HMCS Nipigon was an Annapolis-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces. She was the second Canadian naval unit to carry this name. Entering service in 1964, she was named for the Nipigon River that flows through Ontario. Nipigon served throughout the Cold War on the Atlantic coast of Canada. She was paid off in 1998 and sold for use as an artificial reef off the coast of Quebec.
Design and description The Royal Canadian Navy had intended to place a six ship order under the Mackenzie class of destroyer escorts; however, during the design phase, the last two vessels ordered were altered to the St. Laurent-class DDH design and were classed under the new Annapolis designation. The ships measured 366 feet (112 m) in length, with a beam of 42 feet (13 m) and a draught of 13 feet 2 inches (4.01 m). Initially, the ships displaced 2,400 tonnes (2,400 long tons) and had a complement of 228. The ships were powered by two Babcock & Wilcox boilers connected to the two-shaft English-Electric geared steam turbines providing 30,000 shaft horsepower (22,000 kW). This gave the ships a maximum speed of 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph). The ships were initially armed with two 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber dual-purpose guns mounted in a single turret forward. The extra topweight of the helicopter required the return of the American Mk 33 3-inch gun over the heavier 3-inch/70 caliber guns used on the preceding class. The guns could fire 45 – 50 rounds per minute with a lifespan of 2,050 rounds. The guns were placed in a Mk 33 mount. The mounting allowed the guns to elevate from −15° to 85°. The elevation rate was 30° per second and train rate was 24° per second. The mounts could train 360°. For anti-submarine warfare, the ships were armed with a Mk 10 Limbo mortar. The Limbo was a British-designed three-barrel mortar capable of launching a projectile shell between 400–1,000 yards (370–910 m). Placed on stabilized mountings, the projectiles always entered the water at the same angle. The total weight of the shell was 390 pounds (180 kg). They also had a Mk.4 thrower with homing torpedoes. Initially the ships were outfitted with one SPS-12 air search radar, one SPS-10B surface search radar, and one Sperry Mk.2 navigation radar. For sensing below the surface, the class was given one SQS-501 high frequency bottom profiler sonar, one SQS-502 high frequency mortar control sonar, one SQS-503 hull mounted active search sonar and one SQS-504 VDS medium frequency active search sonar. For fire control purposes they were given one Mk 64 GFCS fire control with SPG-48 tracker (GUNAR).
The two Annapolis-class destroyers were built late enough to incorporate the helicopter hangar retrofitted to the St. Laurent class and the "Beartrap" haul-down device. This allowed the destroyer escorts to deploy with one CH-124 Sea King helicopter.
DELEX refit The DEstroyer Life EXtension (DELEX) refit was born out of the need to extend the life of the steam-powered destroyer escorts of the Canadian Navy in the 1980s until the next generation of surface ship was built. Encompassing all the classes based on the initial St. Laurent (the remaining St. Laurent, Restigouche, Mackenzie, and Annapolis-class vessels), the DELEX upgrades were meant to improve their ability to combat modern Soviet submarines, and to allow them to continue to operate as part of NATO task forces. The Annapolis class received the same sensor and communications upgrades that others in the St Laurent family of ships received, including the installation of a new tactical data system (ADLIPS), updated radars and sonars, fire control and satellite navigation. They also received the new Canadian Tactical Towed Array Sensor or CANTASS which was a long-range towed sonar array that was affixed to the stern, which replaced the older VDS. The class also received a new lattice mast. They were given 12.75-inch (324 mm) torpedo tubes to allow them to fire Mark 46 torpedoes. However, the Limbo mortar was removed in order to install the CANTASS. This visibly altered the overall appearance of the ships.
Construction and career
Nipigon was ordered in 1958, initially as a repeat Restigouche-class vessel. However, in 1959, the last two repeat Restigouches were altered to incorporate variable depth sonar and a helicopter landing area and became a separate class. The ship was laid down on 5 August 1960 by Marine Industries Ltd. at Sorel and launched on 10 December 1961. Her construction was overseen by Cdr Donald Clark CD, who also oversaw the laying-down and commencement of HMCS Bras d'Or. She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 30 May 1964 with classification number 266 and with the wife of the then Governor-General Georges Vanier, Madame Pauline Vanier, as her sponsor. She was actually the first vessel to commission in the class. In 1964, the ship escorted the royal yacht HMY Britannia on its tour of Canada. On 18 October 1965, a fire broke out in the fuel-handling room, killing one and seriously injuring others. Two injured sailors died in a Royal Navy hospital in Plymouth, England over the next three days. Eight crew members were evacuated to HMCS Bonaventure.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
