St. Laurent class destroyer
Encyclopedia
The St. Laurent 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 mid-1950s to the mid-1990s.

This was the first major class of warship designed and built in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. They were similar to the British Type 12 Whitby class frigate
Whitby class frigate
The Type 12 frigates of the Whitby class were a six-ship class of anti-submarine warfare frigates of the Royal Navy that entered service late in the 1950s. They were designed as first rate ocean-going convoy escorts in light of experience gained during World War II...

, but used more American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 equipment than British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. 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 1955 and 1957.

They were originally intended as destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...

s (DDE) but were later refitted and reclassed as destroyer helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

 escorts (DDH).

Construction

The need for the St. Laurent class came about in 1949 when Canada joined NATO and the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 was in its infancy. The RCN was assigned responsibility for anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....

 and controlling sea space in the western North Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.

Design work for a new class of destroyer escorts began that year with the original completion date slated for 1955. They were designed by Montreal naval architects German and Milne "under the direction of a senior constructor, Sir Rowland Baker, seconded from the [British] Director of Naval Construction
Director of Naval Construction
The Director of Naval Construction was a senior British civil servant post in the Admiralty, that part of the British Civil Service that oversaw the Royal Navy. The post existed from 1860 to 1966....

... Baker produced a design basically similar to the Whitby [Type 12
Whitby class frigate
The Type 12 frigates of the Whitby class were a six-ship class of anti-submarine warfare frigates of the Royal Navy that entered service late in the 1950s. They were designed as first rate ocean-going convoy escorts in light of experience gained during World War II...

], but incorporating several ideas of his own....To flatter Canadian susceptibilities, Baker was careful to make the appearance as different as possible from the Whitby, but the ship that resulted was virtually a Type 12 specification (albeit with a different hull form) translated by a different design team."

The St Laurent class were "built to an operational requirement much like that which produced the British Type 12
Whitby class frigate
The Type 12 frigates of the Whitby class were a six-ship class of anti-submarine warfare frigates of the Royal Navy that entered service late in the 1950s. They were designed as first rate ocean-going convoy escorts in light of experience gained during World War II...

, and powered by the same machinery plant, she was strikingly different. The rounded deck-edge forward was adopted to prevent ice forming." She was designed to operate in harsh Canadian conditions. They were built to counter nuclear
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...

, biological
Biological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...

 and chemical
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...

 attack conditions, which lead to a design with a rounded hull, a continuous main deck, and the addition of a pre-wetting system to wash away contaminants. The living spaces on the ship were part of a "citadel" which could be sealed off from contamination for the crew safety. The ships were sometimes referred to as "Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...

s" for their relatively luxurious crew compartments; these were also the first Canadian warships to have a bunk for every crew member since previous warship designs had used hammock
Hammock
A hammock is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two points, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. It normally consists of one or more cloth panels, or a woven network of twine or thin rope stretched with ropes between two firm anchor points such as trees or posts....

s.

Other innovative features not found on other ships of its time included an operations room separate from the bridge, from which the captain could command the ship while in combat, 12 separate internal telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...

 systems, air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...

, and the latest advances in radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 and sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

 technology.

The St. Laurent class originally called for 14 vessels to be commissioned no later than 1955; however, changing design specifications due to the rapidly changing Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

 naval environment, as well as Canada's wartime priorities during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, saw only the first 7 completed by 1957. The remaining 7 vessels were built as the follow-on Restigouche-class
Restigouche class destroyer
The Restigouche class destroyer was a class of destroyers that served the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from the late-1950s to the late-1990s....

 to incorporate advancements in naval warship design in the preceding years. There were also two essentially similar follow-on classes, the Mackenzie Class
Mackenzie class destroyer
The Mackenzie-class destroyer was a class of warship used by the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces from the 1960s-1990s. Six such ships were envisioned, of which four were completed to this specification...

 (4 ships completed 1962-63) and the Annapolis Class
Annapolis class destroyer
The Annapolis class destroyer escort was a class of ships that saw service with the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces from the 1960s-1990s....

 (2 ships, completed 1964), the latter completed as helicopter carrying destroyer escorts from the onset, and not converted later as were the seven St Laurent Class ships.

Armament

The St. Laurent class was fitted with twin 3 inch/L50 guns for engaging both surface and air targets. Her anti-submarine armament consisted of a pair of triple barrelled Limbo
Limbo
In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other...

 ASW mortars in a stern well. The stern well had a roller top to close it off from following seas. "As in the case of the Type 12
Whitby class frigate
The Type 12 frigates of the Whitby class were a six-ship class of anti-submarine warfare frigates of the Royal Navy that entered service late in the 1950s. They were designed as first rate ocean-going convoy escorts in light of experience gained during World War II...

, the design included provision for long-range homing torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

es (in this case BIDDER [Mk 20E] or the US Mark 35. They were never fitted however."

As built, the twin 3-inch 50-calibre
Caliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....

 anti-aircraft mounts were installed without shields. These were added in 1963. The gun housings are fibreglass. (Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-64 shows photographs taken in 1962 and 1963 respectively of Skeena and Assiniboine with these.)

Machinery

The vessels of the St. Laurent class had two Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers installed providing 600 PSI
Pounds per square inch
The pound per square inch or, more accurately, pound-force per square inch is a unit of pressure or of stress based on avoirdupois units...

 (4.1 MPa
Pascal (unit)
The pascal is the SI derived unit of pressure, internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus and tensile strength, named after the French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer, and philosopher Blaise Pascal. It is a measure of force per unit area, defined as one newton per square metre...

, 42 kgf/cm²
Kilogram-force
A kilogram-force , or kilopond , is a gravitational metric unit of force. It is equal to the magnitude of the force exerted by one kilogram of mass in a gravitational field...

) at 850 °F (454.4 °C).

The steam produced by these boilers was directed at two geared steam turbines which powered two shafts, providing 30,000 HP
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

 (22 MW) to drive the ship at a maximum speed of 28.5 knots (55.9 km/h). By the early 1990s, the quoted maximum speed was only 27 kt.

"Propelling machinery is of British design. Yarrow & Co Ltd, Scotstoun
Scotstoun
Scotstoun is a historic district of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Yoker and Knightswood to the west, Victoria Park, Broomhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde to the south...

, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, received an order from Canadian Vickers
Canadian Vickers Limited
Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada during the early part of the 20th century until 1944. A subsidiary of the UK parent, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. Canadair absorbed the Canadian Vickers Ltd...

 for the supply of a complete set of machinery for the St. Laurent, the other ships being supplied with machinery manufactured in Canada. The main turbines and machinery are of English Electric design."

DDH conversion

The advent of nuclear-powered attack submarines in the late 1950s prompted RCN leaders to assess the new threat they posed. Although these craft were noisier than older submarines and could therefore be detected at longer ranges, they were also capable of 30 knots (59 km/h) while submerged, which was faster than the top speed of the St. Laurents at 28.5 knots (55.9 km/h). Some RCN leaders harbored serious doubts that the destroyers could effectively pursue and destroy such fast vessels, even when operating in pairs. During a 25 February 1959 meeting of the Naval Board, it was decided that the Navy would counter the new threat by outfitting destroyers for helicopter operation.

The RCN had examined the feasibility of operating ASW helicopters from small escorts when it modified the Prestonian-class frigate
Prestonian class frigate
The Prestonian-class ocean escort frigate was a class of 21 frigates that served with the Royal Canadian Navy from 1953-1967.They were converted from mothballed s that had been placed in reserve following the end of World War II. The first vessel to be reactivated and undergo refit was which was...

  in mid-1956 with a temporary helicopter landing platform fitted the quarterdeck
Quarterdeck
The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...

. Trials held in October 1956 using a Sikorsky HO4S-3 were successful, and a larger temporary helicopter landing platform was installed in the new destroyer escort in August 1957. Operational trials were conducted using an RCAF
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

 Sikorsky S-58, a substantially larger and heavier aircraft than the HO4S, and the success of these tests led to approval of the concept.

To achieve the goal, the RCN needed a helicopter capable of all-weather day-and-night operations with a heavy weapons load- capabilities the HO4S lacked- and a means to handle and secure the aircraft on the landing platform in rough seas. Trials showed landing was not the major concern: deck handling was. Manpower alone was insufficiently quick or certain in all conditions. During the 1957 trials aboard Ottawa, it had taken 30 tense minutes to secure the S-58 to the deck during nighttime operations in rough seas. The deck handling issue was addressed by the invention of the beartrap
Beartrap (helicopter device)
The beartrap is the Canadian name of a device invented for smaller warships, like frigates and destroyers, that carry helicopters. While not essential to enable embarked helicopters to operate from small escort vessels, it enables them to operate in a wider range of weather conditions.In the...

. The Navy came up with the solution, and contracted Fairey Aviation of Dartmouth, NS, to produce it. Fairey's prototype was installed in HMCS Assiniboine during her 1962-63 conversion. By keeping the aircraft secure, the beartrap eliminated the need for deck handling from landing to the hangar, or from hangar to takeoff.

"In conjunction with the helicopter carrying features and hangar facilities, roll-damping fins were added to the destroyers being so built or converted. These fins reduce the roll of the ship and aid landing and take-off operations during rough weather."

Initial studies identified two helicopters that met the upcoming requirements- the Sikorsky S-61 (HSS) Sea King and the Kaman K-20 (HU2K). The Sea King was ultimately chosen in December 1961.

All seven St Laurents were fitted with helicopter platforms and SQS 504 Variable Depth Sonar (VDS). St Laurent was equipped with VDS late in 1961, the helicopter platform to be added later. When ships were fitted with the helicopter platform, the single funnel was altered to twin stepped funnels to permit the forward extension of the helicopter hangar. Stabilizing systems were added to allow for helicopter recovery in any sea conditions, and a single CH-124 was carried. To make room for the helicopter deck, the aft 3 in (76.2 mm) mount and one of the Limbos were removed.

Assiniboine was the first in the class to receive the full upgrade, re-commissioning as a DDH on 28 June 1963. On 27 November 1963, her new platform was used for the first operational landing of a production CHSS-2 Sea King, and her beartrap landing system was used operationally for the first time a week later.

DELEX program

In the late 1970s, under the Destroyer Life Extension (DELEX) program was commissioned to upgrade ten of the 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 Program.

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.

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

Ships

Note that pennant numbers were originally prefixed DDE but were changed to DDH in the early 1960s.
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 - 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 Commissioned Refits Completed Paid Off Fate
DDH DELEX
DDE 205 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...

22 November 1950 30 November 1951 29 October 1955 4 October 1963 Never 14 June 1974 Placed in category C reserve instead of undergoing DELEX. Paid off, sold in 1979. Foundered and sank off Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras
Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...

 on 12 January 1980 while being towed to breakers in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.
DDE 206 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...

4 April 1951 30 July 1953 15 December 1956 14 May 1965 23 May 1980 26 June 1990 Sold 1990. Scuttled as an artificial reef off Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
DDE 207 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...

1 June 1951 19 August 1952 30 March 1957 14 August 1965 20 November 1981 1 November 1993 For disposal 1994. Sold for scrap 1996.
DDE 229 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...

8 June 1951 29 April 1953 10 November 1956 21 October 1964 26 November 1982 31 July 1992 Sold 1992. Scrapped in 1994.
DDE 230 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...

12 September 1951 29 March 1956 5 October 1957 15 October 1965 28 November 1980 2 May 1992 Scrapped 1994.
DDE 233 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 December 1951 19 February 1953 28 June 1957 22 October 1966 28 May 1982 5 October 1994 Fraser was used as a testbed in the 1980s for technologies used on the . Placed for disposal in 1994; laid up in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
Bridgewater, Nova Scotia
Bridgewater is a town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada, at the navigable limit of the LaHave River. It is the largest town in the South Shore region. While the majority of the South Shore's economy is based upon the tourist trade, Bridgewater is more a commercial and industrial centre and...

 until 2009 when DND regained possession and moved her to Halifax. To be scrapped.
DDE 234 Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel 19 May 1952 12 February 1954 16 August 1956 28 June 1963 16 November 1979 14 December 1988 Harbour training ship at Halifax
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...

 1989. Scrapped in 1995.

Significance

In 1997, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada recognized the St. Laurent Class as being historically significant to Canadians and in 2000 installed a bronze plaque aboard HMCS Fraser
HMCS Fraser (DDH 233)
HMCS Fraser is a St. Laurent-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from 1957–1994. Fraser was the last survivor of the St...

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