HMCS Columbia (DDE 260)

For other ships of the same name, see HMCS Columbia.
Career (Canada)
Namesake: Columbia River
Builder: Burrard Dry Dock Ltd., North Vancouver
Laid down: 11 June 1952
Launched: 1 November 1956
Commissioned: 7 November 1959
Decommissioned: 18 February 1974
Homeport: CFB Esquimalt
Identification: 260
Fate: Sunk as artificial reef off British Columbia in 1996.
General characteristics
Class and type:Restigouche-class destroyer
Displacement:2800 t (deep load)
Length:366 ft (111.6 m)
Beam:42 ft (12.8 m)
Draught:14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion:2-shaft English-Electric geared steam turbines, 2 Babcock and Wilcox boilers 30,000 shp
Speed:28 knots (51.9 km/h)
Range:4,750 nautical miles (8,797.0 km) at 14 knots (25.9 km/h)
Complement:249
Sensors and
processing systems:		1 × SPS-12 air search radar

1 × SPS-10B surface search radar
1 × Sperry Mk.2 navigation radar
1 × SQS-501 high frequency bottom profiler sonar
1 × SQS-502 high frequency mortar control sonar
1 × SQS-503 hull mounted active search sonar
1 × SQS-10 hull mounted active search sonar
1 × Mk.69 gunnery control system with SPG-48 director forward

1 × GUNAR Mk.64 GFCS with on-mount SPG-48 director aft
Electronic warfare
and decoys:		1 × DAU HF/DF (high frequency direction finder)
Armament:1 × 3"/70 Mk.6 Vickers twin mount forward

1 × 3"/50 Mk.33 FMC twin mount aft
2 × Mk NC 10 Limbo ASW mortars
2 × single Mk.2 "K-gun" launchers with homing torpedoes

1 × 103mm Bofors illumination rocket launchers

HMCS Columbia was a Restigouche-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from 1959–1974. She is named for the Columbia River. Columbia was the seventh and final ship in her class and is the second Canadian naval unit to carry the name HMCS Columbia.

Columbia was laid down on 11 June 1952 at Burrard Dry Dock Ltd.,[1] North Vancouver and launched on 1 November 1956. She was commissioned into the RCN on 7 November 1959 carrying the pennant number 260.[2]

Service history

After commissioning, Columbia transferred to the east coast and became part of the Royal Canadian Navy's Atlantic Fleet. In 1960, she represented Canada at the independence observance of Nigeria. In March 1967, she transferred back to Esquimalt, joining the Pacific Fleet.[1]

Columbia was not selected for the Improved Restigouche (IRE) or Destroyer Life Extension (DELEX) projects and was instead decommissioned from active service in the CF on 18 February 1974. She was placed in Category C reserve and was converted into a dockside engineering training platform at CFB Esquimalt; her propellers were replaced with no-thrust wheels for this purpose.[3]

Columbia was removed from reserve status in 1988 and sunk as an artificial reef on 22 June 1996 by the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia off Maude Island near Campbell River.[1]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2003). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910-2002. Vanwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1551250721.
  2. ↑ "HMCS Columbia (2nd)". readyayeready.com. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "Canadian Navy of Yesterday & Today: Restigouche Class". hazegrey.org. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
References

Coordinates: 50°8′N 125°20′W / 50.133°N 125.333°W