Royal Canadian Navy Destroyers (Tribal, V, and C 1943 class), 1931-1949

Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) 1931–1949, Destroyers (Tribal, V, and C 1943 class)

The Tribal class destroyers were built for the RN, the RCN and the RAN and served during and after the Second World War.  They were originally intended to serve as light fleet cruisers, but in response to new designs by Japan, Italy, and Germany, the Tribals evolved into fast, powerful destroyers, with greater emphasis on guns over torpedoes than previous destroyers.  The Tribals were well admired by their crews and the public when they were in service.  The Tribal class destroyers served with distinction in nearly all theatres of the Second World War.   Canadian Tribals saw service in the Korean War.

HMCS Athabaskan (G07) Tribal class; HMCS Athabaskan II (R79) (219) (Tribal class); HMCS Cayuga (R04) (218) (Tribal class); HMCS Haida (G63) (215) Tribal class); HMCS Huron (G24) (216) (Tribal class); HMCS Iroquois (G89) (217) (Tribal class); HMCS Micmac (R10) (214) (Tribal class); HMCS Nootka (R96) (213) (Tribal class); HMCS Algonquin (R17) (224) (V class destroyer); HMCS Sioux (R64) (225) (V-class); HMCS Crescent (R16) (226) (C class (1943) destroyer); HMCS Crusader (R20) (228) (C class)

HMCS Athabaskan (G07)

(DND Photo)

HMCS Athabaskan (G07).  Commissioned on 3 Feb 1943 at Newcastle-on-Tyne and assigned to the British Home Fleet, HMCS Athabaskan left on 29 Mar 1943 to patrol the Iceland-Faeroes Passage for blockade runners.  Stress of weather caused hull damage that required five weeks' repairs at South Shields, UK, following which, in Jun 1943, she took part in Operation Gearbox III, the relief of the garrison at Spitsbergen.  On 18 Jun 1943 she collided with the boom defence vessel Bargate at Scapa Flow, occasioning a month's repair at Devonport.  In Jul and Aug 1943 she was based at Plymouth, carrying out A/S patrols in the Bay of Biscay, and on 27 Aug 1943 was hit by a glider bomb off the Spanish coast.  She managed to reach Devonport, where she remained under repair until 10 Nov 1943; returning to Scapa Flow in Dec 1943.

While on patrol in the Bay of Biscay Patrol area at 13:00 hours on August 27, 1943, HMCS Athabaskan was attacked by eighteen enemy Dornier-217s. HMS Egret (a British Sloop) was sunk.  A glide bomb hit HMCS Athabaskan at the junction of "B" gun-deck and the wheel-house.  It passed under the plot room, through the Chief Petty Officer's Mess, and out the starboard side.  It exploded barely a few feet beyond and bomb fragments pierced HMCS Athabaskan's side and bridge in a number of places.  The Captain, Commander Miles was knocked down by the blast and several officers, including Lieutenant-Commander Dunn Lanthier and Sub-Lieutenant John A. Brebner had severe leg injuries.  Able Seaman Joseph McGrath, a bridge lookout, died the next day.  The crew of "B" gun bore the worst of the injuries with Able Seaman William Pickett and Petty Officer Ernest Latimer being killed.  Leading Seaman John Gordon took charge despite the fact that he was injured and several others were burned.  Several members of "A" gun were also burned and wounded.  Leading Cook Frank Prudhomme also died.  HMCS Athabaskan took on board the 35 survivors from HMS Egret.  HMCS Athabaskan continued on at 14 knots, correcting a serious list to starboard.  The ship reached Devonport, where she remained under repair until 10 Nov 1943; returning to Scapa Flow in Dec 1943.

On 29 April 1944 at about 0300 hours, HMCS Athabaskan was patrolling with her sister Tribal-class destroyer HMCS Haida in support of a British minelaying operation off the coast of France near the mouth of the Morlaix River.   She received the first of a series of Admiralty orders to intercept German warships near Ile de Bas as spotted by coastal radar in southern England.  During the subsequent engagement with German naval vessels, HMCS Athabaskan was torpedoed and sank.  128 men were lost, 44 were rescued by HMCS Haida and 83 were taken prisoner by three German minesweepers which sortied from the coast after the departure of HMCS Haida.

Accounts of the night battle vary.  Some survivors recount that the ship was initially struck by shore-battery gunfire, and then by a torpedo launched by German torpedo boat T24.  At least one survivor tells of a second torpedo hit fifteen minutes after the first, but the official history of the Royal Canadian Navy attributes the second major explosion to the fires touching off the ammunition magazine.

(IWM Photo, A22987)

HMCS Athabaskan (G07), ca 1944.

(CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum Photo)

HMCS Athabaskan (G07), ca 1944.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Athabaskan (G07), ca 1944.

HMCS Athabaskan II (R79) (219)

 (USN Photo)

HMCS Athabaskan (R79), off the Korean coast, ca 1950.  The last of her class to be completed, "Athabee" was commissioned at Halifax on 20 Jan 1948, and sailed in mid-May 1948 for the west coast, where she trained new entries and officer cadets until the outbreak of the Korean War.  She sailed from Esquimalt on 05 Jul 1950, for the first of three tours of duty in Korean waters, returning 11 Dec 1953, from the last of them.  In Oct 1954, she emerged from an extensive conversion classed as a destroyer escort 9219), and resumed her training role.  On 7 Aug 1955, while on a Pacific Training Cruise with HMCS Cayuga, HMCS Athabaskan docked at Long Beach, California, with a stowaway on board. Joycelyn Joan Pilapil, a 16 year old Hawaiian girl, had hid in the after awning stores and was discovered there the day after the ship sailed from Hilo.  She was turned over to authorities in Long Beach and was eventually returned to Hilo.  In Jan 1959, HMCS Athabaskan left for the east coast to become part of a homogeneous Tribal class squadron.  On 16 Feb 1959, HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Cayuga arrived in Halifax.  Their west coast crews returned to BC with HMCS St. Laurent and HMCS Saguenay.  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.  In the summer of 1963, after completing a refit at Marine Industries, Sorel, Quebec, HMCS Athabaskan was acting a plane guard for HMCS Bonaventure, exercising in the North Atlantic.  On completion of this exercise she was to proceed to Portsmouth for radar calibration.  While so employed, she was fueling from HMCS Bonaventure when the two ships collided.  HMCS Bonaventure received some minor damage, while HMCS Athabaskan's was more serious.  HMCS Athabaskan proceed to Belfast, Northern Ireland for temporary repairs before proceeding to Portsmouth for radar calibration and permanent repairs.  On 1 Mar 1964, HMCS Athabaskan rescued 34 of 36 crew members from the Liberian tanker Amphialos which broke up and sank approx 250 nautical miles south of Liverpool, NS.  After five more years of training cruises and NATO exercises she was placed in reserve at Halifax and, on 21 Apr 1966, paid off for disposal.  She was broken up at La Spezia, Italy, in 1970.

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Athabaskan (R219).

(Cathy Robinson Photo)

HMCS Athabaskan (219) fueling from (possibly) HMCS Ontario.

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Athabaskan (219), c1952.

(USN Official Naval Archives Photos)

HMCS Athabaskan (219).

HMCS Cayuga (R04) (218)

(City of Vancouver Archives Photo)

HMCS Cayuga (R04).  Commissioned at Halifax on 19 Oct 1947, she sailed on 4 Feb 1948, for Esquimalt, her assigned base.  On 13 Jan 1950 HMCS Cayuga made a run from Esquimalt at the height of one of the worst blizzards to hit the West Coast.  The Tribal class destroyer is the only ship to put out of Vancouver Island during the gale, and when she docked at Vancouver, her superstructure was covered in two inches of ice.  Despite a rough passage and up to 65-knot winds, HMCS Cayuga carried the Navy's junior hockey team safely to Vancouver for a featured exhibition game, and returned home the following day with Army personnel participating in an exercise appropriately named Operation Brass Monkey.  At 0815 on 14 Feb 1950, HMCS Cayuga was ordered to proceed with all dispatch to a search area off the Queen Charlotte Sound and Hecate Strait to search for USAF Convair B36 Peacemaker (Serial No. 2075), which had gone down in the early morning hours.  This was a BROKEN ARROW (a missing nuclear weapon) operation.  HMCS Cayuga remained on station as OTC co-ordinating the search on Princess Royal Island until 22 Feb 1950 when the search was called off.  All but 5 of the crew were found. (the crash site was not found till several years later.  On 5 Jul 1950, HMCS Cayuga departed Esquimalt, as Senior Officer's ship of the first three Canadian destroyers to serve in Korean waters.  On 4 Dec 1950, a United Nations force including HMCS Cayuga, HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Sioux covered the withdrawal at Chinnampo, Korea.  During her first tour 1950-51, she went into drydock in Sasebo, Japan - once to have the sonar dome checked and ship painted; and a 2nd time to check the screws for damage as she backed over the ship's whaler.  She carried out three tours of duty there, the last in 1954 after the armistice.  In 1952, between the second and third tours, she was rebuilt as a destroyer escort (218).  For four years after her return from Korea in Mid-Dec 1954, HMCS Cayuga carried out training on the west coast.  On 16 Jan 1958, she departed Esquimalt in company with HMCS Crescent 226, HMCS Fraser 233, HMCS Margaree 230, and HMCS Skeena, to take part in a Far-East training cruise.  In Jan 1959, HMCS Cayuga left Esquimalt for the east coast to become part of a homogeneous Tribal class squadron.  On 16 Feb 1959, HMCS Athabaskan and HMCS Cayuga arrived in Halifax.  Their west coast crews returned to BC with HMCS St. Laurent and HMCS Saguenay.  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.  Paid off at Halifax on 27 Feb 1964, she was broken up at Faslane, Scotland, the following year.

(Bob Theriault Photo)

HMCS Cayuga (218), Korea, 1950.

(Stephen Hlasny Photo)

HMCS Cayuga (218), refueling from HMCS Ontario, 1958.

(Stephen Hlasny Photo)

Whaler from HMCS Sioux (225) being exchanged with the whaler from HMCS Cayuga (218), 1954.

(Erin Brownlee Photo)

HMCS Cayuga (218), RASing with unknown ship.

(Dennis McGillivray Photo)

HMCS Cayuga (218).

(Peter Chance Photo)

HMCS Cayuga leaving for Korea from Esquimalt, British Columbia, June 1951.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4821142)

HMCS Cayuga (218).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4476764)

HMCS Cayuga (218), 20 Aug 1958.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Cayuga (218).

(City of Vancouver Archives Photo)

HMCS Cayuga (218), 11 June 1955.

USN Official Naval Archives Photo)

HMCS Cayuga (218).

HMCS Haida (G63) (215)

 Library and Archives of Canada Photo, PA 112359)

HMCS Haida (G63) is a Tribal-class destroyer that served in the RCN from 1943 to 1963, participating in both the Second World War and the Korean War.  She was named for the Haida First Nations tribe.  She is the only surviving Tribal-class destroyer out of 27 vessels constructed for the RCN, RN and RAN between 1937 and 1945.  HMCS Haida sank more enemy surface tonnage than any other Canadian warship and as such is commonly referred to as the "Fightingest Ship in the Royal Canadian Navy".  HMCS Haida was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1984, and she now serves as a museum ship berthed next to HMCS Star, an active RCNR Division, in Hamilton, Ontario.  In 2018, HMCS Haida was designated the ceremonial flagship of the RCN.

Commissioned on 30 Aug 1943, at Newcastle-on-Tyne, HMCS Haida was assigned to the British Home Fleet and during the first three months of her career made two trips to North Russia as a convoy escort.  In Jan 1944, she joined the 10th Flotilla at Plymouth, and for the next eight months was engaged in sweeps and patrols in the Channel and the Bay of Biscay.  She was present on D-Day.  During this period she took part in the sinking of several enemy vessels, including torpedo boat T29, on April 26 off Ushant; T27, on 29 Apr 1944 off Ushant; destroyer Z 32 was sunk in a gun duel with HMCS Haida G63 and HMCS Huron G24, on 9 Jun 1944 off Ile de Bas; U-971, on June 24 off Land's and minesweeper M486, on 6 Aug 1944 off Ile d'Yeu.  In Sep 1944 she sailed for Canada to refit at Halifax, returning to Plymouth in Jan 1945.  In Mar 1945 she returned to Scapa Flow and escorted another convoy to Murmansk, as well as carrying out strikes against German shipping off the Norwegian coast.  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 G89 were attacked by U-427 (Oblt Karl-Gabriel Graf von Gudenus).  The attack resulted in near misses by U-427.  They arrived at Clyde on 08 May 1945.

On 4 Jun 1945, HMCS Haida departed Greenock, arriving at Halifax on 10 Jun 1945 to begin tropicalization refit, but with the surrender of Japan this was cancelled and she was paid off on 20 Mar 1946.  She was re-commissioned at Halifax in 1947 and for the next three years took part in training and NATO exercises . On 19 Nov 1949, approx 300 miles north of Bermuda, HMCS Haida rescued 18 airmen from a B-29 Bomber that went down on 16 Nov 1949 while en route from the USAF Base at St. George Bermuda to England.  In Jul 1950, HMCS Haida entered refit and began an extensive modernization.  She was re-commissioned (215) on 11 Mar 1952, to prepare for service in Korean waters.  Between 1952 and 1954 she did two tours of duty in that theatre, then resumed her training role.  In the summer of 1963, HMCS Haida took part in the summer training on the Great Lakes for the officers and men of the Naval Reserve.  She was paid off for the last time on 11 Oct 1963, at Sydney.  Purchased by a private group of citizens, she arrived at Toronto in tow on 25 Aug 1964, to become a floating memorial, and in 1970 was accorded a berth at Ontario Place and later, on 30 Aug 2003 - after having spent a year at Port Welland, Ontario, having her hull redone - she was moved to her current berth at Pier 9 in Hamilton.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Haida and HMCS Athabaskan performing high speed maneuvers, early 1944.

(Jim Silvester Photo)

HMCS Haida (G63).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4117978)

HMCS Haida, (G63), sailor standing at the gangway.

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Haida (G63), 16 March 1949.  She gained entry in the Trainbusters Club, destroying a Chinese supply train and engine off Tanch’on, South Korea.

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Haida (215).

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Haida (215) off the coast of Korea, ca. 1952-1954.

(Francis Dowdall Photo)

HMCS Magnificent's doctor being transferred to HMCS Haida (215), on 19 Nov 1949.  A USAF Boeing B-29 Superfortress crashed in the Atlantic and approximately one week later, the survivors were picked up by HMCS Haida.  HMCS Magnificent's doctor was transferred to HMCS Haida to tend to the survivors.

(Gerald Sullivan Photo)

HMCS Haida (215) fueling from HMCS Magnificent, ca 1952, not long after Haida completed a refit before being deployed to Korea.  Note the 3"50 on the gun deck.

(Balcer Photo)

HMCS Haida, one of two main twin 4-inch Mk 16 gun turrets.

(Author Photo)

(Author Photo)

HMCS Haida (G63), Hamilton harbour, Ontario.

(USN Naval History and Heritage Photos)

HMCS Haida (G63).

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.

HMCS Algonquin (R17) (224)

(IWM Photo)

HMCS Algonquin (R17).  Not a "Tribal" despite her name, she was laid down as HMS Valentine but commissioned on 17 Feb 1944, at Glasgow as HMCS Algonquin.  Assigned to the 26th Destroyer Flotilla of the British Home Fleet, she left Scapa Flow with HMCS Sioux on 31 Mar 1944 to help escort the carrier attack on the Tirpitz.  In Apr 1944 she escorted a similar attack on German shipping off the Lofoten Island, Norway, and on 28 May 1944 left Scapa, from whence she carried out attacks on German convoys off Norway.  Taking part in D-Day operations she bombarded shore targets on the Normandy coast.  On 22 Aug 1944, she took off 203 of HMS Nabob's ship's company when the latter was torpedoed in the Barents Sea.  In November 1944, HMCS Algonquin was part of an attack on a German convoy that sank or destroyed seven vessels.  During their layover in northern Russia along with HMCS Sioux, after Convoy JW.63 arrived at Kola Inlet, HMCS Algonquin's CO, Desmond Piers, organized a Canada Russia hockey game.  HMCS Algonquin was short handed and Trygve Hansen from the Norwegian Navy (HNoMS Stord) played for HMCS Algonquin's team.  HMCS Algonquin beat HMCS Sioux, but was later trounced by reps from the Port of Murmansk with a final game being played with Russian equipment and under Russian rules.

She returned to Halifax in Feb 1945, for refit, leaving on 12 Aug 1945 via Malta to join the British Pacific Fleet, but was recalled on VJ-Day and left Alexandria for Esquimalt on 03 Nov 1945. There she was paid off into reserve on 6 Feb 1946, but was re-commissioned (224) on 25 Feb 1953, after very extensive modernization, and sailed for the east coast that summer.  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.  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.  After fourteen years' service with the Atlantic Command, she returned to the west coast in Mar 1967, and was paid off for the last time on 1 Apr 1970, to be broken up in Taiwan in 1971.

(Nicky Love Photo)

HMCS Algonquin (R17).

(Ruth (Brooks) DeYoung Photo)

HMCS Algonquin (R17), in the Mediterranean Aug/Sep 1945.  In Aug 1945, HMCS Algonquin departed Halifax for the Pacific via the Suez Canal to join the RN Pacific Fleet.  This was called off after VJ day and she sailed for Esquimalt.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Algonquin (R17).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4821021)

HMCS Algonquin (R17), 4.7-inch gun crew after shelling Normandy beachhead, 6 June 1944.  She took part in escorting the aircraft carriers that bombed the German warship Tirpitz in March 1944, prior to providing naval gunfire support in Operation Neptune, the naval participation in the D-Day landings.  

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3223884)

HMCS Algonquin (R17), 4.7-inch gun crew after shelling Normandy beachhead, 6 June 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4820934)

HMCS Algonquin (R17), Ordnance QF 40-mm Bofors Twin AA gun with RCN ensign, 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4233946)

HMCS Algonquin (R17) (V class destroyer), enroute to France, 18 June 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3348210)

HMCS Algonquin (DDE224) Type 16 anti-submarine fast Frigate, with twin 3-inch/50 gun mount, 21 January 1955. The wartime ex-RN DD R17, was later renumbered and reconstructed by th3 RCN as a type 15 a/s fast frigate DDE224 during the 1950s and 60s. The 3rd DDH283, HMCS Algonquin was a new ship constructed in 1973. It was scrapped after being in a collision with another ship in 2015.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3577106)

HMCS Algonquin (R17), Ordnance QF 40-mm Bofors Twin AA gun crew.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3921885)

HMCS Algonquin (R17), (V class destroyer).

(Abbie Gourgon Photo)

HMCS Algonquin (R17) (V class destroyer).

 (Dennis McGillivray Photo)

HMCS Algonquin (224), in RCN service 25 Feb 1953-1 Apr 1970.

(Gerry Curry Photo)

HMCS Algonquin (224), in RCN service 25 Feb 1953-1 Apr 1970.

(Mark MacKenzie Photo)

HMCS Algonquin (224), in RCN service 25 Feb 1953-1 Apr 1970.

(USN Official Naval Archives Photos)

HMCS Algonquin (224), in RCN service 25 Feb 1953-1 Apr 1970.

HMCS Sioux (R64) (225)

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Sioux (R64) (V-class).  Laid down as HMS Vixen, she was commissioned HMCS Sioux at Cowes, Isle of Wight, on 21 Feb 1944, and assigned to the 26th Flotilla of the British Home Fleet.  She took part in escorting carrier attacks against the Tirpitz and against German shipping off Norway, and on 28 May 1944 left Scapa for Portsmouth for D-Day duties, bombarding shore targets on the Normandy coast.  Returning to Scapa Flow in Jul 1944, she resumed her previous occupation and also escorted four convoys each way to and from Murmansk.

She left the UK on 6 Apr 1945, for her first trip to Canada and, upon arrival underwent a major refit at Halifax.  In Nov 1945 Sioux was transferred to Esquimalt, where she was paid off into reserve on 27 Feb 1946.  After some modernization she was re-commissioned (225) in 1950, and did three tours of duty in Korean waters, from 1951 to 1955.  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.  During this deployment, while alongside in Antwerp, HMCS Sioux lost a crew member who fell overboard in harbour and drowned while coming off duty at midnight.  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 the 5 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 partake 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.  From 12 Sep to 17 Sep 1962, the 3rd Destroyer Escort Squadron paid a visit to Newfoundland.

Sioux was paid off at Halifax on 13 Oct 1963.  She was broken up in 1965 at La Spezia, Italy.

(Jay Ford Photo)

HMCS Sioux (R64) (V-class).

(Cathy Robinson Photo)

HMCS Sioux (225).

(Cathy Robinson Photo)

HMCS Sioux (225).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4950996)

HMCS Sioux (225) (V-class), ca 1954.

(Claus Mathes Phto)

HMCS Sioux (225).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4949817)

Halifax dockyard, 1959.  HMCS Sioux (225) at Jetty No. 3, with CNAV Bluethroat aft, 5 RCN Bay Class Minesweepers aft of a pair of USN, USCG Barnegat Class cutters. USS Aeolus, a cable repair ship, is at Jetty One.

(USN Naval History and Heritage Photos)

HMCS Sioux (225).

HMCS Crescent (R16) (226)

(RCSCC Bowmanville Photo)

HMCS Crescent (R16).  In Jan 1945, after a year's discussion, the British Admiralty agreed to lend the RCN a flotilla of "C" Class destroyers for use against the Japanese.  The Pacific war ended, however, before any of the eight ships had been completed, and only two were transferred.  The previous ships to bear their names, HMCS Crescent and HMCS Crusader, had been lost during the war as HMCS Fraser and HMCS Ottawa. This time they retained their names although the transfer was made permanent in 1951.  HMCS Crescent and HMCS Crusader were virtually identical to HMCS Algonquin and HMCS Sioux, differing principally in having only one set of torpedo tubes and in being armed with 4.5-inch guns instead of 4.7-inch guns.  Both ships were commissioned on the Clyde in 1945,  HMCS Crescent on 10 Sep 1945 and HMCS Crusader on 15 Nov 1945.  HMCS Crescent arrived at Esquimalt in Nov 1945, having made the journey via the Azores and the West Indies.

In Feb 1949 HMCS Crescent was sent to China to safeguard Canadian interests during the Chinese Civil War.  She  arrived at Shanghai on 26 February, and then on 11 Mar 1949, entered Chinese waters and sailed to Nanjing via the Yangtze River, arriving at Nanjing on 20 Mar 1949.  HMCS Crescent remained on station until 23 Mar 1949 when she was relieved at Nanjing by HMS Consort.  She then sailed for Hong Kong and remained in the area until May 1949 when she returned to Esquimalt.  About a month after her arrival on station 85 ratings staged a mutiny where they locked themselves in the mess decks and refused to turn to until the Captain heard their grievances.

HMCS Crescent carried out training duties until taken in hand for a major conversion in 1953.  She emerged in 1956 as a "fast A/S frigate," following an RN pattern which entailed stripping her to deck level, extending the fo'c's'le right aft, erecting new superstructure, and fitting completely new armament.  She was now a near-sister to HMCS Algonquin, which had undergone similar transformation earlier.  On 15 Jan 1958 HMCS Cayuga 218, HMCS Crescent 226, HMCS Fraser 233, HMCS Margaree 230, and HMCS Skeena 207, departed Esquimalt, BC, for a Far Eastern Training cruise.  In Feb 1959, HMCS Crescent and HMCS Assiniboine met at San Diego and exchanged crews.  HMCS Crescent was paid off at Esquimalt on 1 Apr 1970.  She left Victoria with HMCS Algonquin on 21 Apr 1971, for Taiwan, to be broken up.  She arrived at Taiwan on 15 May 1971.

(RCN Photo via the CFB Esquimalt Naval Military Museum)

HMCS Crescent (R16).

(Sam Seright Photo)

HMCS Crescent (R16).

(Daniel Miller Photo)

HMCS Crescent (R16).

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Crescent (R16).

(Allan Briscoe Photo)

HMCS Crescent (226).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4951251)

HMCS Crescent (226).

(USN Official Naval Archives Photos)

HMCS Crescent (226)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4951331)

HMCS Crescent crew, 1957.

HMCS Crusader (R20) (228)

(Steve Hlasny Photo)

HMCS Crescent (228).  In Jan 1945, after a year's discussion, the British Admiralty agreed to lend the RCN a flotilla of "C" Class destroyers for use against the Japanese.  The Pacific war ended, however, before any of the eight ships had been completed, and only two were transferred.  The previous ships to bear their names, HMCS Crescent and HMCS Crusader, had been lost during the war as HMCS Fraser and HMCS Ottawa. This time they retained their names although the transfer was made permanent in 1951.  HMCS Crescent and HMCS Crusader were virtually identical to HMCS Algonquin and HMCS Sioux, differing principally in having only one set of torpedo tubes and in being armed with 4.5-inch guns instead of 4.7-inch guns.  Both ships were commissioned on the Clyde in 1945,  HMCS Crescent on 10 Sep 1945 and HMCS Crusader on 15 Nov 1945.  HMCS Crusader arrived at Esquimalt in Jan 1946, having made the journey via the Azores and the West Indies and was almost immediately paid off into reserve, a state in which she was to spend several years.  After being brought out of reserve, HMCS Crusader carried out two tours of duty in the Korean theatre, the first between Jun 1952 and Jun 1953, the second after the armistice, from Nov 1953 to Aug 1954.  Reverting then to her former training role, she was paid off on 16 Jan 1960, at Halifax.  She had earlier served as a test vehicle for a prototype VDS (variable depth sonar) outfit, a more permanent installation of which was made in HMCS Crescent in 1960.  HMCS Crusader was sold for scrapping in 1963.

(IWM Photo, FL 10052)

HMCS Crusader (228), ca. 1946 after the transfer to the RCN.  HMCS Crusader had been commissioned in 1945 as HMS Crusader (R20).  She was later converted to an anti-submarine frigate (DDE 228) and scrapped in 1964.

(Don Gorham Photo)

HMCS Crusader (228).

(Mike O'Keefe Photo)

HMCS Crusader (228).

(Mike O'Keefe Photo)

HMCS Crusader (228).

(DND Photo via the CFB Esquimalt Naval Museum)

HMCS Crusader (228).

(USN Official Naval Archives Photos)

HMCS Crusader (228).

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(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4821386)

HMCS Crescent (226), with Canadian pattern Type 15 conversion, can be positively identified by her 4-inch Mk. XIX gun at A position, covered by a canvas awning, closest to the dock.  The destroyer alongside her to the left is a Tribal Class DDE, identified by the 4-inch Mk. XIX guns at A & B positions.  The ships are berthed in Hong Kong at the inner side of the breakwater arm of the tidal basin at HMS Tamar.  The photo was likely taken in the late 1950's to early 1960's but no later than 1963.  The dockside cranes were removed in very early 1960's. The Hong Hong City Hall building is not yet there.  The last Tribal was decommissioned circa 1964. All point data points to that period.  (LCol Alfred C.W. Lai)

(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 Destroyer.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3567270)

Torpedo handling on an RCN Destroyer, Halifax, March 1941.

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