 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
  Canada | |
| Name | Chaudière |
| Namesake | Chaudière River |
| Builder | Halifax Shipyards Ltd.,Halifax |
| Laid down | 30 July 1953 |
| Launched | 13 November 1957 |
| Commissioned | 14 November 1959 |
| Decommissioned | 23 May 1974 |
| Identification | DDE 235 |
| Motto | La fortune sourit aux braves (Fortune smiles on the brave)[1] |
| Honours & awards |
|
| Fate | Sunk as artificial reef offBritish Columbia in 1992. |
| Badge | Vert, three cotises in bend wavy or, debruised in the center with a plate voided, the inner edge evicted.[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Restigouche-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 2,800 t (2,800 long tons; 3,100 short tons) (deep load) |
| Length | 366 ft (111.6 m) |
| Beam | 42 ft (12.8 m) |
| Draught | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
| Range | 4,750 nautical miles (8,800 km; 5,470 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Complement | 214 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys | 1 × DAU HF/DF (high frequency direction finder) |
| Armament |
|
HMCSChaudière was aRestigouche-classdestroyer and the second vessel of her class that served in theRoyal Canadian Navy and later theCanadian Forces from 1959 to 1974. She was the second Canadian naval unit to bear this name. During the summer of 1974 she along with her sister ship HMCS Columbia served as the base of operations for the Esquimalt Sea Cadet Camp while being docked at the DND jetty in Colwood. This location was across the harbour from the main site of CFB Esquimalt. Following the vessel's decommissioning, the ship was used as a source for spare parts for the other surviving members of her class. In 1991,Chaudière was sold for use as anartificial reef and sunk off the coast ofBritish Columbia.
Based on the precedingSt. Laurent-class design, theRestigouches had the same hull and propulsion, but different weaponry.[2] Initially theSt. Laurent class had been planned to be 14 ships. However the order was halved, and the following seven were redesigned to take into improvements made on theSt. Laurents. As time passed, their design diverged further from that of theSt. Laurents.[3]
The ships had adisplacement of 2,000 tonnes (2,000 long tons), 2,500 t (2,500 long tons) at deep load. They were designed to be 112 metres (366 ft)long with abeam of 13 metres (42 ft) and adraught of 4.01 metres (13 ft 2 in).[2] TheRestigouches had a complement of 214.[4]
TheRestigouches were by powered by two English Electric geared steam turbines, each driving apropeller shaft, using steam provided by twoBabcock & Wilcox boilers. They generated 22,000kilowatts (30,000 shp) giving the vessels a maximum speed of 28knots (52 km/h; 32 mph).[2]
TheRestigouches were equipped with SPS-10, SPS-12, Sperry Mk 2 and SPG-48 radar along with SQS-501 and SQS-503 sonar.[5]
TheRestigouches diverged from theSt. Laurents in their weaponry. TheRestigouches were equipped with two twin mounts ofVickers 3-inch (76 mm)/70 calibre Mk 6 dual-purpose guns forward and maintained a single twin mount of3-inch/50 calibre Mk 22 guns aft used in the preceding class.[note 1] A Mk 69 fire control director was added to control the new guns.[6] They were also armed with twoLimbo Mk 10 mortars and two singleBofors 40 mm guns.[2] However the 40 mm guns were dropped in the final design.[6]
From 1958 the destroyers were also equipped with Mk 43 homing torpedoes to increase the effective range of the weapons. The Mk 43 torpedo had a range of 4,100 metres (4,500 yd) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). They were launched by a modifieddepth charge thrower.[7]
Chaudière waslaid down on 30 July 1953 byHalifax Shipyards atHalifax, Nova Scotia. Named for ariver inQuebec, she was the last of her class. The ship waslaunched on 13 November 1957. While under construction the escort suffered a fire which caused $200,000 in damage in September 1958. On 4 October 1958, a visiting engineer died after falling.[8] The shipcommissioned on 14 November 1959 at Halifax with theclassification DDE 235. Prime MinisterJohn Diefenbaker was a guest of honour at the ceremony.
Upon commissioning, the ship was assigned to theFifth Canadian Escort Squadron.[4][9] In March 1961, the destroyer escort was among the ships that took part in a combined naval exercise with theUnited States Navy offNova Scotia.[10]Chaudière underwent shock testing offFlorida in 1962. In February 1964, the ship took part in theNATO naval exercise "Magic Lantern" offGibraltar.[8]
Following theunification of the Canadian Armed Forces, and the change from the Royal Canadian Navy to Maritime Command,Chaudière was transferred to the west coast to join the Second Canadian Escort Squadron.[11] On 2 October 1967, she left Halifax to travel toEsquimalt.[4]
Initially all sevenRestigouche-class ships were intended to be upgraded to the IRE refit, however due to financial reasons,Chaudière's conversion was cut and by 1970, the ship was reduced to atraining ship.[4][12] On 23 May 1974,Chaudière waspaid off and used as a source for parts for the other members of the class.[4]
In 1989,Chaudière'ssister shipKootenay collided with a merchant vessel and herbow was severely damaged. To repair the damage,Kootenay's damaged bow was removed andChaudière's was installed in place.[4]
In September 1991, the Canadian government sold the former destroyer escort to theArtificial Reef Society of British Columbia for $1 for use as an artificial reef.[13] The project to use the ship was saved mainly by donations from the community after government funding was cut.[14] The ship was sunk inSechelt Inlet, British Columbia on 5 December 1992.[4]
49°37.694′N123°48.699′W / 49.628233°N 123.811650°W /49.628233; -123.811650
