HMCS ST. CROIX (2nd) (256)

HMCS ST. CROIX (2nd)

HMCS ST. CROIX (2nd)

The History of HMCS ST. CROIX (2nd)

HMCS ST. CROIX (2nd) Badge

HMCS St. Croix (DDE 256) was the second ship of the Royal Canadian Navy to bear the name. It was a Restigouche-class destroyer escort named for the St. Croix River on the border of New Brunswick and Maine.

St. Croix was built by Marine Industries Ltd. at Sorel, Quebec. Its keel was laid on 15 October 1954, it was launched on 17 November 1956, and it was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 4 October 1958 with pennant number DDE 256. She displaced roughly 2,400 to 2,800 tonnes, measured 366 feet in length with a beam of 42 feet, and could reach 28 knots. Armament included two twin 3-inch gun mounts, Limbo anti-submarine mortars, and homing torpedoes.

After commissioning, St. Croix joined the Third Canadian Escort Squadron and later the Fifth. In 1959 it escorted the royal yacht HMY Britannia during Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Canada. In August 1960, with sister ships Terra Nova, Kootenay, and Gatineau, it took part in ceremonies marking the 500th anniversary of the death of Prince Henry the Navigator off Lisbon.

In August 1964 the destroyer was transferred to the west coast and based at CFB Esquimalt. It was one of three Restigouche-class ships not selected for the Improved Restigouche modernization program of the late 1960s. In 1966 it underwent shock testing off San Francisco. Following the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1967 it served under Maritime Command as part of the Second Canadian Escort Squadron. In 1967 and 1969 it made extended Pacific cruises that included visits to Hawaii, Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand.

St. Croix returned to the east coast in 1973. It was paid off on 15 November 1974 at Halifax and placed in Category C Reserve amid government reductions in authorized strength. Its guns and propellers were removed, and its machinery spaces were converted into classrooms. From 1984 to September 1990 it served as a stationary training ship for Fleet School engineering trainees at Halifax.

In 1991 St. Croix was sold to Jacobson Metal of Chesapeake, Virginia, and left Halifax under tow in April to be broken up.

HMCS ST. CROIX (2nd) Statistical Data

  • Pendant: 256
  • Type: Destroyer Escort
  • Class: Restigouche
  • Displacement: 2,366 tonnes
  • Length: 366 ft
  • Width: 42 ft
  • Draught: 13.5 ft
  • Speed: 28 kts
  • Compliment: 12 Officers and 237 Crew
  • Arms: 4 - 3" (2 x II), 2 Limbo, Homing Torpedoes
  • Builder: Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel Quebec
  • Keel Laid: 15-Oct-54
  • Date Launched: 17-Nov-56
  • Date Commissioned: 04-Oct-58
  • Paid off: 15-Nov-74

Photos

HMCS St. Croix.

HMCS St. Croix.

HMCS ST CROIX (DND Photo)

HMCS ST CROIX (DND Photo)

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