HMCS St. Pierre

Last updated

Stpierreriverfrigate.jpg
HMCS St. Pierre
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgCanada
NameSt. Pierre
Namesake Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec
Operator Royal Canadian Navy
Ordered1 February 1943
Builder Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon
Laid down30 June 1943
Launched1 December 1943
Commissioned28 August 1944
Decommissioned22 November 1945
Identification Pennant number:K 680
Honours and
awards		Atlantic 1945 [1]
FateTransferred to Peru 1947
Flag of the Peruvian Navy.svgPeru
NameTeniente Palacios
Operator Peruvian Navy
Acquired1947
Out of service1966
RenamedPalacios (1953)
IdentificationFE-2 (1959); FE-65 (1960)
FateDiscarded 1966
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 x 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; 7,500 nautical miles (13,890 km) at 15 knots (27.8 km/h)
Complement157
Armament

HMCS St. Pierre was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action as a convoy escort during the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec, whose name was shortened due to its length. After the war she was sold to Peru and renamed Teniente Palacios in 1947.

Contents

St. Pierre was ordered on 1 February 1943 as part of the 1943–1944 River-class building program. [2] [3] She was laid down on 30 June 1943 by Davie Shipbuilding and Repairing Co. Ltd. at Lauzon, Quebec and launched on 1 December later that year. [3] She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 28 August 1944 at Quebec City. [2]

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. [4] The name "frigate" was suggested by Vice-Admiral Percy Nelles of the Royal Canadian Navy and was adopted later that year. [5]

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. [5] 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. [4] 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. [5] 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. [4]

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. [4]

Canada originally ordered the construction of 33 frigates in October 1941. [4] [5] 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. [5] In all Canada ordered the construction of 60 frigates including ten for the Royal Navy that transferred two to the United States Navy. [4]

War service

After arriving at Halifax, Nova Scotia, St. Pierre underwent four months of repairs. She finally set out to work up at Bermuda in March 1945 and in April set out for the United Kingdom having been assigned to escort group EG 9. In May she was to escort Russia-bound convoys, but instead was detached and was sent to escort surrendered U-boats bound for Loch Eriboll. [2]

At the end of May, St. Pierre returned to Canada to undergo a tropicalization refit in preparation for service in the southern Pacific Ocean. [2] This meant installing water-cooling and refrigeration abilities and changing the camouflage pattern. [6] On 4 June 1945 the work was begun at Lauzon but was cancelled on 20 August due to the surrender of Japan. She was paid off 22 November 1945 at Sydney, Nova Scotia and laid up at Shelburne in reserve. [2]

Postwar service

St. Pierre underwent a minor refit at Dartmouth in 1947 at the cost of $200,000 after being sold to the Peruvian Navy. [7] From there she sailed to Peru where she was recommissioned as the Teniente Palacios. She was renamed as Palacios in 1953. In 1954 she was sent to the United States to have her armament and fire control upgraded. [8] She was discarded in 1966 and broken up. [2]

Related Research Articles

HMCS <i>Eastview</i>

HMCS Eastview was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1944-1946. She served as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named after the Ottawa suburb of Eastview.

HMCS <i>Cap de la Madeleine</i>

HMCS Cap de la Madeleine was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1944-1945 and as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1954-1965. She saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort during the Second World War. She is named for Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec, which is now a part of Trois-Rivières.

HMCS Fort Erie was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1956-1965. She was named for Fort Erie, Ontario.

HMCS <i>Penetang</i>

HMCS Penetang was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1944 to 1945 during the Second World War. She fought in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was recommissioned and served as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1954 to 1956. She was named for Penetanguishene, Ontario.

HMCS <i>Charlottetown</i> (1943)

HMCS Charlottetown was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. She was the second vessel of the name, HMCS Charlottetown having been a Flower-class corvette that had been sunk earlier in the war. They are unique for being the only two ships to have shared the same pennant number, K 244. She was named for Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

HMCS Lauzon was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and again as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1953-1963. During the war she served primarily as an ocean escort for convoys. She was named for Lauzon, Quebec.

HMCS <i>Cape Breton</i> (K350)

HMCS Cape Breton was a River-class frigate that served the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic during the war. She was named for Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. She was the first to carry her name, HMCS Cape Breton was the second.

HMCS <i>Glace Bay</i> (K414) Canadian warship

HMCS Glace Bay was a River-class frigate built for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 1943. Commissioned in 1944 she served in the Battle of the Atlantic until the end of the Second World War. After the war, she was sold to the Chilean Navy and renamed Esmeralda.

HMCS <i>Capilano</i>

HMCS Capilano was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She is named for the Capilino River in North Vancouver, British Columbia. The navy intended to name the ship after North Vancouver; however, due to possible confusion with HMCS Vancouver, she was named after the lake.

HMCS <i>Coaticook</i>

HMCS Coaticook was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a coastal convoy escort. She was named for Coaticook, Quebec.

HMCS <i>Joliette</i>

HMCS Joliette was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Joliette, Quebec. After the war she was transferred to the Chilean Navy in 1946 and renamed Iquique. She served with the Chilean Navy until 1968.

HMCS <i>Jonquiere</i> River-class frigate

HMCS Jonquière was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and again from 1954–1966 as a Prestonian-class frigate. She was named for Jonquière, Quebec.

HMCS <i>Valleyfield</i> Canadian frigate

HMCS Valleyfield was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was torpedoed and sunk in May 1944, the only River-class frigate lost by the RCN. She was named for Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec.

HMCS <i>Lasalle</i>

HMCS LaSalle was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic and in the Battle of the St. Lawrence. She was named for LaSalle, Quebec.

HMCS <i>Levis</i> (K400)

HMCS Lévis was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the St. Lawrence and the Battle of the Atlantic. She was the second ship to bear the name of Lévis, the first being a Flower-class corvette that had been sunk earlier in the war. She was named for Lévis, Quebec.

HMCS <i>Port Colborne</i> River class frigate

HMCS Port Colborne was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Port Colborne, Ontario.

HMCS <i>Poundmaker</i>

HMCS Poundmaker was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. It saw action as a convoy escort during the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for the Poundmaker Cree Nation of Saskatchewan. After the war she was sold to Peru and renamed Teniente Ferré in 1947.

HMCS <i>Runnymede</i>

HMCS Runnymede was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for York, Ontario, however due to possible confusion with HMCS West York, her name reflects a connection with that community.

HMCS Sea Cliff was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Leamington, Ontario, but due to possible confusion with HMS Leamington, she was given a name associated with the town. Following the war, she was sold to the Chilean Navy and renamed Covadonga.

HMCS <i>Matane</i>

HMCS Matane was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Matane, Quebec.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  2. 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.
  3. 1 2 "HMCS St. Pierre (K 680)". uboat.net. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Fact Sheet No. 21 – Canadian River Class Frigates" . Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  5. 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.
  6. ↑ Paterson, T.W. (15 April 2011). "Gallant HMCS Prince Rupert served on the 'Newfie-Derry' run". Cowichan Valley Citizen. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Ex R.C.N. Frigates Ready". Montreal Gazette. 31 March 1947. p. 19. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Raymond V.B. Blackman, ed. (1963). Jane's fighting ships 1963–1964. Sampson Low. p. 199.
References
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.