| Career (Canada) | Royal Canadian Navy |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | New Glasgow, Nova Scotia |
| Builder: | Yarrows Ltd., Esquimalt |
| Laid down: | 2 December 1942 |
| Launched: | 23 June 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 22 December 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 4 November 1945 |
| Motto: | Be worthy |
| Honours and awards: |
Atlantic, 1944-1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | River class frigate |
| Displacement: | 1,445 long tons (1,468 t; 1,618 ST) 2,110 long tons (2,140 t; 2,360 ST) (deep load) |
| Length: | 283 ft (86.26 m) p/p 301.25 ft (91.82 m)o/a |
| Beam: | 36.5 ft (11.13 m) |
| Draught: | 9 ft (2.74 m); 13 ft (3.96 m) (deep load) |
| Propulsion: | 2 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW) |
| Speed: | 20 knots (37.0 km/h) 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h) (turbine ships) |
| Range: | 646 long tons (656 t; 724 ST) oil fuel; 7,500 nautical miles (13,890 km) at 15 knots (27.8 km/h) |
| Complement: | 157 |
| Armament: |
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HMCS New Glasgow (K320) was a River class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1943 to 1945 and as a Prestonian class frigate from 1955-1965.
Built by Yarrows Ltd., Esquimalt, she was commissioned into the RCN at the Esquimalt naval base on 23 December 1943 with the pennant K320.
New Glasgow transited from Esquimalt to Halifax, Nova Scotia via the Panama Canal, arriving at HMC Dockyard, Halifax on 17 February 1944 under command of Lt. Cdr. G.S. Hall, RCNR. She was transferred to the RCN's Atlantic Fleet and undertook convoy escort operations in the Battle of the Atlantic for the next 12 months.
On 20 March 1945, New Glasgow was responsible for the loss of the last U-boat by an RCN warship during World War II. On that day she was operating off Londonderry Port, Northern Ireland when the snorkel of a U-boat was observed near the ship's bow. Before depth charges could be dropped, the vessels collided, with each side claiming to have rammed the other.[1][2]
Both vessels were badly damaged. The U-boat, later revealed to be U-1003[3] quickly dived while New Glasgow limped to Londonderry Port with a broken propeller and other hull damage. Meanwhile, the Allies tasked a 14-ship naval task force comprising Escort Groups C-4, 25 and 26 to find the U-boat, without success. Two days later, on 23 March 1945, the U-boat was scuttled in the Northern Channel a few miles north of Inistrahull Beacon (Malin Head), Ireland. The commander and 16 crew members died as a result of the incident. The 31 surviving crew members were rescued by Escort Group 25.[4] The wreck of U-1003 was discovered by nautical archaeologist Innes McCartney in 2001. Interestingly the attack periscope was found to have been extended, along with the schnorchel. The mast had broken off and the periscope was bent over so are that it actually pointed downwards.
New Glasgow was decommissioned by the RCN and placed in reserve on 4 November 1945. She underwent conversion to a Prestonian class frigate in 1953–1955 and was recommissioned with pennant FFE 315 on 2 September 1955. It was in this livery that the New Glasgow stood in for a Royal Navy vessel, HMS Rockhampton, in the 1955 Hollywood film The Sea Chase, starring John Wayne.[5][6]
She was paid off by the RCN on 7 June 1965.
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