HMCS GATINEAU (2nd) (236)

HMCS GATINEAU (2nd)

The History of HMCS GATINEAU (2nd)

HMCS Gatineau was the second ship of that name in the Royal Canadian Navy. A Restigouche-class destroyer escort, she was named for the Gatineau River in Quebec and inherited the battle honours Atlantic 1943-44 and Normandy 1944 from her World War II predecessor. Her motto was "In Hoc Catino Potestas" (In This Ship Lies Power).

She was the first postwar product of Davie Shipbuilding Ltd. at Lauzon, Quebec. Laid down on 30 April 1953 and launched on 3 June 1957, she was towed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for completion to avoid freeze-up in the St. Lawrence River. Commissioned on 17 February 1959 with pennant number DDE 236, she joined the Fifth Canadian Escort Squadron after workups. Early in her career, on 26 June 1959, she fired a 21-gun salute during the official opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Throughout the Cold War, Gatineau served primarily as an anti-submarine warfare unit in national and international exercises and operations. In August 1960 she took part in events marking the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator off Lisbon. In March 1968 she became the first Canadian warship to join NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT), serving nine months in the force.

In 1969 she transferred to the Pacific coast as part of post-unification fleet reorganization. On 9 September 1969 she began her Improved Restigouche Escort (IRE) conversion, completed on 14 April 1971. This modernization added variable-depth sonar, an ASROC launcher, and other upgrades. She was later assigned to the Second Canadian Destroyer Squadron. In 1972 she deployed to the South Pacific with other Canadian ships, taking part in exercises including RIMPAC.

She underwent a further Destroyer Life Extension (DELEX) refit, completed on 12 November 1982, which updated sensors, weapons, and communications systems. In 1987 she returned to the Atlantic coast. Later service included a five-month assignment to STANAVFORLANT in 1988; a 1992 deployment with the force to the Adriatic during the NATO intervention related to Bosnia and Herzegovina; escort of visiting Soviet warships in 1993; and, in the fall of 1993, participation with HMCS Fraser and HMCS Preserver in the enforcement of United Nations sanctions off Haiti.

In 1995 she acted as flagship for Canadian ships in the NATO exercise Strong Resolve off Norway and supported Fisheries and Coast Guard vessels off Newfoundland during the Turbot Dispute with Spain.

Gatineau was paid off on 1 July 1998 at Halifax after nearly four decades of service. She was laid up and, together with her sister ship HMCS Terra Nova, sold in 2009 for dismantling. The ships were towed from Halifax to Pictou, Nova Scotia, in November 2009 for scrapping.

HMCS GATINEAU (2nd) Statistical Data

Pendant: 236
Type: Destroyer Escort
Class: Restigouche
Displacement: 2,366 / 2,390 (post refit) tonnes
Length: 366 / 372 (post refit) ft
Width: 42 ft
Draught: 13.5 / 14.1 (post refit) ft
Speed: 28 kts
Compliment: 12 Officers and 237 Crew
Arms: 4 - 3" (2 x II), 2 Limbo, Homing Torpedoes. After IRE refit: 2-3" (1 x II), 1 Limbo, 1 ASROC, Homing Torpedoes.
Builder: Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon Quebec
Keel Laid: 30-Apr-53
Date Launched: 03-Jun-57
Date Commissioned: 17-Feb-59
Paid off: 24-May-96

Remarks

Modified as Improved Restigouche Class 1969-1971. DELEX refit in 1983.

Photos

HMCS GATINEAU in her original configuration.

Improved-Restigouche class destroyers, HMCS Restigouche (DDE-257), HMCS Terra Nova (DDE-259) and HMCS Gatineau (DDE-236) sailing abreast off Alaska, April 13, 1983.

Keywords: HMCS GATINEAU (2nd), Royal Canadian Navy Ship, Destroyer Escort, Restigouche Class