HMCS Toronto (K538)

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Toronto k538.jpg
HMCS Toronto
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgCanada
NameToronto
Namesake Toronto, Ontario
Ordered1 February 1943
Builder Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon
Yard number550
Laid down10 May 1943
Launched18 September 1943
Commissioned6 May 1944
Decommissioned27 November 1945
Identification pennant number: K538
Recommissioned26 November 1953
Decommissioned14 April 1956
Reclassified Prestonian-class frigate
Identificationpennant number: FFE 319
Motto"Be worthy"
Honours and
awards		Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1944 [1]
FateTransferred to Norway in 1956 as Garm
BadgeAzure, a mural crown argent, masoned sable, surmounted by a beaver proper holding in the dexter paw a fid spike or [2]
Flag of Norway, state.svgNorway
NameGarm
Namesakethe Ragnarök hound Garmr
Acquiredloaned 10 March 1956; purchased 1959
Commissioned1956
Decommissioned1977
RenamedValkyrien (1965)
Reclassifiedtorpedo boat depot ship (1965)
Identification(as Garm) F315
FateSold 1977
General characteristics
Class and type River-class frigate
Displacement
  • 1,445 long tons (1,468 t; 1,618 short tons)
  • 2,110 long tons (2,140 t; 2,360 short tons) (deep load)
Length
  • 283 ft (86.26 m) p/p
  • 301.25 ft (91.82 m) o/a
Beam36.5 ft (11.13 m)
Draught9 ft (2.74 m); 13 ft (3.96 m) (deep load)
Propulsion2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW)
Speed
  • 20 knots (37.0 km/h)
  • 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h) (turbine ships)
Range646 long tons (656 t; 724 short tons) oil fuel;
Complement157
Armament

HMCS Toronto was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1953-1956. She was named for Toronto, Ontario. She was later acquired by the Royal Norwegian Navy and renamed Garm and then again in 1965 as HNoMS Valkyrien .

Contents

Toronto was ordered 1 February 1943 as Giffard (after Giffard, Quebec) as part of the 1943-1944 River-class building program. [3] [4] She was laid down on 10 May 1943 by Davie Shipbuilding & Repairing Co. Ltd. at Lauzon and launched 18 September 1943. [4] Her name was changed to Toronto and she was commissioned into the RCN on 6 May 1944 with the pennant K538. [5]

Background

The River-class frigate was designed by William Reed of Smith's Dock Company of South Bank-on-Tees. Originally called a "twin-screw corvette", its purpose was to improve on the convoy escort classes in service with the Royal Navy at the time, including the Flower-class corvette. The first orders were placed by the Royal Navy in 1940 and the vessels were named for rivers in the United Kingdom, giving name to the class. In Canada they were named for towns and cities though they kept the same designation. [6] The name "frigate" was suggested by Vice-Admiral Percy Nelles of the Royal Canadian Navy and was adopted later that year. [7]

Improvements over the corvette design included improved accommodation which was markedly better. The twin engines gave only three more knots of speed but extended the range of the ship to nearly double that of a corvette at 7,200 nautical miles (13,300 km) at 12 knots. [7] Among other lessons applied to the design was an armament package better designed to combat U-boats including a twin 4-inch mount forward and 12-pounder aft. [6] 15 Canadian frigates were initially fitted with a single 4-inch gun forward but with the exception of HMCS Valleyfield, they were all eventually upgraded to the double mount. [7] For underwater targets, the River-class frigate was equipped with a Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar and depth charge rails aft and four side-mounted throwers. [6]

River-class frigates were the first Royal Canadian Navy warships to carry the 147B Sword horizontal fan echo sonar transmitter in addition to the irregular ASDIC. This allowed the ship to maintain contact with targets even while firing unless a target was struck. Improved radar and direction-finding equipment improved the RCN's ability to find and track enemy submarines over the previous classes. [6]

Canada originally ordered the construction of 33 frigates in October 1941. [6] [7] The design was too big for the shipyards on the Great Lakes so all the frigates built in Canada were built in dockyards along the west coast or along the St. Lawrence River. [7] In all Canada ordered the construction of 60 frigates including ten for the Royal Navy that transferred two to the United States Navy. [6]

Service history

Following extensive work-up exercises in the vicinity of Bermuda, Toronto was assigned to escort group EG 16 which operated out of HMCS Protector at Sydney, Nova Scotia. [3] It was during this time Toronto saw service in the Battle of the St. Lawrence for which the ship was awarded the Battle Honour "Gulf of St. Lawrence - 1944." On 14 October 1944, Toronto was escorting ONS 33G when HMCS Magog, a fellow escort, was torpedoed by U-1223. Magog suffered significant damage from the attack but managed to stay afloat and Toronto took her in tow. However while towing Magog, the other GNAT, an acoustic German torpedo, detonated in Toronto's wake. Toronto handed off the towing duties to HMCS Shawinigan after she recorded a contact and departed to chase it down unsuccessfully. [8]

Launch of HMCS Toronto HMCS Toronto.jpg
Launch of HMCS Toronto

Following that she served with Halifax Force as a local escort until May 1945. In May she was assigned to HMCS Cornwallis as a training ship. [3] On 27 November 1945, Toronto was paid off and placed in reserve at Shelburne, Nova Scotia. [3] [4]

As part of the planned reactivation of 21 frigates to combat the Soviet submarine threat, Toronto underwent conversion to a Prestonian-class frigate in 1952. This meant a flush-decked appearance aft, with a larger bridge and taller funnel. Her hull forward was strengthened against ice and the quarterdeck was enclosed to contain two Squid anti-submarine mortars. [9] Toronto was recommissioned with pennant number 319 on 26 November 1953 at Lauzon. [4] [10]

The frigate was made a part of the First Canadian Escort Squadron in December 1953. [11] In April 1954, Toronto deployed to Bermuda for anti-submarine training with the British submarine Tally-Ho and the American submarine Cobbler before joining the First Canadian Escort Squadron on their training cruise through the Caribbean Sea, making several port visits. [12] In September, the First Canadian Escort Squadron took part in the NATO naval exercise "New Broom II" and in October, the exercise "Morning Mist" before performing a two-month training cruise in the Mediterranean Sea, making several port visits. [13] [14] The squadron returned to Canada on 10 December 1954. [14]

Royal Norwegian Navy

It was announced in November 1955 that three Prestonian-class frigates would be loaned to Norway; Toronto, Prestonian and Penetang. [15] Toronto was paid off by the RCN on 14 April 1956 and transferred to the Royal Norwegian Navy as HMNoS Garm. Garm was purchased outright in 1959 and was employed primarily for fisheries protection duties. [9] She was renamed in 1965 to Valkyrien and re-designated a torpedo boat depot ship. [3] She served in this capacity until she was sold and scrapped by the Royal Norwegian Navy in 1977. [3]

See also

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References

Citations

  1. ↑ "Battle Honours 2". Veterans Affairs Canada. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Arbuckle, p. 122
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Macpherson, Ken; Burgess, John (1981). The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910-1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Toronto: Collins. ISBN   0-00216-856-1.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "HMCS Toronto (K 538)". uboat.net. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  5. ↑ Lenton, H.T.; Colledge, J.J. (1968). British and Dominion Warships of World War II. New York: Doubleday and Company Inc. p. 229.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Fact Sheet No. 21 - Canadian River Class Frigates" . Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Macpherson, Ken (1989). Frigates of the Royal Canadian Navy 1943-1974. Lewiston, New York: Vanwell Publishing. pp. 6–7, 15. ISBN   0920277225.
  8. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-boats - HMCS Magog (K673)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  9. 1 2 Raymond V.B. Blackman, ed. (1958). Jane's Fighting Ships 1958-59. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. p. 77.
  10. ↑ "Two Warships Join Fleet". The Crowsnest. Vol. 6, no. 1. Queen's Printer. November 1953. p. 10.
  11. ↑ "Escort Squadron Formed at Halifax". The Crowsnest. Vol. 6, no. 1. Queen's Printer. pp. 2–3.
  12. ↑ "West Indies Goal of Training Trips". The Crowsnest. Vol. 6, no. 7. Queen's Printer. May 1954. pp. 2–3.
  13. ↑ "Escort Squadron Touring "Med"". The Crowsnest. Vol. 7, no. 1. Queen's Printer. p. 3.
  14. 1 2 "Squadron Back From "Med" Cruise". The Crowsnest. Vol. 7, no. 3. Queen's Printer. January 1955. pp. 2–3.
  15. ↑ "Three Frigates Lent to Norway". The Crowsnest. Vol. 8, no. 3. Ottawa: Queen's Printer. January 1956. p. 2.

Sources

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