HMCS ATHABASKAN (2nd) (R79 / Postwar-219)

HMCS ATHABASKAN (2nd)

The History of HMCS ATHABASKAN (2nd)

HMCS Athabaskan (R79 / DDE 219) was the second Royal Canadian Navy ship to bear the name, after the Athabaskan First Nations tribe. She was a Tribal-class destroyer built too late for Second World War service but which later earned the battle honour Korea 1950-53.

Ordered in April 1942 and laid down at Halifax Shipyards on 15 May 1943, she was launched on 4 May 1946 and commissioned on 20 January 1948 as the last of the RCN's Tribal-class destroyers. Her pennant number was initially R79 and later changed to DDE 219. Her displacement was about 1850 tons standard (2520 tons full load), with a length of 377 feet, speed of up to 36 knots, and a typical armament of twin 4-inch guns, anti-aircraft weapons, torpedo tubes, and depth charges.

After commissioning she sailed in May 1948 for the west coast, arriving at Esquimalt to train new entries and officer cadets. On 26 February 1949, while refuelling at Manzanillo, Mexico, more than half her crew locked themselves in their mess decks to present grievances over conditions. The captain handled the incident informally (similar events occurred on other RCN ships around the same time). The episode contributed to later reforms in pay, welfare, training, and officer-sailor relations in the postwar navy.

With the outbreak of the Korean War she completed three tours of duty with United Nations forces between July 1950 and December 1953. Duties included patrols, anti-submarine protection, ship escorts, support for port captures and troop movements, evacuations, and shore bombardments. She returned to Canada for refits between tours.

In 1954 she underwent a major conversion to a destroyer escort and recommissioned on 25 October 1954. She resumed training and exercises on the Pacific coast until 1959, then transferred to the east coast to join a Tribal-class squadron. She continued training cruises and NATO exercises for several more years, including a notable rescue of most of the crew of the Liberian tanker Amphialos after it broke in two off the Nova Scotia coast in 1964.

She was placed in reserve and paid off on 21 April 1966. Sold for scrap in 1969, she was broken up at La Spezia, Italy, in 1970.

HMCS ATHABASKAN (2nd) Statistical Data

Pendant: R79 / Postwar-219
Type: Destroyer
Class: TRIBAL 1940s
Displacement: 2,200 tonnes
Length: 355.5 ft
Width: 37.5 ft
Draught: 11.2 ft
Speed: 32 kts
Compliment: 14 Officers and 245 Crew
Arms: 6 - 4.7" (3XII), 2 - 4" (IxII), 4 - 2 pdrs (1xIV), 6 - 20mm, 4 - 21" TT (1xIV). Revised: 4 - 4" (2xII), 2 - 3" (1xII), 4 - 40mm, 4 - 21"TT (1XIV), 2 x Squid.
Builder: Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Halifax, NS
Keel Laid: 15-May-43
Date Launched: 04-May-46
Date Commissioned: 20-Jan-48
Paid off: 21-Apr-66

Remarks

The 2nd ship to be named ATHABASKAN. Athabaskan operated during the Korean War, earning the battle honour "Korea 1950-53".

Additional Information

Athabaskan was sold for scrap in 1969.

Photos

HMCS Athabaskan

Keywords: HMCS ATHABASKAN (2nd), Royal Canadian Navy Ship, Destroyer, TRIBAL 1940s Class