HMCS Algonquin (R17)

Last updated

HMCS Sioux AWM P05890.046.jpeg
Sister ship HMCS Sioux in the 1950s
History
Naval ensign of Canada.svgCanada
NameAlgonquin
Builder John Brown & Company, Clydebank
Yard number602
Laid down8 October 1942
Launched2 September 1943
Commissioned28 February 1944
Out of service6 February 1946
Refit1954
Identificationpennant number: R17 Later DDE 224
Motto
  • A coup sur
  • ("With sure stroke") [1]
Honours and
awards
  • Norway, 1944
  • Normandy, 1944
  • Arctic, 1944–1945 [1]
FateScrapped April 1971
BadgeBlazon Sable, a base barry wavy argent and azure of four, from which issues an Indian's arm embowed proper wearing arm and wrist bands argent and holding a fish spear in bend argent transfixing an eel Or [1] [2] [3]
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type V-class destroyer
Displacement2,700 long tons (2,743 t)
Length362 ft 9 in (110.57 m)
Beam35 ft 8 in (10.87 m)
Draught10 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
  • 2-shaft Parsons geared turbines
  • 40,000 shp (29,828 kW)
Speed31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)
Range4,860 nmi (9,000 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h)
Complement250
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament

HMCS Algonquin was a V-class destroyer, laid down for the Royal Navy as HMS Valentine (R17) and transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy on completion during the Second World War. She saw service in the Second World War escorting the aircraft carriers that bombed the Tirpitz in March 1944 and providing naval gunfire support to the Normandy landings. The destroyer was to participate in the Pacific Campaign but the war ended before her arrival in that theatre. Algonquin was converted in 1953 to a frigate and spent the majority of her remaining career in the Atlantic, being paid off in 1970.

Contents

Service history

Ordered as Kempenfelt by the Royal Navy, the destroyer's keel was laid down on 8 October 1942. [4] [5] The ship's name was changed to Valentine in 1942. [4] The destroyer was launched on 2 September 1943. [5] Valentine was renamed Algonquin and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 28 February 1944. [4] [lower-alpha 1]

Following her commissioning, Algonquin was sent to Scapa Flow to work up with her sister Sioux. [6] They were then assigned to the British Home Fleet's 26th Destroyer Flotilla. [5] Departing on 29 March 1944 from Scapa Flow, the flotilla joined the escort screen on 31 March for the force sent to cover the Russian convoy JW 58. On 3 April they join the fleet sent to bomb the German battleship Tirpitz in Operation Tungsten. [6] [7] On 26 April Algonquin escorted a strike force hunting for German ships near the Norwegian Lofoten Islands. [5] [8] On 6 May, Algonquin deployed as part of a force comprising two aircraft carriers and five other destroyers. Aircraft from the carriers attacked two German convoys and sank two ships for the loss of two aircraft. [9] Algonquin and the 26th Destroyer Flotilla began training for Operation Neptune, the naval component of the Normandy invasion. The flotilla departed Scapa Flow on 28 May for Portsmouth. [8] Algonquin and sister Sioux provided gunfire support to the landings on Juno Beach. [10]

Invasion of Normandy

Algonquin's 4.7-inch gun crew during the Invasion of Normandy. HMCS Algonquin 4.7 inch gun crew LAC 3223884.jpg
Algonquin's 4.7-inch gun crew during the Invasion of Normandy.

On 6 June 1944, Algonquin left the Solent at 06:45am as part of the assault fleet for Juno Beach, the Canadian sector of the invasion. After arrival, Algonquin began performing her gunfire support mission, firing at her first target; a pair of 75 mm (3 in) guns located behind houses west of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. Following their destruction, Algonquin shifted to destroying houses harbouring snipers along the Nan Red sector. [11] By mid-morning, Algonquin fired only intermittently and the destroyer's gunfire was controlled from shore-based army observers. Around 10:00am, Algonquin was called upon to take out a battery of three 88 mm (3 in) guns 3.2 kilometres (2 mi) inland from Courselles. [12] The destroyer spent the rest of the time with the invasion fleet on D-day moving around and coming under air attack. [13]

On 7 June, the ship shelled a series of houses that was being used by snipers. Algonquin, with Sioux was used on Guards Patrol around the anchorage. On 10 June, the destroyer shuttled Vice-Admiral Percy W. Nelles to Normandy and followed this up on 18 June by ferrying General Harry Crerar, commander of Canadian invasion forces, and his staff to France. The following day, the ship performed a fire support mission for an attack by Royal Marines between Ouistreham and Cabourg. [13] On 24 June, Algonquin, with Sioux, shelled a German battery near Franceville before departing for Scapa Flow. [14]

Northern operations

After returning from invasion duties, Algonquin was made part of the destroyer force for the Home Fleet again. [15] From 9–11 August 1944, Algonquin and Sioux are among the escorts for a carrier force sent to attack German airfields at Gossen, Norway and disrupt German shipping in the Lepsoyren Channel and Harhanesfjord. [16] [17] The Home Fleet departed on 16 August to carry out attacks, named Operation Goodwood, on Tirpitz lying at Kaafjord, splitting into two groups. [18] [19] Algonquin and Sioux were part of the force under the command of Rear-Admiral Rhoderick McGrigor. [18] The escort carrier HMS Nabob was part of the task force, manned by a Canadian crew. [15] The escort carrier was torpedoed by a U-boat on 22 August, suffering significant damage. [20] Algonquin was dispatched to aid the damaged ship arriving on 23 August, taking 203 members of the crew off. [5] The destroyer later transferred the Nabob personnel to another ship and returned to fleet off Norway. [21]

On 11 September, Algonquin formed part of the screening force for another strike against German shipping off Norway. Upon returning from this mission, the destroyer escorted convoys to Murmansk and back. Only two ships were torpedoed, both on the trip back to the United Kingdom. [22] Algonquin escorted a British force from 14–15 October sent to perform air-mining and attacks on Axis shipping routes along the coast of Norway near Frohavet. [23] From 26–28 October, Algonquin is among the escort for the aircraft carrier HMS Implacable during attacks on Norway as part of Operation Athletic. [24]

During the night of 12/13 November, Algonquin deployed as part of Operation Counterblast, with the cruisers HMS Kent and Bellona and the destroyers Myngs, Verulam and Zambesi were deployed based on "Ultra" intelligence and attacked the German convoy KS 357 between Listerfjord and Egersund. [25] [26] The freighters Greif and Cornouailles were sunk, as were the minesweepers M 427 and M 416 and the submarine chasers UJ 1221, UJ 1223 and UJ 1713. [25] Algonquin took part in the sinking of the three submarine chasers and one merchant vessel. [26] [27] On 22 November, Algonquin was part of the screen for airstrikes on Norway. [28] On 27 November Algonquin was among the escorts for Implacable during raids on German shipping along the coast of Norway. [25] The destroyer returned to the region for more airstrikes on 6 December. [28] From 7–14 December, the ship escorted a British carrier force in support of Operation "Urbane" for the convoy RA 62 off the coast of Norway. [29]

On 30 December, Algonquin sailed with the Murmansk-bound convoy JW 63 from Loch Ewe, Scotland to Kola Inlet, Russia, arriving on 8 January 1945. [28] [30] The destroyer returned with RW 63, departing Kola Inlet on 11 January. RW 63 comprised 29 ships. During the return trip, the convoy was scattered by a storm in which gale winds reached 85 knots (157 km/h; 98 mph) which delayed its arrival at Loch Ewe until 21 January. [28] [31] The destroyer returned to Norwegian waters escorting more airstrikes in January 1945. In February, Algonquin and Sioux sailed to the Minch to meet Puncher, the second Canadian-manned escort carrier, after which Algonquin sailed for Canada on 5 February. [32]

Algonquin arrived in Canada in February 1945 for a tropicalization refit at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Work was complete by August when she departed to join the British Pacific Fleet, though she did not arrive by the war's end, being in the Eastern Mediterranean on VJ-day. Following a brief stop at Alexandria, Egypt she crossed the Indian and Pacific Oceans to her homeport at Esquimalt, British Columbia. The destroyer was paid off into reserve and laid up on 6 February 1946. [5]

Cold War service

Valentine's bell aboard the Iroquois-class destroyer Algonquin HMS Valentine Bell.jpg
Valentine's bell aboard the Iroquois-class destroyer Algonquin

Algonquin was modernized to a Type 15 frigate at Esquimalt and recommissioned on 25 February 1953 with the hull number 224. She was not selected for duty in the Korean War and was instead posted to CFB Halifax on the North Atlantic coast where she spent much of the next 14 years working with Canada's NATO allies. [5] The First Canadian Escort Squadron came into being on 10 November 1953 as part of Atlantic Command with Algonquin as its flagship. The squadron was initially composed of Algonquin and the Prestonian-class frigates Lauzon, Prestonian and Toronto. [33] In September the First Canadian Escort Squadron took part in the NATO naval exercise "New Broom II" and in October "Morning Mist" before performing a two-month training cruise in the Mediterranean Sea, making several port visits. [34] [35] The squadron returned to Canada on 10 December 1954. [35] In January 1958, Algonquin collided with HMCS Nootka while operating in the Atlantic with the First Canadian Escort Squadron. [36]

Algonquin returned to Esquimalt in 1967 and was paid off on 1 April 1970. She was sold for scrap and broken up in Taiwan in 1971. [5]

Notes

  1. ↑ Macpherson and Barrie give two commissioning dates for Algonquin; 7 and 17 February. [lower-alpha 2]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Arbuckle, p. 5
  2. ↑ The Insignia and Lineages of the Canadian Forces: Volume 2, Part 1: Extant Commissioned Ships (PDF). Canadian Forces. 8 January 2008. pp. 2–3 to 2–4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  3. ↑ An explanation of heraldic terms
  4. 1 2 3 Colledge, p. 425
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Macpherson and Barrie (2002), p. 63
  6. 1 2 Schull, p. 230
  7. ↑ Rohwer, p. 314
  8. 1 2 Schull, p. 232
  9. ↑ Rohwer, p. 322
  10. ↑ Rohwer, p. 331
  11. ↑ Schull, p. 275
  12. ↑ Schull, p. 283
  13. 1 2 Schull, p. 313
  14. ↑ Schull, p. 384
  15. 1 2 Schull, p. 371
  16. ↑ Rohwer, p. 349
  17. ↑ Schull, pp. 371–372
  18. 1 2 Rohwer, p. 350
  19. ↑ Schull, pp. 372–373
  20. ↑ Schull, p. 374
  21. ↑ Schull, pp. 375–376
  22. ↑ Schull, p. 376
  23. ↑ Rohwer, p. 352
  24. ↑ Rohwer, p. 369
  25. 1 2 3 Rohwer, p. 371
  26. 1 2 Schull, pp. 377–378
  27. ↑ Rohwer, p. 372
  28. 1 2 3 4 Schull, p. 378
  29. ↑ Rohwer, p. 376
  30. ↑ Rohwer, p. 380
  31. ↑ Rohwer, p. 386
  32. ↑ Schull, p. 399
  33. ↑ "Escort Squadron Formed at Halifax". The Crowsnest. Vol. 6, no. 1. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. pp. 2–3.
  34. ↑ "Escort Squadron Touring "Med"". The Crowsnest. Vol. 7, no. 1. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. p. 3.
  35. 1 2 "Squadron Back From "Med" Cruise". The Crowsnest. Vol. 7, no. 3. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. January 1955. pp. 2–3.
  36. ↑ "Say Seaman Forgot Order of Skipper". Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph. The Canadian Press. 13 June 1958. Retrieved 16 December 2017.

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Griffin</i> (H31) A G-class destroyer, built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s

HMS Griffin (H31) was a G-class destroyer, built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. In World War II she took part in the Norwegian Campaign of April–May 1940 and the Battle of Dakar in September before being transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in November. She generally escorted larger ships of the Mediterranean Fleet as they protected convoys against attacks from the Italian Fleet. Griffin took part in the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941 and the evacuations of Greece and Crete in April–May 1941. In June she took part in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign and was escorting convoys and the larger ships of the Mediterranean Fleet until she was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in March 1942.

HMCS <i>Haida</i> Destroyer of the Royal Canadian Navy

HMCS Haida is a Tribal-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from 1943 to 1963, participating in World War II and the Korean War. She was named for the Haida people.

HMS <i>Uganda</i> (66) Scrapped British and Canadian light cruiser

HMS Uganda was a Second World War-era Fiji-class light cruiser launched in 1941. She served in the Royal Navy during 1943 and 1944, including operations in the Mediterranean, and was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Uganda in October 1944. She served in the Pacific theatre in 1945 and was put into reserve in 1947. When she was reactivated for the Korean War in 1952 she was renamed HMCS Quebec. She was decommissioned for the last time in 1956 and scrapped in Japan in 1961.

HMS <i>Antelope</i> (H36) A-class destroyer

HMS Antelope was a British A-class destroyer, which was completed for the Royal Navy in 1930. Antelope served throughout the Second World War, taking part in the sinking of three enemy submarines and in Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa.

HMCS <i>Cayuga</i> Destroyer of the Royal Canadian Navy

HMCS Cayuga was a Tribal-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1946 until 1964. She saw action in the Korean War. She was named for the Cayuga nation, a First Nations people of Canada.

HMCS <i>Huron</i> (G24) Royal Canadian Navy destroyer

HMCS Huron was a Tribal-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and the Korean War. She was the first ship to bear this name, entering service in 1943. She was named for the Huron people. During the Second World War the vessel saw service in Operation Neptune in the Bay of Biscay and along the French coast in support of the invasion of Normandy and escorted convoys to the Soviet Union. Following the war, the ship was placed in reserve. The destroyer was activated in 1950 as a training ship, but with the onset of the Korean War, was modernized and deployed twice to Korea. Following the war, Huron reverted to a training ship and took part in Cold War-era North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) naval exercises until being paid off for the final time in 1963 and broken up for scrap in 1965.

HMCS <i>Iroquois</i> (G89) Royal Canadian Navy destroyer

HMCS Iroquois was a Tribal-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and Korean War. She was named for the Iroquois First Nations. Iroquois was the first ship to bear this name and the first ship of the class to serve with the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS <i>Sioux</i> (R64) Destroyer of the Royal Canadian Navy

HMCS Sioux was a V-class destroyer of the Royal Canadian Navy which fought in the Second World War and the Korean War. She was launched as HMS Vixen for the British Royal Navy before being transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy. She was then named for the Sioux people of Canada's western provinces.

HMS <i>Tartar</i> (F43) Tribal-class destroyer

HMS Tartar was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service in most of the naval theatres of World War II. She had an eventful career, eventually receiving the nickname 'Lucky Tartar' due to her numerous escapes from dangerous situations. She was one of only four from the sixteen Royal Navy-operated Tribal-class destroyers to survive the war.

HMCS <i>Crescent</i> C-class destroyer

HMCS Crescent was a C-class destroyer that was built for the Royal Navy but was transferred before completion and saw active service with the Royal Canadian Navy. She was one of 32 destroyers of that class built between 1943 and 1945 as part of the War Emergency Programme.

HMS <i>Faulknor</i> (H62) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Faulknor was the flotilla leader for the F-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. The ship had a particularly active operational role during World War II, being awarded 11 battle honours, and was known as "The hardest worked destroyer in the Fleet". She was the first ship to sink a German U-boat, took part in the Norwegian Campaign, served with Force H in the Mediterranean on the Malta Convoys, escorted convoys to Russia and across the Atlantic, and saw action during the invasions of Sicily, Italy and Normandy, and was at the liberation of the Channel Islands. She was then decommissioned and sold for scrap in late 1945.

HMS <i>Escapade</i> British E-class destroyer

HMS Escapade was an E-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion in 1934, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–1936 during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 she spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Escapade was assigned to convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol duties in the Western Approaches when World War II began in September 1939, but transferred back to the Home Fleet at the end of the year.

HMS <i>Forester</i> (H74) Destroyer

HMS Forester was one of nine F-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the early 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36 during the Abyssinia Crisis. A few weeks after the start of World War II in September 1939, she helped to sink one German submarine and then participated in the Second Battle of Narvik during the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Forester was sent to Gibraltar in mid-1940 and formed part of Force H where she participated in the attack on the Vichy French ships at Mers-el-Kébir and the Battle of Dakar between escorting the aircraft carriers of Force H as they flew off aircraft for Malta and covering convoys resupplying and reinforcing the island until late 1941. During this time the ship helped to sink another German submarine.

HMS <i>Fortune</i> (H70) Destroyer

HMS Fortune was one of nine F-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. Although she was assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was detached to the Mediterranean Fleet to enforce the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39. Several weeks after the start of the Second World War in September 1939, Fortune helped to sink a German submarine. The ship escorted the larger ships of the fleet during the early stages of World War II and played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Fortune was sent to Gibraltar in mid-1940 and formed part of Force H where she participated in the Battle of Dakar against the Vichy French. The ship escorted numerous convoys to Malta in 1940–41 until she was badly damaged by Italian bombers in mid-1941.

HMS <i>Foxhound</i> (H69) British F-class destroyer

HMS Foxhound was one of nine F-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. Although she was assigned to the Home Fleet, the ship was detached as part of the Mediterranean Fleet to enforce the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides during the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39. Several weeks after the start of the Second World War in September 1939, Foxhound helped to sink a German submarine and participated in the Second Battle of Narvik during the Norwegian Campaign of April–June 1940. The ship was sent to Gibraltar in mid-1940 and formed part of Force H where she participated in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir. Foxhound escorted the aircraft carriers of Force H as they flew off aircraft for Malta and covered convoys resupplying and reinforcing the island until late 1941. During this time the ship helped to sink another German submarine.

HMS <i>Fury</i> (H76) British F-class destroyer

HMS Fury was an F-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36 during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she spent time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. The ship escorted the larger ships of the fleet during the early stages of World War II and played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Fury was sent to Gibraltar in mid-1940 and formed part of Force H where she participated in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir and the Battle of Dakar. The ship escorted numerous convoys to Malta in 1940–41 and Arctic convoys during 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action of 28 January 1945</span> 1945 naval battle

The action of 28 January 1945 was an inconclusive naval battle of the Second World War fought between two British Royal Navy light cruisers and three Kriegsmarine destroyers near Bergen, Norway. The battle was the last of many actions between British and German warships off Norway during the war and the second-to-last surface engagement to be fought by the Kriegsmarine. It resulted in heavy damage to one of the German destroyers and light damage to another destroyer and both British cruisers.

HMCS Minas was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Invasion of Normandy. She was named for Minas Basin. After the war she was reactivated for a short period of time in 1955 before being sold for scrap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arctic naval operations of World War II</span> Naval theatre of operations

Arctic naval operations of World War II were the World War II naval operations that took place in the Arctic Ocean, and can be considered part of the Battle of the Atlantic and/or of the European Theatre of World War II.

Operation Provident was carried out during World War II by the Home Fleet of the Royal Navy in the period 22–29 November 1944. The purpose of the operation was to carry out attacks on enemy shipping on the coast of Norway between latitudes 64° 30′ and 69° North. The operation took place under the personal command of the Commander-in-Chief, Home Fleet, Admiral Sir Henry Ruthven Moore, flying his flag in the aircraft carrier HMS Implacable. It is remembered for the destruction of MS Rigel in Norway's worst disaster at sea.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.