked three patrol boats off Brest: V715 was sunk but not before hitting HMCS Qu'Appelle and HMCS Saskatchewan many times with small calibre gunfire.  She returned to Canada in Sep 1944, for a major refit at Saint John, NB and Halifax, and upon completion proceeded to Bermuda for working up.  Returning to Halifax on 14 Feb 1945, she performed various local duties, and after VE-Day was employed for three months bringing home military personnel from Newfoundland.  Paid off on 5 Oct 1945, she was sold for scrap in 1945 to Foundation Maritime and was broken up in Halifax the next year.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4821061)

HMCS Restigouche (H00) (C class), 1940.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4950930)

HMCS Restigouche (H00) (C class), May 1942.

(CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum, Photo VR1994.38.15)

HMCS Restigouche (H00), 11 Aug 1940.  One of her four 4.7-inch Mk. IX guns traversed to port.

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Restigouche (H00), torpedo launch!

(Roger Clarke Photo)

HMCS Restigouche (H00).

(Diane Brown Photo)

HMCS Restigouche (H00) in drydock, Liverpool, UK.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4950925)

HMCS Restigouche (H00) (C class), May 1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4950926)

HMCS Restigouche (H00) (C class), May 1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4950994)

HMCS Restigouche (H00) with her 3-inch AA gun, 1943.

‍HMCS Ottawa (H60)

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Ottawa (H60), C-class destroyer.  Built by the Naval dockyard, Portsmouth, UK, for the RN, she was commissioned on 2 May 1932 as HMS Crusader.  She was purchased by the RCN and commissioned as HMCS Ottawa on 15 Jun 1938 at Chatham, in the UK.  She arrived at Esquimalt 7 Nov 1938 and was initially deployed on the Canadian Pacific Coast before the Second World War, but was transferred to Halifax three months after the war began.  Though assigned to the RN's America and West Indies Station, she remained based at Halifax as a local escort to eastbound convoys.  She left Halifax for the Clyde 27 Aug 1940, and on arrival was assigned to EG 10, Greenock, until the formation of Newfoundland Command in Jun 1941. Ottawa then shifted her base to St. John's and was employed as a mid-ocean escort from Jun 1941 onward, joining EG C-4 in May 1942.  Together with the British destroyer HMS Harvester, she sank the Italian submarine Comandante Faa' Di Bruno in the North Atlantic in November 1941.  She served as a convoy escort during the battle of the Atlantic until she was torpedoed and sunk sunk by the German submarine U-91 on 13 September 1942, while escorting convoy ON.127.  She suffered the loss of 116 officers and men.

From the war diary of Joseph Ambrose Walter Lees: "The Ottawa got it on the 13th, there were only 69 survivors out of a crew of 175, plus 50 that they had picked out of the water.  She was hit in the mess deck and in the boiler room.  She broke in two.  The halves stood on end and went straight down."

(DND Photo)

HMCS Ottawa (H60).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3305629)

HMCS Ottawa (H60) and HMCS Assiniboine (I18), Halifax, 19 Aug 1940.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Ottawa (H60), ratings playing chess on deck, Botwood, Newfoundland, 22 Jun 1940.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3398976)

HMCS Ottawa (H60) and HMCS Assiniboine (I18), Halifax, 19 Aug 1940.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3566366)

Infantrymen of the 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, disembarking from HMCS Ottawa (H60), Botwood, Newfoundland, 22 June 1940.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3566453)

Rear Admiral G.C. Jones, Honorable Angus L. Macdonald, MND for Naval Services, and Commander E.R. Mainguy, with HMCS Ottawa in the background, Aug 1940.

(Brian Dobing Photo)

HMCS Ottawa (H60) with a 3-inch AA gun in lieu of her rear torpedo tube mount and 'Y' gun removed.

(Don Smith Photo)

HMCS Ottawa (H60), St. John's, Newfoundland, ca 1942.

(Don Smith Photo)

HMCS Ottawa (H60) departing Halifax, ca 1942.

HMCS Assiniboine (I18)

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Assiniboine (I18) (C class destroyer).  Completed for the RN in 1932 as HMS Kempenfelt, she was transferred to the RCN at Devonport in the UK on 19 Oct 1939 and commissioned as HMCS Assiniboine I18.  She arrived in Halifax on 19 Nov 1939.  Assigned to the America and West Indies Station, she left for Jamaica on 5 Dec 1939 to carry out Caribbean patrols.  While so employed, HMCS Assiniboine assisted in the capture of the German freighter Hannover in the Mona Passage and towed her into Kingston, Jamaica.  She returned to Halifax on 31 Mar 1940, and was employed there as a local escort until 15 Jan 1941, when she sailed for the UK to join EG 10, Greenock.  With the formation of Newfoundland Command in Jun 1941, "Bones" was allocated to it for mid-ocean escort service.  While thus employed with convoy SC.94, on 06 Aug 1942, she rammed and sank U-210, necessitating repairs at Halifax from 29 Aug to 20 Dec 1942.  Not long after her return to service, while on passage to Londonderry on 02 Mar 1943, she attacked a U-boat with depth charges set too shallow, causing serious damage to her stern.  Repairs were effected at Liverpool from 7 Mar to 13 Jul 1943, when she joined EG C-1 of MOEF.  In Apr 1944, she returned to Canada for refit at Shelburne, NS, and on 1 Aug 1944 arrived at Londonderry to become a member of EG 12 and, a few weeks later, EG 11.  In Dec 1944 she was loaned to EG 14, Liverpool, and remained with it until VE-Day.  She returned to Canada in Jun 1945, and, after brief employment as a troop transport, was paid off 8 Aug 1945.  On 10 Nov 1945, en route for scrapping at Baltimore, HMCS Assiniboine broke her tow and was wrecked near East Point, PEI.  Her remains were broken up on the wreck site in 1952.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3566830)

HMCS Assiniboine (I18) (C class destroyer), 1 Nov 1940.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3399942)

HMCS Assiniboine (I18) (C class destroyer), 1 Nov 1940.

(Author Photo)

HMCS Assiniboine (I18) attacking U-210 during the Battle of the Atlantic, artwork by Tom Forrestall.

On 6 Aug 1942, while on escort duty with convoy SC-94 on the foggy Grand Banks, HMCS Assiniboine spotted the German submarine U-210 on the surface.  For the next seven hours she pursued the U-boat using every resource at her disposal to attack and destroy the U-boat.  The battle was fierce; at one point the two combatants were so close that the Canadian Destroyer could only use its .50 calibre machine guns and small arms.  The U-boat scored numerous hits with its 20-mm gun causing a fire abreast the starboard side of the bridge superstructure, and killing one and wounding 13 seamen.  Finally, as U-210 attempted to dive, the Destroyer successfully rammed the submarine just behind the conning tower, forcing it to surface.  HMCS Assiniboine then rammed U-210 again, sending it to the bottom in two minutes.  All but six of the U-boat crew were recovered.  Six members of HMCS Assiniboine's company received medals for their heroism during this engagement, and fourteen others were Mentioned in Dispatches.

In 2004, Tom Forrestall, a world-renowned Dartmouth, Nova Scotia-based painter, was commissioned to paint a mural that would highlight the valour and tenacity of the Royal Canadian Navy as a tribute to the Battle of the Atlantic.  The incident selected was this engagement between the River Class Destroyer HMCS Assiniboine and the German Type VII-C submarine U-210.  This artwork hangs in an honoured place in the Wardroom, an integral part of the CFB Halifax Officers’ Mess complex.

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Assiniboine (I18) attacking U-210, 6 August 1942.

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Assiniboine (I18) ramming U-210  6 August 1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3566952)

HMCS Assiniboine (I18) signalmen, 1940.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3566434)

HMCS Assiniboine (I18) QF 2-pounder pom-pom Mk. VIII, V.S.M. (Vickers, Sons & Maxim LL) Automatic Gun, 10 July 1940.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3566440)

HMCS Assiniboine (I18) QF 2-pounder pom-pom Mk. 1, V.S.M. (Vickers, Sons & Maxim LL) Automatic Gun, being fired on 10 July 1940.

(USN, U.S. Official Naval Archives Photo)

HMCS Assiniboine (I18), 1932.