HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 - For Posterity's Sake

HMCS ALGONQUIN 283

Iroquois Class Destroyer

A COUP SUR

WITH SURE STROKE

HMCS ALGONQUIN 283

Battle honours and awards: Norway 1944, Normandy 1944, Arctic 1944-45, Arabian Sea

Laid down: 01 Sep 1969

Launched: 23 Apr 1971

Commissioned: 03 Nov 1973

Paid off: 11 Jun 2015

Fate: Broken up 2016

The last of her class, she was built by the Davie Shipbuilding Co., Lauzon, and commissioned on 03 Nov 1973. In Nov 1974, ALGONQUIN rescued the crew of the fishing vessel Paul & Maria, which was sinking 80 miles east of Halifax. In the fall of 1977, she took part in the Caribbean exercise CARIBOPS ‘77, in the process being the first of her class to cross the equator. On 26 Sep 1978, she relieved Huron as flagship of SNFL, staying with the Force until the end of the year. By the end of her tenth year in service, ALGONQUIN had steamed more than 200,000 nautical miles and spent an actual three years at sea. During that period, she had taken part in more than twenty multinational exercises and completed four tours of duty with SNFL, three of them as flagship. On 01 Mar 1986, she responded to a call for help from the Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans, two of whose officers had boarded the Panamanian trawler Peonia 7. Ignoring orders to put in to St. John’s, the vessel’s captain had headed to sea with the DFO officers still on board. ALGONQUIN overtook her and enforced the original orders. On 26 Oct 1987, she commenced her TRUMP refit at MIL Davie, Lauzon. Labour problems and contract disputes delayed completion of the work until 11 Oct 1991. On 29 Mar 1993, ALGONQUIN sailed to join SNFL, again as flagship, and transited the Suez Canal to join the other NATO vessel in the Adriatic enforcing the blockade of the former Yugoslavia on 24 Jun 1993. She transferred to the west coast in Aug 1994. Early in 1995 she took part in an U.S. battle group training exercise off southern California. That fall, ALGONQUIN test-fired her SM2 missile on the Pacific Missile Range in the Hawaiian Islands. On 18 Mar 1996 she left Esquimalt to participate in Exercise WESTPLOY '96, acting as flagship of a group including Preserver, Regina and Winnipeg. During three months the ships visited Japan, Russia and South Korea and afterward took part in RIMPAC '96 off Hawaii. In mid-Jan 1997, she began what was foreseen as a 12-month, $15 million refit but which proved to cost almost $25 million, re-entering service in May 1998. More exercises with Pacific rim countries followed during 2000 and 2001. On 23 Mar 2002, she departed Esquimalt for the Arabian Sea to support the U.S.-led coalition against international terrorism, arriving back on 14 Oct 2002. For the next decade she continued to act as the west coast flagship through a range of national and international exercises. On 12 Jun 2010, she was the command ship for Her Excellency Governor-General Michaëlle Jean for the International Fleet Review marking the Canadian Naval Centennial. On 30 Aug 2013, HMCS ALGONQUIN was involved in a collision with HMCS PROTECTEUR which resulted in considerable damage to her hangar. The damage was never repaired and she was paid off on 11 Jun 2015. On 09 May 2016, the former HMCS ALGONQUIN departed Esquimalt, BC, under tow, destined for Liverpool, NS to be broken up. In Jun 2016, she arrived alongside at the yard of R.J. MacIsaac Construction at Liverpool to be broken up.

Note: The 5"54 cal gun on the 280s were named after the Oto Melara technicians who installed them and did the FSR work in Canada. The names for the guns were as follows: IROQUOIS - Pasquale, HURON - Tulio, ATHABASKAN - Leno and ALGONQUIN - Luigi.

RCN Memories: Speaking of Anchors and Chains....

Photos and Documents Ship's company photos The Ship's Bell

Commissioning Book

HMCS ALGONQUIN 1973-2015 SNFL 1982 Commemorative Book

Crossing the Line - 1977 Crossing the Line - 2001

Paying Off Booklet - 2015

Commanding Officers

Cdr Ralph Louis McClean, RCN - 03 Nov 1973 - 07 May 1976

Cdr Hugh Malcolm D. MacNeil, RCN - 08 May 1976 - 10 Aug 1977

Cdr John Harwood, RCN - 11 Aug 1977 - 19 Mar 1978

Cdr Lionel Charles Westrop, RCN - 20 Mar 1978 - 24 Jul 1980

Cdr Donald Edward Pollard, RCN - 25 Jul 1980 - 10 Apr 1982

Cdr A.J. Goode, RCN - 10 Apr 1982 - 17 Dec 1983

Cdr K.J. Summers - 17 Dec 1983 - 01 Jul 1985

Cdr J.C.A. Nadeau, RCN - 01 Jul 1985 - 10 Aug 1987

LCdr J.G.V. Tremblay - 10 Aug 1987 - 06 Apr 1988

LCdr J.A.P. Lebel - 30 Jun 1988 - 15 Jul 1989

Cdr J.Y. Forcier - 17 Jul 1989 - 15 Jul 1993

Cdr P.C. Leblanc - 15 Jul 1993 - 31 Mar 1994

Cdr J.B. McCarthy - 31 Mar 1994 - 04 Aug 1995

Cdr A.W. Round - 04 Aug 1995 - 01 Aug 1997

LCdr P.A. Hendry - 01 Aug 1997 - 13 Aug 1998

Capt (N) J.J.P. Thiffault - 13 Aug 1998 - 18 Jul 2000

Capt (N) G.A. Paulson - 18 Jul 2000 - 09 Jan 2003

Capt (N) L.J. Falloon - 09 Jan 2003 - 09 Sep 2004

Capt(N) M.F.R. Lloyd - 09 Sep 2004 - 19 May 2006

Capt(N) P.A. Hendry - 19 May 2006 - 28 Jun 2007

Cdr H.M. Fitzpatrick - 28 Jun 2007 - 02 Jul 2009

Cdr A. Topshee - 02 Jul 2009 - 26 Nov 2010

Cdr T.A. Kerr - 26 Nov 2010 - 22 Jun 2012

LCdr P. Belhumeur - 22 Jun 2012 - 03 Jul 2012

Cdr L. Hartell - 03 Jul 2012 - 18 Apr 2013

Cdr R.J. Tettamanti - 18 Apr 2013 - 29 Jul 2014

LCdr J. Lafontaine - 29 Jul 2014 - 11 Jun 2015

In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice

Lest We Forget

COOPER, Richard J.

MS, C.A.F. (Navy)

Killed - 1984

Grose, James A.

MS, C.A.F. (Navy)

Killed - 1984

In memory of those who have crossed the bar

They shall not be forgotten

Doucette, Raymond J. F.

Graveline, Gilles J. P.

Hurford, George O. S.

Hutchinson, Douglas E.

Lafreniere, Gilbert J. M.

Lawlor, Patrick

Lebouthillier, Eddy

Leclerc, Conrald J. W. G.

Mcdonald, Daniel R.M.

Paulusse, Daniel S. J.

Thomson, Christopher J.

Former Crew Members

Barter, Bill

Branchaud, George, CPO1, CERA - 1976

Brannen, James

Brink, Robin, MS - 2002

Cawthra, Norman, CPO1, Cox'n - 2014

Cote, Ed, MS - 2002

Delong, Mike, MS, Comm Rsch

Edison, William GH. (Bill), P1ET

Gallagher, Jean, Cook

Gagnon, Patrick Raymond - 2006 - 2008

Holstead, Gordon Ramsey

Horn, Arthur A., ER

Jacques, Yves - 1978-1980

Lamoureux, Andre, MS, Sup Tech, I/C Stores Office - 2001-2003

Lance, Mark

Lagacé, Gérard, MSSN - 1981 - 1983

Newbury, George, ER

Seeburger, Mark

Simard, Marcel, NCI Op

Sleigh, Mike, P1SN/C2SN, Sonar Dept. Section Head - 1978 - 1981

Smith, Claude, PO2, WS - 1976

Watson, Bryan, Commissioning Crew as LS FC / P1 NESOP - 1993

Zarubiak, Bill, OS

Photos and Documents

ALGONQUIN under construction in dry dock at Davies Shipbuilding Company, Quebec - summer 1971

Courtesy of Richard Larcheveque

1st Routine Orders for HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 - 03 Nov 1973

From the collection of Bill Edison

Courtesy of Brian Lapierre

Newspaper article on HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 entering Halifax for the first time on 15 Nov 1973

Courtesy of Art Fallas

Newspaper article - HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 enters Halifax Harbour for the first time

From the collection of Bill Edison

Courtesy of Brian Lapierre

HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 Welcome Aboard pamphlet

From the collection of Bill Edison

Courtesy of Brian Lapierre

HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 at anchor - undated

Note the NATO symbol on the side of her bridge

DND / RCN Photo

HMCS ALGONQUIN 283

DND / RCN Photo

HMCS ALGONQUIN communicators circa 1974

Courtesy of Art Fallas

Front row: (L-R)Art Fallas, Doug Rainville, Terry Nehiley

Second Row: (L-R) Ted Kendall (POTEL), ?, Slt Creber, Harry Coleman

Third row (standing): (L-R) Larry Cayen, PO Green, Keith Gerrard (top half of head showing behind PO Green), Joe Burgoyne, Butch O'Brian, ?, Harry Israel, Norm Brooks, Jean Guy Gilbert, Keith Lawson, Roger Doucet

On top of locker: Candy Kane

Inclination Trials Gone Wrong - 15 Nov 1991

After coming out of refit, HMCS ALGONQUIN was conducting alongside trials, which included inclination trials involving "tilting" the ship by flooding ballast tanks. It was discovered (afterwards) that the covers on the tanks were not properly secured and it resulted in major flooding. ALGONQUIN'S damage control teams as well as crews and equipment from other nearby ships managed to stop the flooding and keep her afloat.

Two newspaper articles on the "List Trial" on HMCS ALGONQUIN that went wrong on 15 Nov 1991

Above photos courtesy of Jarrod David

Two newspaper articles on the "List Trial" on HMCS ALGONQUIN that went wrong on 15 Nov 1991

Article on the left - Halifax Chronicle Herald 16 Nov 1991

Researched by / Courtesy of George Newbury

VDS well on HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 - undated

DND Neg # HS86C-3717

Courtesy of the Naval Museum of Halifax

Tug manoeurvering HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 in Halifax Harbour c1998

DND Neg # HS 87-0770-2
Courtesy of the Naval Museum of Halifax

"5th Birthday Party for HMCS ALGONQUIN in 1978 with Commander Westrop"

Courtesy of Robyn Buffett

HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 (pre-TRUMP)

Gunshield art on HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 circa 1984-86 painted by Norman Vanasse

Courtesy of Norman Vanasse

Gunshield art on HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 - undated

Courtesy of Rejean Trudeau

Detainee being hand over to USN authorities

HMCS ALGONQUIN detained two men encountered during one of the many patrols as a part of OP Apollo in 2002. The 2 detainees were embarked by the Jacob's ladder shortly after sunset. They were held overnight before handing over to the USN at dawn the next morning.

HMCS ALGONQUIN 283 - OP APOLLO 2002 Deployment

Courtesy of Steve Hutchings