HMCS Assiniboine (I18)
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| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | C class |
| Name: | HMS Kempenfelt |
| Namesake: | Admiral Richard Kempenfelt |
| Ordered: | 1930 |
| Builder: | J. Samuel White, Cowes |
| Laid down: | 18 Oct 1930 |
| Launched: | 29 Oct 1931 |
| Commissioned: | 30 May 1932 |
| Decommissioned: | 19 Oct 1939 |
| Renamed: | 19 Oct 1939 |
| Fate: | Transferred to RCN on 19 Oct 1939 |
| Career (Canada) |  |
| Class and type: | C class River class |
| Name: | HMCS Assiniboine |
| Namesake: | Assiniboine River |
| Ordered: | 1930 |
| Laid down: | 18 Oct 1930 |
| Launched: | 29 Oct 1931 |
| Commissioned: | 19 Oct 1939 |
| Decommissioned: | 8 Aug 1945 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in 1952. |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,375 tons (1,397 tonnes) standard 1,942 tons (1,974 tonnes) deep |
| Length: | 329 feet (100 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 33 feet (10.1 m) |
| Draught: | 12.5 feet (3.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | 3 x Yarrow boilers, Parsons geared steam turbines, 36,000 shp (27,000 kW) on 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 35.5 kt |
| Range: | 5,500 nmi at 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Complement: | 181 (10 officers, 171 ratings) |
| Armament: |
|
| Honours and awards: | Atlantic |
HMCS Assiniboine (I18) was a River-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1939-1945. She was the first unit of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) to be named for the Assiniboine River.
She was formerly HMS Kempenfelt (I18) a Royal Navy C class destroyer and wore pennant I18 during her service.
Contents |
[edit] History
She was built by J. Samuel White, Cowes and commissioned into the RN on 30 May 1932.
[edit] Second World War
Kempenfelt ended her service with the Royal Navy on 19 October 1939 when she was commissioned into the RCN at HMNB Devonport.
On 8 March 1940 Assiniboine, along with HMS Dunedin (D93) intercepted and captured the German merchant ship Hannover near Jamaica. The Hannover was later converted into HMS Audacity (D10).
On 31 August 1941, Assiniboine rescued 3 survivors from the British merchant ship Embassage that was torpedoed by U-557 on 27 August about 100 nautical miles (190 km) west of Achill Island.
On 3 May 1942, Assiniboine and HMCS Alberni (K103) rescued 47 survivors from the British tanker British Workman that was torpedoed and sunk by U-455 south-south east of Cape Race.
Assiniboine was assigned to North Atlantic convoy Escort Group C-1 escorting convoys ONS-112 and SC-94.[1] While escorting SC-94 on 6 August 1942, Assiniboine achieved her first victory when she rammed, depth charged and shelled U-210 south of Cape Farewell, Greenland.
Following refit, Assiniboine was assigned to North Atlantic convoy Escort Group C-3 escorting convoys HX-221 and ONS-163.[1] On 2 March 1943, Assiniboine was damaged by her own depth charges during a battle with U-119. She made Liverpool on 7 March and took 3 months to repair.
On 14 February 1945, the Assiniboine collided with merchant ship Empire Bond in the English Channel. She made Sheerness for repairs and was operational again in early March.
Assiniboine was decommissioned from the RCN on 8 August 1945.
[edit] Grounding
Assiniboine was sold by the RCN at Sorel, Quebec and was being towed to Baltimore, Maryland for scrapping on November 7, 1945 when the tow ship and Assiniboine encountered storm conditions several nautical miles north of East Point, Prince Edward Island.
The Assiniboine broke her tow but was temporarily resecured by the tow ship and brought stern-first around East Point to more sheltered waters closer ashore near South Lake (several nautical miles southwest of East Point} where both ships were anchored to fix the tow lines.
The weather conditions shifted while the ships were at anchor and were suddenly exposed to more treacherous conditions. The tow ship attempted to tow the Assiniboine south toward the Strait of Canso but the crew of the tow ship did not know that the 7-person skeleton crew onboard Assiniboine had raised her anchor before the tow line was tightened. The drifting Assiniboine was pushed north by the wind and seas while the tow ship began heading south; the immediate strain of opposing forces on the tow line was too much and the line broke.
Assiniboine came ashore on a sandbar at South Lake and the skeleton crew was able to safely evacuate. On November 13 a northerly wind refloated the destroyer but the ship drifted on a high tide westward and further up the beach, grounding hard only 150 feet (46 m) from shore.
Local residents in eastern Kings County attempted to salvage parts of the destroyer and a man was apparently killed trying to remove one of the Assiniboine's propellers.[2] The tow company and owner of the destroyer washed their hands of the wreck and the vessel, no longer owned by the RCN, was left in limbo as the federal government also attempted to wash their hands of responsibility.
Several futile attempts were made to tow the Assiniboine off the shoreline at South Lake. Eventually the owners authorized local scrap dealers to remove valuable brass and copper from the hulk but by the late 1940s these salvage operations were finished and the warship was left to deteriorate on the Kings County beach.
In 1952, dismantling of the destroyer finally began in situ at South Lake and she was cut up and completely removed from the beach within several weeks.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b North Atlantic Run, Marc Milner, 1985, Naval Institute Press ISBN 0-87021-450-0
- ^ assiniboine
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