HMCS ST. LAURENT (1st) (H83)
HMCS ST. LAURENT (1st)
The History of HMCS ST. LAURENT (1st)
Completed in 1932 as HMS Cygnet, she was purchased for the RCN and commissioned at Chatham on February 17, 1937 as St. Laurent. She arrived in Halifax on April 8 and soon afterward sailed for Esquimalt. Shortly after war was declared she returned to the east coast, arriving at Halifax on September 15, and for several months escorted convoys on the first leg of the transatlantic journey. St. Laurent left Halifax for the U.K. on May 24, 1940, and on arrival at Plymouth on May 31, was assigned to Western Approaches Command, playing a brief role in the evacuation of France. On July 2, 1940, she rescued 860 survivors of the torpedoed liner Arandora Star. She returned to Halifax on March 3, 1941, for refit, on completion of which she joined Newfoundland Command as a mid-ocean escort, serving continuously for the following three years. In April, 1943, she became a member of EG C-1. During this period "Sally" assisted in the destruction of two U-boats: U 356 on December 27, 1942, while escorting convoy ONS.154; and U 845 on March 10, 1944, while with convoy SC.154. In May, 1944, she was transferred to EG 11 for invasion duties, remaining with the group on patrol and support duties until the end of November, when she returned to Canada for major repairs at Shelburne, N.S. She afterward remained in Canadian waters as a member of Halifax Force and after VE-Day was employed in transporting troops from Newfoundland to Canada. She was paid off on October 10, 1945, at Sydney and broken up in 1947.
HMCS ST. LAURENT (1st) Statistical Data
- Pendant: H83
- Type: Destroyer
- Class: RIVER Class British
- Displacement: 1375 tonnes
- Length: 329 ft
- Width: 33 ft
- Draught: 10.2 ft
- Speed: 31 kts
- Compliment: 10 Officers and 171 Crew
- Arms: 4-4.7", 8-21" Torpedo Tube (2 x IV), 2-2 pdrs. Modified to 2-4.7", 1-3", 4-21" Torpedo Tubes (I x IV), 6-20mm and Hedgehog as war began.
- Builder: Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd., Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.
- Keel Laid: 01-Dec-30
- Date Launched: 29-Sep-31
- Date Commissioned: 17-Feb-37
- Paid off: 10-Oct-45
Remarks
Ex HMS CYGNET