HMCS Saskatoon (MM 709)
 | |
| Career (Canada) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Saskatoon |
| Namesake: | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
| Builder: | Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Halifax |
| Laid down: | 5 September 1997 |
| Launched: | 30 March 1998 |
| Commissioned: | 5 December 1998 |
| Homeport: | CFB Esquimalt |
| Honours and awards: | Atlantic, 1942-45.[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Kingston-class coastal defence vessel |
| Displacement: | 970 tonnes |
| Length: | 55.3 m (181.43 ft) |
| Beam: | 11.3 m (37.07 ft) |
| Draught: | 3.4 m (11.15 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Jeumont DC electric motors 4 × 600VAC Wärtsilä SACM V12 diesel alternators |
| Speed: | 15 kn (27.78 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,000 nmi (9,260.00 km) |
| Capacity: | 47 |
| Complement: | 31 to 47 |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Kelvin Hughes navigation radar (I-band) Kelvin Hughes 6000 surface search radar (E-F band) Global Positioning System A towed high-frequency sidescan sonar Remote-control Mine Hunting System (RMHS) |
| Armament: | 1 × Bofors 40 mm 60 Mk 5C cannon 2 × M2 Machine Guns |
HMCS Saskatoon is a Kingston-class coastal defence vessel that has served in the Canadian Forces since 1998.
Saskatoon is the tenth ship of her class which is the name for the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel Project. She is the second vessel to use the designation HMCS Saskatoon, after the Flower class corvette HMCS Saskatoon (K158). The ship is named after the Canadian city of Saskatoon, and includes other references to the city such as naming the captains desk Cranberry Flats and a main corridor after Idylwyld Drive.[2]
Saskatoon was laid down on 5 September 1997 at Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Halifax and was launched on 30 March 1998. She was officially commissioned into the CF on 5 December 1998 and carries the pennant number 709.
She is assigned to Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) and is homeported at CFB Esquimalt.
Design
The Kingston-class coastal defence vessel was conceived to use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment and construction techniques in a ship designed to military specifications. The construction of the design required the building of partially outfitted steel block units, which were assembled into larger blocks and those blocks were integrated into the ship. The decks were assembled upside down with pre-outfitting of the underside of the deck prior to installation on the ship. The ship is outfitted with a degaussing system from Power Magnetics and Electronic Systems.[3]
Kingston class vessels are designed to carry up to three 6.1-metre (20 ft) ISO containers with power hookups on the open deck aft in order to embark mission-specific payloads.[4]
Armament and Sensors
Kingston-class vessels are outfitted with a Bofors 40 mm 60 mk5C rapid fire gun, and two 12.7mm machine guns. The ships are equipped with one of three modular mine countermeasures systems: the deep sea Thales MMS mechanical mine sweeping system, the route survey system or the Sutec remotely operated vehicle (ROV) mine inspection system.[3]
The navigation equipment installed in Kingston-class vessels are a Kelvin Hughes I-band navigation radar and a global positioning system. The surface search radar is the E to F-band Kelvin Hughes 6000.[3]
Propulsion
The ship is equipped with four main Wärtsilä UD 23V12 diesel engines which are coupled to four alternators (600 V AC). Two Jeumont electric motors (±740 V DC) provide power to the two LIPS Z-drive azimuth thrusters which are fitted with fixed-pitch reversing propellers. The propulsion system provides 15 knots (28 km/h) maximum continuous speed. The range at the economical cruising speed of 9 knots (17 km/h) using two engines is 5,000 nautical miles (9,000 km) with a 20% margin in tank capacity. Mechanical minesweeping is carried out at 8 knots (15 km/h). The crash stop length is five ship lengths from a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h).[3]
Operational history
In 2007, a court martial revealed that a third of the crew of the ship used illicit drugs, namely cocaine. This led to a wider investigation in the Canadian Forces into drug use.[5][6] In February 2012, Saskatoon took part in Exercise PACIFIC GUARDIAN, a joint naval exercise with the United States.[7]
References
- ↑ "Volume 2, Part 1: Extant Commissioned Ships - HMCS Saskatoon". Official Lineages. National Defence and the Canadian Forces. 7 July 2006. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ↑ "HMCS SASKATOON". Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. University of Regina. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Kingston Class Coastal Defence Vessels, Canada". naval-technology.com. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ↑ Saunders, Stephen (ed.) (2008). Jane's Fighting Ships 2008–2009. Jane's Fighting Ships (111th ed.). Surrey: Jane's Information Group. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-7106-2845-9. OCLC 225431774.
- ↑ "Illicit drug use was widespread on HMCS Saskatoon, court martial told". canada.com. 13 August 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ↑ "Cocaine widespread on Canadian warship, court martial told". CBC News. 13 August 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- ↑ "Exercise PACIFIC GUARDIAN". BC Shipping News. 22 March 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
External links
| ||||||||||