_underway%2c_circa_in_1942.jpg) HMCSIroquois (G89) underway | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Canada | |
| Name | Iroquois |
| Namesake | TheIroquois people |
| Ordered | 5 April 1940 |
| Builder | Vickers-Armstrongs,High Walker |
| Laid down | 19 September 1940 |
| Launched | 23 September 1941 |
| Commissioned | 30 November 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 22 February 1946 |
| Identification | Pennant number; G89 |
| Recommissioned | October 1951 |
| Decommissioned | 24 October 1962 |
| Identification | DDE 217 |
| Honours & awards |
|
| Fate | Scrapped 1966 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Tribal-classdestroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 377 ft (115 m) |
| Beam | 37.5 ft (11.4 m) |
| Draught | 11.2 ft (3.4 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 shafts, 3 Admiralty 3-drum type boilers, 2 Parsons geared steam turbines, 44,000 shp (33,000 kW) |
| Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h) |
| Complement | 259 (14 officers, 245 ratings) |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
HMCSIroquois was aTribal-classdestroyer that served in theRoyal Canadian Navy during theSecond World War andKorean War. She was named for theIroquois First Nations.Iroquois was the first ship to bear this name and the first ship of the class to serve with the Royal Canadian Navy.[2]
The Tribals were designed to fight heavily armed destroyers of other navies, such as the JapaneseFubuki class.[3] Canada chose the design based on its armament, with the size and power of the Tribal class allowing them to act more like small cruisers than as fleet destroyers.[4]Iroquois was among the first batch of Tribal-class destroyers ordered by the RCN in 1940–1941. They were ordered with modified ventilation and heating systems forNorth Atlantic winter service. Design modifications were made after deficiencies were noted inIroquois, the lead ship of the Canadian Tribals.
Iroquois, as one of the British-built Tribal-class destroyers, was 335 ft 6 in (102.26 m)long between perpendiculars and 377 ft (115 m)long overall with abeam of 36 ft 6 in (11.13 m) and adraught of 13 ft (4.0 m). As built, the destroyerdisplaced 1,927 long tons (1,958 t) standard and 2,745 long tons (2,789 t) at deep load.[3][5]Iroquois had a complement of 14 officers and 245 ratings.[5]
The destroyer was propelled by two shafts driven by twoParsonsgeared turbines powered by steam created by threeAdmiralty-type three drum boilers. This created 44,000 shp (33,000 kW) and gave the ship a maximum speed of 36.5 kn (67.6 km/h; 42.0 mph) . The destroyers could carry 505–516 long tons (513–524 t) of fuel oil.[3]
As built,Iroquois was fitted with sixquick firingQF 4.7-inch (120 mm)} Mk XII guns placed in three twinturrets, designated 'A', 'B' and 'Y' from bow to stern.[note 1] The turrets were placed on 40° mountings with open-backed shields.[3] The ship also had one twin turret ofQF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk XVI guns in the 'X' position.[3][5] For secondaryanti-aircraft armament, the destroyer was equipped with four single-mounted2-pounder "pom-pom" guns. The vessel was also fitted with four 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes forMk IX torpedoes.[3]
Iroquois was ordered on 5 April 1940 as part of the 1940 shipbuilding programme.[6] The destroyer waslaid down on 19 September 1940 byVickers-Armstrongs atHigh Walker in the United Kingdom andlaunched 23 September the following year.[2]Iroquois was originally laid down asAthabaskan. However, due to bomb damage, she and hersister had their names switched in order to ensureIroquois commissioned first.[7] She wascommissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy at Newcastle on Tyne on 30 November 1942. The destroyer was not completed until 30 January 1943.[2]
Following her completion,Iroquois begansea trials, suffering storm damage near theFaroes, which included a bent keel and required repairs. Further trials continued in the North Sea until May 1943 when she departed forPlymouth.[8] From there the destroyer was used as a convoy escort onGibraltar convoys. On 11 July, threeFocke-Wulf Fw 200 Condors fromKampfgeschwader 40 attacked a troop transport convoy west ofPorto in theBay of Biscay.Iroquois was attacked by the aircraft, missing the destroyer with bombs 200 yards (180 m) astern.[9] The German aircraft hitSS California andSS Duchess of York which were abandoned.[10]Iroquois rescued 628 survivors fromDuchess of York.[2] On 19 July an event termed "incident" in official reports took place where according to the inquiry afterwards, a large section of the ship's company refused to perform their duties.[11][12]Iroquois was among the destroyers deployed to cover escort forces attackingU-boats in the Bay of Biscay from 12 June to 2 August 1943.[13]
Following her return to the United Kingdom,Iroquois was assigned to escortconvoys heading to theSoviet Union over the following months. From 1 to 11 October,Iroquois and the destroyersHuron andOnslaught transported supplies toMurmansk for the escorts that remained there in the summer.[14] Beginning in November,Iroquois provided support to Russian convoys, beginning with convoy JW 54A fromLoch Ewe on 18–24 November and convoy RA 54B fromMolotvsk on 28 November.[15] In late December,Iroquois escorted the convoy JW 55B. It came under air attack on 23 December, but was unscathed.[16] The convoy sailed as a lure for theGerman battleship Scharnhorst, which was sunk by British forces on 26 December.[17] On 31 December, the warship was among the escort for RA 55B which departedKola Inlet on 31 December and reached Loch Ewe on 8 January without loss.[16]
In February 1944, she sailed toHalifax to undergo a refit that would keep her out of action until early June.[2][18] She returned to the UK and was assigned to the10th Destroyer Flotilla in preparation for theInvasion of Normandy. After D-day, she carried out patrols of the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay.[2] During this period,Iroquois took part in many operations, includingKinetic, the objective of which was to eliminate the German navy all along the French Atlantic ports, taking part in three actions, including theBattle of Audierne Bay in August 1944.
On 5 August 1944, a force comprising thecruiserBellona and the destroyersTartar,Ashanti,Haida andIroquois engaged and sank the GermanminesweepersM 263 andM 486 and thepatrol boatV 414, coastal launchOtto from a German convoy north ofÎle d'Yeu.[19]Iroquois was responsible for the sinking of two of the vessels.[20] On 14 August,Iroquois joined the destroyerUrsa and cruiserMauritius to attack a German force offLes Sables d'Olonne and sankSperrbrecher 157; they also badly damagedM 275 and ranM 385 aground. On 22–23 AugustMauritius,Ursa andIroquois sankV 702,V 717,V 720,V 729 andV 730 of Audierne.[19] The destroyer continued patrolling the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel until October 1944, when she transferred to Scapa Flow.[21]
Iroquois rejoined theHome Fleet in March 1945 at Scapa Flow.[2] The ship was part of the screening force foraircraft carriers on 19 March and again on 24 March, which were performing air strikes along coastal Norway.[22] She then escorted one more convoy to the Soviet Union.[2] On 16 April,Iroquois departed as part of the escort of JW 66.[23] From 29 April-2 May,Iroquois participated in the last convoy battle of the war as part of the escort for convoy RA 66.Iroquois andHaida were just missed by torpedoes in an attack byU-427. They in turn pursued the submarine in which by the end of the engagement, 678 depth charge explosions were counted without sinking the submarine.[24]Iroquois remained in British waters until theGerman surrender.[25]
Following the capitulation,Iroquois was part ofCrown Prince Olav's return to Norway after its liberation. She then sailed on toCopenhagen where she was an escort to the GermancruisersPrinz Eugen andNürnberg until their formal surrender.[2][26] The destroyer returned to Canada and began a tropicalization refit that was halted upon thesurrender of Japan.Iroquois was thenpaid off on 22 February 1946.[2]
Beginning in 1947,Iroquois underwent conversion to a destroyer escort, the first of her class to undergo the alterations. The changes involved her 4.7-inch main armament which were replaced with 4-inch guns in the 'A' and 'B' turret positions; in the 'X', a twin3-inch (76 mm)/50 calibre gun mount was installed and in the 'Y' site, twoSquid anti-submarine mortars were located.[note 2] Other alterations included an aluminum lattice with new radar.[27][28]Iroquois was equipped with Type 275, SPS-10, SPS-6, Type 293 and 262 radars and Type 140 and 174 sonars.[28] She emerged from her refit on 24 June 1949 and was recommissioned as atraining ship with Lieutenant Commander T. C. Pullen in command.[2] She was renumbered as DDE217.
On 21 October 1951, CommanderWilliam Landymore assumed command of the ship as a regular vessel of the Royal Canadian Navy.[2]Iroquois served off Korea during theKorean War, commanded by Landymore.[29]Iroquois departed Halifax on 21 April 1952 and arrived in theatre to replaceCayuga on 12 June. Her first assignment was carrier screening on Korean the west coast.[30] For the majority of 1952,Iroquois supported the Island campaign off the west coast.[31] On 2 October,Iroquois in concert withUSS Marsh, was bombarding a rail line on the east coast southwest ofSongjin when she was hit by a shell on the starboard side abreast of 'B' gun. Two men were killed and eleven injured, with one dying later of his injuries. The destroyer remained on station for two weeks before returning toSasebo.[32] These were the only Royal Canadian Navy casualties in the war.[33]Iroquois saw service screening the aircraft carrierHMS Glory and an inshore patrol on the west coast before sailing for Canada on 26 November. She was replaced byAthabaskan.Iroquois returned to Halifax on 8 January 1953.[34]
Iroquois sailed for Korea on 29 April 1953 and upon her return to the theatre on 18 June 1953, the destroyer returned to theChodo area to support the Island campaign off the west coast.[35] The destroyer supported the Island campaign in theHaeju area and performed screening missions with carriers off the west coast before the end of hostilities on 29 July 1953.[36] Following the end of hostilities,Iroquois was deployed evacuating islands that had been handed back to North Korea in the armistice and completed the first post-armistice patrol.[37] On 1 November 1953, Lieutenant Commander S. G. Moore assumed command of the vessel.[2]Iroquois remained in theatre until 1 January 1954.[38] The destroyer returned to Halifax on 10 February 1954 via theSuez Canal,circumnavigating the globe in the process.Iroquois made one further post-Armistice patrol off the Korean coasts, departing Halifax on 1 July 1954 and arriving off Korea on 22 August. The ship departed the theatre on 26 December and returned to Halifax via the Suez Canal again on 19 March 1955.Iroquois circumnavigated the globe a second time on her return to Halifax.[39]
She returned to her training role and remained as such until 1962.Iroquois was paid off at Halifax on 24 October 1962 and laid up atSydney. In 1966 the vessel was taken toBilbao, Spain andbroken up in September.[2][40]
The ship's badge is described as a blazon or, the head of an Iroquois brave, couped at the base of the neck, properly coloured and wearing two eagle feathers in his hair and a gold ring pendant from the ear.[1] During the Second World War and up to 1948 when official badges were created for the Royal Canadian Navy,Iroquois had an unofficial crest. This crest consisted of anIroquois brave, red, drawing a bow on a black background. Below the warrior was the ship's motto "Ongwanonsionni" which translates as "Relentless in pursuit". Above the warrior was a ship's crown.[citation needed]
{{isbn}}: ignored ISBN errors (link).OCLC 537904081,49841510,248419884
