The Restigouche class destroyer was a class of destroyers that served the Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

 and later the Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

 from the late-1950s to the late-1990s.

The RCN began planning the in the late 1940s and originally intended to procure 14 vessels. Delays in design and construction saw the number of vessels for the St. Laurent-class halved to 7. The 7 remaining vessels were redesigned as the Restigouche-class, taking into account design improvements found during construction of the St. Laurents.

There were seven ships of the class commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 between 1958 and 1959.

The most noticeable difference between the St. Laurent and Restigouche classes was that the latter had the bridge raised one full deck higher in order to see over a new forward Vickers

Vickers

Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...

 3"/70 Mk.6 gun mount.

Improved Restigouche (IRE)

During the late 1960s, four ships of this class were refitted to what is known as the Improved Restigouche (IRE).

This refit involved replacing the aft 3"/50 gun with an octuple ASROC

ASROC

ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates...

 launcher. The old radar/communication mast was also replaced with a taller lattice mast. The stern was altered to accommodate a new variable depth sonar.

The three vessels that did not receive this refit were paid off into Category "C" Reserve soon afterward, during the manpower shortages of the early-to-mid 1970s when the newly-unified Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

 experienced defence budget cuts. was used as a parts hulk and donated her bow to after the latter was damaged in a collision. became a dockside engineering training platform at CFB Esquimalt

CFB Esquimalt

Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt is Canada's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters....

 and had her weapons and propellers removed and her machinery spaces converted into classrooms.

Destroyer Life Extension Project (DELEX)

The four IRE vessels of the Restigouche-class that remained in active service with the CF were selected for the Destroyer Life Extension Project (DELEX) in the late 1970s. DELEX was commissioned to upgrade the ten newest St. Laurent and Restigouche-class ships with new electronics, machinery, and hull upgrades and repairs. The intent of DELEX was to extend the life of these ships for another 15 years of service while the Halifax-class frigates

Halifax class frigate

The Halifax-class frigate is a class of multi-role patrol frigates that have served the Royal Canadian Navy since 1992...

 were being designed and built as part of the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project

Canadian Patrol Frigate Project

The Canadian Patrol Frigate Project was a procurement project undertaken by the Department of National Defence beginning in 1975 to find a replacement for the , , , and destroyers.-Contract award:...

.

DELEX included the installation of a Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) known as the Automatic Data Link Plotting System (ADLIPS), as well as the Canadian Electronic Warfare System (CANEWS), and a new communication suite.

DELEX was very successful as it allowed older ships to participate in a modern electronic battle field using tactical data links between ships and aircraft.

The Kootenay suffered two mishaps during her career: In 1969 one of her gearboxes exploded, killing 7 crewmembers in one of the worst peacetime accidents in Canadian naval history. 20 years later, she collided with a freighter in 1989 and suffered bow damage and was repaired with parts removed from .

Gulf War refit

was hastily and temporarily refitted in August 1990 as part of Operation FRICTION

Operation FRICTION

Operation FRICTION was a Canadian military operation that saw the contribution of 4,500 Canadian Forces personnel to the 1991 Gulf War. The US components, by far the largest, were Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm....

.

She was re-equipped with parts from the Halifax-class frigate program to act as a primary anti-ship strike and naval battery platform. Modifications were made in Halifax as well as while underway to the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

 and involved the installation of new weapons and subsequent electronics and sensors.

Among the new equipment for Terra Nova was an upgraded 3 inches (76.2 mm) rapid fire gun, Harpoon anti-ship missile launcher (8 missiles), Vulcan Phalanx 20 mm Close-In Weapon System

Close-in weapon system

A close-in weapon system , often pronounced sea-whiz, is a naval shipboard point-defense weapon for detecting and destroying at short range incoming anti-ship missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses....

 (CIWS), and modified torpedo tubes for the Mk.46 Mod 50 homing torpedo. The upgrade saw the removal of the ASROC system and the well for the Limbo ASW mortar, which were replaced by Harpoon and CIWS respectively. Two 40 mm Boffin anti-aircraft guns (with an improvised fire control system) in addition to Javelin point-defense Surface-to-Air missiles and .50 cal machine guns were also added for improved close-quarter fighting.

As such, Terra Nova became the first ever guided-missile destroyer ever to serve in the Canadian Navy. Recently released documents indicate that the rapid Gulf War modification plans were determined to date back to the early 1980s as part of an emergency re-armament plan devised in case of a conventional war with the Soviet Union and/or the Warsaw Pact.

Ships

Royal Canadian Navy Royal Canadian Navy The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...  - St. Laurent-class destroyer - Canadian Forces Maritime Command Canadian Forces Maritime Command The Royal Canadian Navy , is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Forces. Operating 33 warships and several auxiliary vessels, the Royal Canadian Navy consists of 8,500 Regular Force and 5,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by...
Ship	Original Pennant Number	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commiss- ioned	Refits Completed			Paid Off	Fate
						IRE	DELEX	Persian Gulf
	DDE 257	Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal Montreal Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...	17 Jul 1953	22 Nov 1954	7 Jun 1958	1972	29 Nov 1985	late 1990 or early 1991	31 Aug 1994	Sunk off Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...  as an artificial reef in 2001.
	DDE 235	Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Halifax City of Halifax Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...	30 Jul 1953	13 Nov 1957	14 Nov 1959	Never	Never	Never	23 May 1974	Placed in Category "C" reserve in 1974. Removed from reserve in 1988 and used as a parts hulk; donated part of her bow to in 1989. Sunk as an artificial reef off British Columbia British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...  in 1992.
	DDE 236	Davie Shipbuilding Ltd. Davie Shipbuilding Davie Shipbuilding is a historic shipbuilding company located in Lauzon, Quebec. The facility has undergone restructuring and is currently operating as Davie Yards Incorporated.-History:... , Lauzon Lauzon, Quebec Lauzon is a former city in southern Quebec, Canada, located on the St. Lawrence River northeast of Lévis. Founded in 1910, Lauzon had a population of about 14,500 when it merged with Lévis in 1989...	30 Apr 1953	3 Jun 1957	17 Feb 1959	14 Apr 1971	12 Nov 1982	Never	24 May 1996	Currently about 75% scrapped, Pictou, NS.
	DDE 256	Marine Industries Ltd. Marine Industries Limited Marine Industries Limited was a Canadian ship building company, in Sorel, Quebec, with a shipyard located on the Richelieu river about 1 km from the St. Lawrence River. It employed up to 10,000 people during the post WWII boom.... , Sorel	15 Oct 1954	17 Nov 1957	4 Oct 1958	21 Oct 1964	Never	Never	15 Nov 1974	Placed in Category "C" reserve in 1974. Stripped of weapons and propellers and machinery spaces converted into classroom space alongside at CFB Halifax CFB Halifax Canadian Forces Base Halifax is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic.... . Removed from reserve in 1988 and sold for scrap in 1991.
	DDE 258	Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. Burrard Dry Dock Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia . Together with the neighboring North Van Ship Repair yard and the Yarrows Ltd... , North Vancouver North Vancouver, British Columbia There are two municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, that use the name North Vancouver. These are:*The City of North Vancouver...	21 Aug 1952	15 Jun 1954	7 Mar 1959	7 Jan 1972	21 Oct 1983	Never	18 Nov 1995	Sunk as an artificial reef Artificial reef An artificial reef is a human-made underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, control erosion, block ship passage, or improve surfing....  off Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...  in 2001.
	DDE 259	Victoria Machinery Depot Ltd. Victoria Machinery Depot Victoria Machinery Depot Ltd. was a ship builder located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.This was a historic metalworks and shipyard in Victoria, Canada. From the late 1850s on, with the Fraser Canyon and Cariboo Gold Rushes British Columbia was dependent upon Californian supplies and ships... , Victoria Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...	11 Jun 1953	21 Jun 1955	6 Jun 1959	1968	9 Nov 1984	Aug-Sep 1990	11 July 1997	In 2001 Terra Nova was cast in the film K-19 - The Widowmaker K-19: The Widowmaker K-19: The Widowmaker is a movie released on July 19, 2002, about the first of many disasters that befell the Soviet submarine of the same name. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow...  as USS Decatur. Currently about 85% scrapped, Pictou NS.
	DDE 260	Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. Burrard Dry Dock Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia . Together with the neighboring North Van Ship Repair yard and the Yarrows Ltd... , North Vancouver North Vancouver, British Columbia There are two municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, that use the name North Vancouver. These are:*The City of North Vancouver...	11 Jun 1952	1 Nov 1956	7 Nov 1959	Never	Never	Never	18 Feb 1974	Propellers replaced with no-thrust wheels in 1974 for use as a dockside engineering training platform at CFB Esquimalt CFB Esquimalt Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt is Canada's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters.... . Removed from reserve status in 1988 and sunk as an artificial reef off British Columbia British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858... in 1996.