On the athabaskan he rarely paid attention to any news concerning the war and instead focused on his job. Hmcs athabaskan was the first of three destroyers of the royal canadian navy to bear this. Sometimes the charges would merely blow holes in the casing and the mine. There have been 3 vessels named athabaskan in the royal canadian navy. Hmcs athabaskan go7 first of name rcn photo the first two ships were laid down as iroquois and athabaskan but iroquois was delayed by bombing while on the stocks. Hmcs athabaskan, the flagship of the countrys atlantic fleet, is undergoing a series of repairs in halifax, according to royal canadian navy. You can find our full coverage of the hmcs athabaskan tow here. The athabaskan was the worst naval disaster in canadian history. Hmcs athabaskan iii is the sole remaining canadian navy ship from the cold war. The report, obtained under accesstoinformation law, says the punctures require 18 square metres of steel to be. The hull of the royal canadian navy ship hmcs athabaskan was damaged. Before my wifes uncle said he was part of the crew on that faithful night of april 29, 1944, i did not know hmcs athabaskan ever existed. It was a destroyer of the tribalclass, built in 19401941 in the united kingdom by vickers armstrong of newcastle upon tyne with parsons engine works.
Dec 21, 2011 hmcs terra nova final sailpast 11 july 1997 duration. Hmcs athabaskan is the third ship of the tribal class helicopter destroyer to complete the tribal update and modernization program trump conversion. Athabaskan was ordered 5 april 1940 as part of the 19401941 building programme. Hmcs athabaskan was the first of three destroyers of the royal canadian navy to bear this name. Last canadian destroyer hmcs athabaskan to be decommissioned. Any old shipmates that recognize my name and wish to get in touch can reach me at. Sisters of the space age several times these past weeks, i got close to the spirit of athabaskan. Information about athabaskan in the dictionary, synonyms and antonyms. Hmcs athabaskan ii r 79 of the royal canadian navy. It was a destroyer of the tribal class, that served in the second world war.
Engineroom dept of hmcs athabaskan g07 when she was hit by a bomb on 27 aug 1943 crows nest newspaper jan 1944. The life and death of hmcs athabaskan 194044 by len burrow author, emile beaudoin author isbn. Nov 03, 2017 hmcs athabaskan iii is the sole remaining canadian navy ship from the cold war. Hmcs athabaskan was paid off during a ceremony at hmc dockyard in halifax on friday. She was named for the first nations peoples who make up the athabaskan language group. He volunteered to join the ship from the hmcs algonquin when there was a need for extra electricians. The hull of the royal canadian navy ship hmcs athabaskan was damaged when it broke loose from its tow line last week and went adrift off scatarie island in cape breton, cbc news has learned. Commissioned in 1972, the iroquoisclass destroyer has participated in many nato and international exercises, as well as the gulf war. Two weeks ago i was in brest france, not far from a small town called plouscat.
Mar 24, 2015 defence watch has received emails from some families of the crew of hmcs athabaskan about what they said was damage affecting the ship. I was therefore able to stake out a spot at the end of the jetty to capture athabaskan s final sailpast from the narrows, taking a salute from viceadmiral ron lloyd, rearadmiral john newton, and commodore craig baines in the process. R 79 dde 219 hmcs athabaskan uk tribal class destroyer escort. G 07 hmcs athabaskan uk tribal class destroyer royal canadian. She was laid down in the united kingdom on 31 october 1940 by vickers armstrong of newcastle upon ty.
Athabaskan was commissioned into service on february 3rd, 1943 at newcastleontyne, england. On 16 feb 1959, hmcs athabaskan and hmcs cayuga arrived in halifax. The magazine and a boiler blew up in an explosion that was seen 20 miles away. Feel free to share any of your stories, photos and information to all former members of hmcs athabaskan ships company if. Throwing away canadian history, exhmcs athabaskan to go to. Canadas last destroyer, hmcs athabaskan, sidelined by engine. The royal canadian navy is downplaying an engine room fire on board hmcs athabaskan earlier this week. Excellent book detailing the loss of hmcs athabaskan. Hmcs athabaskan and hmcs crusader, kure, japan 02 apr 1953 side by side at a jetty in kure, japan, are hmc ships athabaskan left and crusader, while their ships companies unite in divisions alongside. Mar 09, 2017 its a shame that they are actually retiring her.
Archives archives page 5 of 16 cfb esquimalt naval and. Media in category hmcs athabaskan g07 ship, 1941 the following 4 files are in this category, out of 4 total. I have not seen the report, so the info below is from the cp piece. Hmcs athabaskan was an iroquoisclass destroyer that served in the royal canadian navy.
Canada issues tender for disposal of countrys last destroyer. The iroquois class destroyer athabaskan was commissioned on september 30, 1972. The royal canadian navy has announced that the paying off date of the destroyer hmcs athabaskan will be march 10, the royal united. She is the third vessel to use the designation hmcs athabaskan. The uboat war in world war two kriegsmarine, 19391945 and world war one kaiserliche marine, 19141918 and the allied efforts to counter the threat. On a mission to clear the english channel in preparation for the normandy landings, the athabaskan along with her sister ship hmcs haida now at berth in. Hmcs d 282, wmec 911, hmcs mm 700, hmcs mm 708, lhd 5, ddg 99, and lsd 43. The crusader, a crescent class destroyer, has been in korean waters for eight months, while the athabaskan, canadianbuilt tribal class. Hmcs athabaskan 1st g07 the history of the athabaskan 1st hmcs athabaskan g07 was the first of three destroyers of the royal canadian navy to bear this name. During the cold war, canada designed several classes of ships, all of which are now decommissioned and destroyed. Mar 11, 2017 the paying off ceremony itself was open to the public, so a bunch of us headed up and entered the dockyard via the gate at hmcs scotian. Hmcs athabaskan 1st ships of the royal canadian navy. Ddg 282 hmcs athabaskan, iroquois trump class guidedmissile destroyer, canadian armed forces history and characteristics toggle navigation database.
I am formerly a member of the crew of hmcs athabaskan and was a messmate of patrick fusk. It will be recycled by marine recycling corporation in sydney. Hmcs athabaskan left with 6 punctures after tugboat crash cbc. Hmcs terra nova final sailpast 11 july 1997 duration. In jan 1959, hmcs athabaskan left for the east coast to become part of a homogeneous tribal class squadron.
Here are a number of photos from different sources, which deal with the last days of hmcs athabaskan, which was paid off in a ceremony on. I was therefore able to stake out a spot at the end of the jetty to capture athabaskans final sailpast from the narrows, taking a salute from viceadmiral ron lloyd, rearadmiral john newton, and commodore craig baines in the process. Both this ship and the original hmcs athabaskan were destroyers and thus this one became known as athabaskan ii. Hmcs athabaskan takes final salute after 44 years of dedicated service. This blog all started in 2009 to pay homage to the sailors of hmcs athabaskan, the unlucky lady. Immediately below are photos courtesy of the rcnco. Hmcs athabaskan approaching hmcs ottawa in a moderate caribbean sea, during caribops in janfeb 1981. Canadian navy ship hmcs athabaskan, sails into portsmouth england for engine repairs duration. Dedicated to all members who were part of hmcs athabaskan ships company. Six men miraculously were able to return to uk in a motor boat left at the scene by hmcs haida and were rescued by an raf launch later that day. Athabaskan was the third ship of her class which is sometimes referred to as the tribal class or simply as the 280 class. Details of the collision and subsequent line ruptures are contained in an investigation of hmcs athabaskans tow to halifax after it underwent a.
Hmcs athabaskan was flanked by tugboats as it left the harbour that was its home port for almost 45 year. Aboard hmcs athabaskan, on her final sail in its heyday, it was one of canadas largest fighting ships built as a helicoptercarrying. She was torpedoed in the english channel and sunk in 1944. Hmcs athabaskan was commissioned into the royal canadian navy on the 3rd february 1943, under the command of commander g. Hmcs athabaskan was a tribalclass destroyer that served with the royal canadian navy in the immediate postsecond world war era. Hmcs athabaskan g07 rescues survivors from german uboat that was sunk by a wellington bomber crows nest newspaper jan 1944. Over the course of the next 20 years, as part of the first canadian destroyer squadron she deployed on a multitude of nato and other allied exercises. Royal canadian navy prepares to say goodbye to hmcs.
Hmcs athabaskan received minor damage in storm ottawa citizen. This assertion became the basis for len burrow and emile beaudoins book unlucky lady. I will never forget the sound of those engines going away. Her majestys canadian ship hmcs athabaskan was paid off during a ceremony at hmc dockyard in halifax today. Hmcs athabaskan hull damaged in tow line break cbc news. Their west coast crews returned to bc with hmcs st laurent and hmcs saguenay. John hamilton stubbs, dso, dsc, rcn was sunk in the english channel northeast of ouessant by two torpedoes from the german torpedo boats t24 and t27. I have always been interested in the history of ww ii, but mostly about airplanes.
Hmcs athabaskan takes final salute after 44 years of. The athabee was an old ship by then but still the fastest in the fleet. Page dedicated to the languages of the athabaskan language family athabascan, athapaskan, athapascan or nadene, with links to information on each language and the. Firsthand accounts from the ships surviving crew or families and access to their war diaries allowed the author to create this record of the personal toll behind the sinking of the hmcs athabaskan, the worst canadian naval disaster to be caused by surface action. Defence watch has received emails from some families of the crew of hmcs athabaskan about what they said was damage affecting the ship. She is the third vessel to use the designation hmcs athabaskan athabaskan was laid down on 1 june 1969 at davie shipbuilding, lauzon and was launched on 27. Mar 11, 2017 here are a number of photos from different sources, which deal with the last days of hmcs athabaskan, which was paid off in a ceremony on friday. The ships final voyage begins 9 january 2017 and shortly after. The last tribal class destroyer to be built was named hmcs athabaskan ii and was built in halifax, canada. Heres my 5minute video that condenses a 2hour guided tour of hmcs athabaskan on 7 december 2016 at the cfb halifax dockyard. Hmcs athabaskan, the last of the four iroquoisclass area air defence destroyers, served the royal canadian navy with distinction for more than.
The royal canadian navy rcn has announced that its last remaining destroyer, hmcs athabaskan, will leave service in the spring of 2017. The last days of hmcs athabaskan more photos ottawa citizen. Hmcs athabaskan was an iroquoisclass destroyer that served in the royal canadian navy from 1972 until 2017. All were named for the canadian first nations language group. The paying off ceremony itself was open to the public, so a bunch of us headed up and entered the dockyard via the gate at hmcs scotian. She was christened on may 4th, 1946 and commissioned on january 20th, 1948. As you got down to plug a hole, the ship would take a slow, weary roll, and a. Holes, dents, scrapes can be seen on iroquoisclass destroyer. The ship was in training exercises off halifax preparing for a deployment. Athabaskan was therefore renamed iroquois and launched as the lead ship while the original iroquois was launched as athabaskan. Athabaskan, the last of the four iroquoisclass area air defence destroyers, served the royal canadian navy rcn with distinction for more than 44 years.
Among the most modern warships afloat, she is capable of many roles in support of canadas sovereignty and collective defence agreements. To honour all the ships that bore the name and as a memorial to those that served in the cold war and into. Commissioned on september 30, 1972, this will give her just shy of 45 years of service. Athabaskan was therefore renamed iroquois and launched as the lead ship. Kettles nephew website from people who had sign his guest books. The last tribal class destroyer to be built was named hmcs athabaskan ii and was built in.
Media in category hmcs athabaskan 219 ship, 1945 the following 2 files are in this category, out of 2 total. Throwing away canadian history, exhmcs athabaskan to go. Athabaskan language family nadene, athabascan, athapascan. On a mission to clear the english channel in preparation for the normandy landings, the athabaskan along. Within three weeks of sinking, another athabaskan was laid down in halifax. Sep 01, 2016 the royal canadian navy rcn has announced that its last remaining destroyer, hmcs athabaskan, will leave service in the spring of 2017. Proper usage and audio pronunciation of the word athabaskan. The keel of the new tribal class destroyer was laid in england in the fall of 1940, and launched by lady tweedsmuir on 18 november, 1941.
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