HMCS Kootenay (DDE 258)

For other ships of the same name, see HMCS Kootenay.
HMCS Kootenay at Pearl Harbor in 1986
Career (Canada)
Namesake: Kootenay River
Builder: Burrard Dry Dock Ltd., North Vancouver[1]
Laid down: 21 August 1952
Launched: 15 June 1954
Commissioned: 7 March 1959
Decommissioned: 18 November 1995[2]
Refit: 7 January 1972 (IRE)[3]
21 October 1983 (DELEX)[3]
Honours and
awards:		 Atlantic 1943-45, Normandy 1944, English Channel 1944, Biscay 1944
Fate: Reportedly sunk as an artificial reef off Mexico in 2001.[3][4]
General characteristics
Class and type:Restigouche-class destroyer
Displacement:As built: 2366 t normal,
2800 t (deep load)
After IRE: 2390 tnormal,
2900 t (deep load)[5]
Length:366 ft (111.6 m) (waterline)
371 ft (113.1 m) (overall)
Beam:42 ft (12.8 m)
Draught:13.17 ft (4.0 m) normal
14 ft (4.3 m) deep load
Propulsion:2-shaft English-Electric geared steam turbines, 2 Babcock and Wilcox water-tube 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:As built: 249
After IRE/DELEX: 214[6]
By the late 1970s: 250 = 13 officers 237 men[7]
Sensors and
processing systems:		As built:[3]
  • 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

After IRE:[3]

  • 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-505 hull mounted active search sonar
  • 1 × SQS-505 variable depth active search sonar
  • 1 × AQA-5 Jezebel passive tracer sonar
  • 1 × Mk.69 gunnery control system with SPG-48 director forward

After DELEX:[3]

  • 1 × Marconi SPS 502 air search radar
  • 1 × Raytheon SPS 10D surface search radar
  • 1 × Sperry Mk.127 E navigation radar
  • 1 × SQS-505 hull sonar
  • 1 × SQS 505 VDS sonar
  • 1 × Mk.69 gunnery control system with SPG-515 director forward
Electronic warfare
and decoys:		As built:[3]
  • 1 × DAU HF/DF (high frequency direction finder)

After IRE:[3]

  • 1 × ULQ-6 jammer
  • 1 × WLR-1C radar analyzer
  • 1 × UPD-501 radar detector
  • 1 × SRD-501 HF/DF

After DELEX:[3]

  • 1 × CANEWS
  • 1 × ULQ-6 jammer
Armament:As built:[3][8]
  • 1 × 3"/70 Mk.6 Vickers twin mount forward
  • 1 × 3"/50 Mk.22 FMC twin mount aft
  • 2 × Limbo Mk 10 3-barrelled ASW mortars
  • 2 × single Mk.2 "K-gun" homing torpedo launchers (though never carried torpedoes for them)[9]
  • 1 × 103mm Bofors illumination rocket launchers[10]

After IRE/DELEX:[3]

  • 1 × 3"/70 Mk.6 Vickers twin mount forward
  • 1 × Mk.112 ASROC octuple launcher
  • 1 × Limbo Mk 10 3-barrelled ASW mortar
  • 2 × Mk.32 triple torpedo launchers firing Mk.46 Mod 5 torpedoes

HMCS Kootenay was a Restigouche-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces from 1959-1996. She was the fifth ship in her class and the second vessel to carry the designation HMCS Kootenay.

Kootenay was laid down on 21 August 1952 at Burrard Dry Dock, North Vancouver and launched on 15 June 1954. She was officially commissioned into the RCN on 7 March 1959 and carried the pennant number 258 as a destroyer escort.

Kootenay was selected by the RCN for the Improved Restigouche (IRE) project and completed this refit on 7 January 1972. She was also selected as one of 10 destroyers in the Destroyer Life Extension (DELEX) project and completed this refit on 21 October 1983.

Incidents

1969 gearbox explosion and fire

On the morning of 23 October 1969, Kootenay was part of a task force that had been exercising in United Kingdom waters and was returning to Canada, heading westward in the English Channel off Plymouth. The task force consisted of HMCS Bonaventure, HMCS Terra Nova, HMCS Fraser, HMCS St. Laurent, HMCS Ottawa, HMCS Assiniboine, HMCS Margaree, HMCS Saguenay, and Kootenay.

At 6:05 AM Kootenay and Saguenay were ordered to separate from the task force and carry out a routine full-power trial. Saguenay completed her trial at 8:00 AM and Kootenay started her trial at 8:10 AM. At 8:21 AM Kootenay suffered the worst peacetime accident in the history of the RCN when her starboard gearbox reached an estimated temperature of 650 °C (1,202 °F) and exploded. The explosion and the ensuing fire killed 9 crew members and injured at least 53 others.[11] The fire was brought under control by 10:10 AM and was extinguished between 10:30 and 11:00 AM. Kootenay was badly damaged but was kept afloat by the actions of her crew.[12]

Kootenay was taken under tow by Saguenay and then by the Admiralty tug HMRT Samsonia (with Saguenay escorting) to Portsmouth. There, she was dry-docked and prepared for a long ocean tow by having her propellers removed. Kootenay was towed back to Halifax by the Dutch civilian tug Elbe, departing 16 November and arriving 27 November.

The RCN's damage control training centre for Maritime Forces Atlantic was named Damage Control Training Facility Kootenay (DCTF Kootenay) in honour of this incident.

HMCS Kootenay window CFB Halifax
1989 collision

In 1989 Kootenay collided with a merchant ship and suffered damage to her bow which was repaired using the bow from her sister ship HMCS Chaudiere.[3]

Fate

Kootenay was paid off from active service with Maritime Command on 18 November 1995.[13]

She was reportedly sunk as an artificial reef off Mexico in 2001.[3][4][14][15]

Ship's Bell

The Christening Bells Project at CFB Esquimalt's Naval and Military Museum includes information from the ship's bell of Kootenay, which was used for baptism of babies onboard ship 1959 - 1988. The bell is currently held by the CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum, Esquimalt, BC.[16]

Commanding officers

Dates Name
7 March 1959 11 July 1960 Cdr R.J. Pickford[17]
11 July 1960 19 September 1962 Cdr H. Shorten[17]
19 September 1962 15 January 1965 Cdr D.H. Ryan[17]
15 January 1965 1 June 1966 Cdr R.G. Pratt[17]
1 June 1966 1 July 1967 Cdr W.P. Rikely[17]
1 July 1967 15 November 1968 Cdr C.G. McMorris[17]
15 November 1968 21 March 1969 LCdr M. Tremblay[17]
21 March 1969 14 January 1970 Cdr N St.C.Norton[17]
No commanding officer during IRE refit
12 January 1972 17 February 1973 Cdr J.L. Creech[17]
17 February 1973 15 June 1974 Cdr R.H. Kirby[17]
15 June 1974 16 July 1976 Cdr J. Spalding[17]
16 July 1976 26 June 1978 Cdr B.P. Moore[17]
26 June 1978 11 August 1980 Cdr B. Johnston[17]
11 August 1980 28 June 1982 Cdr B.H. Beckett[17]
28 June 1982 9 January 1983 Cdr S.K. Jessen[17]
No commanding officer during DELEX refit
24 January 1984 5 July 1985 Cdr P.C. Young[17]
5 July 1985 30 July 1987 Cdr B.R. Melville[17]
30 July 1987 21 July 1989 Cdr J. Dickson[17]
No commanding officer whilst bow was repaired
Bef 11 Dec 1989 21 Jul 1991 Cdr G.V. Davidson[17][18]
21 July 1991 25 May 1992 Cdr J.D. Fraser[17]
25 May 1992 31 July 1992 LCdr M.R. Bellows[17]
31 July 1992 21 June 1994 Cdr D.J. Kyle[17]
21 June 1994 18 December 1996 Cdr R.H. Dawe[17]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Conways and Combat Fleets of the World say Burrard, Vancouver.
    However dawndreamer.ca says Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel QC, which is probably an error.
  2. ↑ Ships Served on by Owner of Dawn Dreamer
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 RESTIGOUCHE Class DDE (escort destroyer)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 St. Laurent Class' Final Disposition This gives the year of scuttling as 2000.
  5. ↑ Conways says 2000 tons standard displacement, 2600 deep load.
    Janes Fighting Ships 1963-64 says 2366 tons standard, 2900 tons deep load
    Combat Fleets of the World 1978-79 says 2390 tons displacement, 2900 full load.
    dawndreamer.ca says 2,390 tonnes displacement.
  6. ↑ Janes Fighting Ships 1963-64
    Conways claims 290.
  7. ↑ Combat Fleets of the World 1978-79
  8. ↑ Note that Conways claims that these ships carried 2 × 40mm Boffin guns as built, this is not supported by Janes Fighting Ships 1963-64 or Barrie and Macherson's book Cadillac of Destroyers
  9. ↑ The Postwar Naval Revolution page 161 says of the St Laurent class: "As in the case of the Type 12, the design included provision for long-range homing torpedoes (in this case BIDDER [Mk20E] or the UK Mark 35). They were never fitted however."
    Conways does not mention the ASW torpedo tubes
    Janes Fighting Ships 1963-64 does mention "improved homing torpedoes"
  10. ↑ Note that Conways does not mention the illumination rocket launchers
  11. ↑ The captain reported 7 killed, 9 medically evacuated, and 1 missing. However the final death toll was 9 killed. The 8th man killed was missing in the engine room until mid-afternoon. The 9th man killed died of smoke inhalation onboard HMCS Bonaventure two days after the fire. See 10 page account of explosion aboard HMCS Kootenay See also the book "We Are as One" by LCdr (retd) Gordon Forbes.
  12. ↑ HMCS Kootenay gearbox explosion - Haze Gray and Underway
  13. ↑ Ships Served on by Owner of Dawn Dreamer
  14. ↑ www.stokers.ca The Steamers Where did they end up?
  15. ↑ There is a very small picture of HMCS Kootenay on www.trainboard.com World Travel - Mexico (Guerrero) 2001 - Part I with the following comment:
    "Let's talk about this ship a bit more since this is part of "ReefGate" and was big news here from 1999 to 2001. This Canadian Naval ship (and Restigouche - DDE 257) was towed from Canada to here to become an artificial reef on Navy Day, June 1, 2000. Well, there was a question on how they were purchased and here they sat until it was cleared up in 2001. Shortly after I took this photo the Kootenay was sunk near the Restigouche that was sunk just before our arrival."
    There is also a thread about Kootenay's fate on Benthic Canada The thread contains the claim that "Kootenay is believed to be tied up at the Jardin Alvaro Obregon, Manzanillo's "central" plaza. It is right on the harbour front opposite the main outer dock." However a later posting states that this was a false alarm: "looks like some people cannot tell the difference between a Canadian warship and a Mexican navy refueling ship". There is a larger copy of the photograph of Kootenay, which is entitled: "HMCS Kootenay (DDE 258), Acapulco, Mexico May 11, 2001, by Darren E Hadley. The photograph shows at least five holes cut in the starboard hull to facilitate access for divers.
    The above two sources are not reliable, but are quoted because they demonstrate that the assertion that Kootenay was scuttled as a reef is disputable.
  16. ↑ Christening bells "The Christening Bells Project". CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 17.7 17.8 17.9 17.10 17.11 17.12 17.13 17.14 17.15 17.16 17.17 17.18 17.19 17.20 17.21 17.22 MacPherson, Ken and Barrie, Ron The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910-2002, pub Vanwell, 2002, third edition, ISBN 1-55125-072-1
  18. ↑ R.G. Jensen, Lt(N) Ret.
References