HMCS Margaree (DDH 230)

HMCS Margaree, 1990
Career (Canada)
Name:	Margaree
Namesake:	Margaree River
Operator:	Royal Canadian Navy
Builder:	Halifax Shipyards, Halifax
Laid down:	12 September 1951
Launched:	29 March 1956
Commissioned:	5 October 1957
Decommissioned:	2 May 1992
Reclassified:	15 October 1965 (as DDH)
Identification:	pennant number: 230
Honours and awards:	Atlantic 1940[1]
Fate:	Scrapped in 1994.
General characteristics
Class and type:	St. Laurent-class destroyer
Displacement:	As DDE: 2263 tons (normal), 2800 tons (deep load)[note 1] As DDH: 2260 tons (normal), 3051 tons (deep load)[2]
Length:	366 ft (111.6 m)
Beam:	42 ft (12.8 m)
Draught:	As DDE: 13 ft (4.0 m)[3] As DDH:14 ft (4.3 m)[2]
Propulsion:	2-shaft English-Electric geared steam turbines, 3 Babcock and Wilcox boilers 30,000 shp
Speed:	28.5 knots (52.8 km/h)[3]
Range:	4,750 nautical miles (8,797.0 km) at 14 knots (25.9 km/h)[4]
Complement:	As DDE: 249 As DDH: 213 plus 20 aircrew
Sensors and processing systems:	As DDE: 1 × SPS-12 air search radar 1 × SPS-10B surface search radar 1 × Sperry Mk.2 navigation radar 1 × SQS-10a hull mounted active search and attack sonar "Scanner" 1 × SQS-501 high frequency bottom profiling sonar "Tracer" 1 × Type 170 high frequency attack sonar "Attacker" 1 × SQS 503 hull mounted search sonar "Searcher" 1 × UQC-1B underwater telephone "Gertrude" 1 × GUNAR (Mk.64 GFCS with 2 on-mount SPG-48 directors) As DDH: 1 × SPS-12 air search radar 1 × SPS-10B surface search radar 1 × Sperry Mk.2 navigation radar 1 × URN 20 TACAN radar 1 × SQS-10a hull mounted active search and attack sonar "Scanner" 1 × SQS-501 high frequency bottom profiling sonar "Tracer" 1 × Type 170 high frequency attack sonar "Attacker" 1 × SQS 503 hull mounted search sonar "Searcher" 1 × UQC-1B underwater telephone "Gertrude" 1 × SQS-504 VDS, medium frequency active search "Diver"(except 233 after 1986) 1 × GUNAR (Mk.64 GFCS with 1 on-mount SPG-48 director)
Electronic warfare and decoys:	As DDE: 1 × DAU HF/DF (high frequency direction finder) As DDH: 1 × WLR 1C radar warning 1 × UPD 501 radar detection 1 × SRD 501 HF/DF
Armament:	As DDE: 2 × 3"/50 Mk.33 FMC twin mounts guns 2 × 40mm "Boffin" single mount guns 2 × Mk NC 10 Limbo ASW mortars 2 × single Mk.2 "K-gun" launchers with homing torpedoes As DDH: 1 × 3"/50 Mk.33 FMC twin mount gun 1 × Mk NC 10 Limbo ASW mortar 2 × triple Mk.32 12.75 inch launchers firing Mk.44 or Mk.46 Mod 5 torpedoes
Aircraft carried:	As DDE: none As DDH: 1 × CH-124 Sea King

HMCS Margaree was a St. Laurent-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from 1957-1992.

Margaree was laid down on 12 September 1951 by Halifax Shipyards at Halifax and launched 29 March 1956. She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 5 October 1957 and initially carried the pennant number DDE 230 as a destroyer escort.^[5] She underwent conversion to a destroyer helicopter escort (DDH) in the mid-1960s and was officially reclassed with pennant DDH 230 on 15 October 1965.

Design

The St. Laurent class were built to an operational requirement much like that which produced the British Type 12, and powered by the same machinery plant. The rounded deck-edge forward was adopted to prevent ice forming.^[6] The vessels were designed to operate in harsh Canadian conditions. They were built to counter nuclear, biological and chemical attack conditions, which lead to a design with a rounded hull, a continuous main deck, and the addition of a pre-wetting system to wash away contaminants. The living spaces on the ship were part of a "citadel" which could be sealed off from contamination for the crew safety. The ships were sometimes referred to as "Cadillacs" for their relatively luxurious crew compartments; these were also the first Canadian warships to have a bunk for every crew member since previous warship designs had used hammocks.

Armament

As a St. Laurent-class destroyer escort, Margaree was fitted with twin 3 inch/L50 guns for engaging both surface and air targets. Her anti-submarine armament consisted of a pair of triple barrelled Limbo ASW mortars in a stern well. The stern well had a roller top to close it off from following seas. The design included provision for long-range homing torpedoes, in this case BIDDER [Mk 20E] or the US Mark 35. They were never fitted however.^[6]

As built, the twin 3-inch 50-calibre anti-aircraft mounts were installed without shields. These were added in 1963. The gun housings are fibreglass. ^{[note 2]}

Machinery

The vessels of the St. Laurent-class had two Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers installed^[7] providing 600 PSI (4.1 MPa, 42 kgf/cm²) at 850 °F (454.4 °C).^[2]

The steam produced by these boilers was directed at two geared steam turbines which powered two shafts, providing 30,000 HP (22 MW) to drive the ship at a maximum speed of 28.5 knots (52.8 km/h).^[8] By the early 1990s, the quoted maximum speed was only 27 kt.^[2]

The propelling machinery was of British design. Canadian Vickers supplied the machinery which was manufactured in Canada. The main turbines and machinery were of English Electric design.^[8]

Service history

After commissioning, Margaree was sent to join the west coast fleet. She was assigned to the Second Canadian Escort Squadron.^[9] On 25 September 1964 the ship began her conversion to a helicopter carrying destroyer (DDH) at Victoria Machinery Depot.^[5] For this conversion the ship was fitted with helicopter platforms and SQS 504 Variable Depth Sonar (VDS). When ships were fitted with the helicopter platform, the single funnel was altered to twin stepped funnels to permit the forward extension of the helicopter hangar.^[10] Stabilizing systems were added to allow for helicopter recovery in any sea conditions, and a single CH-124 Sea King was carried.^[7] To make room for the helicopter deck, the aft 3 in (76 mm) mount and one of the Limbos were removed.^[7] The conversion was completed and on 15 October 1965, the warship was recommissioned. She was then sent to join the east coast fleet.^[5] In 1968, the ship was a part of the Seventh Canadian Escort Squadron.^[11]

In 1973, Margaree collided with the fisheries research vessel Cygnus.^[12] On 1 April 1979, Margaree sank the bow section of the commercial ship Kurdistan, which had broken in half on 15 March. The bow had been towed roughly 200 nautical miles (370 km) south of Halifax.^[5] The vessel was selected by the Canadian Forces for the Destroyer Life Extension (DELEX) program and completed this refit on 28 November 1980. The refit was begun by Vickers Ltd. at Montreal. However the hull was towed to HMC Dockyard at Halifax when it appeared that the ship would be ice-bound before completion.^[5]

In 1981, Margaree was pulled out of a major naval exercise due to cracks in their boiler heads.^[13] Following her DELEX refit, Margaree served several times with Standing Naval Force Atlantic, a NATO obligation. In August 1991, the ship took part in the re-enactment at Argentia of the signing of the Atlantic Charter, a pivotal policy of the Second World War.^[5]

Margaree was decommissioned from active service in the Canadian Forces on 2 May 1992. She was towed to India for breaking up in 1994.^[5]

References

Notes

Citations

References

• Canadian Navy of Yesterday & Today: St. Laurent class destroyer escort
• Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1947-1995. US Naval Institute Press. March 1996. ISBN 1557501327. 
• Friedman, Norman (1986). The Postwar Naval Revolution. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-952-9. 
• Jean L. Couhat, ed. (1978). Combat Fleets of the World, 1978-1979: Their Ships, Aircraft and Armament. Arms & Armour Press. ISBN 0853682828. 
• Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron. (2002) Warships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910-2002. 3rd Edition. St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing Limtied. ISBN 1-55125-072-1
• Raymond V.B. Blackman, ed. (1963). Jane's Fighting Ships, 1963-1964. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0070321612. 
• Richard Sharpe, ed. (May 1992). Jane's Fighting Ships, 1992-1993 (95 ed.). Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0710609833.