HMCS ROBERT HAMPTON GRAY (435)

HMCS ROBERT HAMPTON GRAY

HMCS ROBERT HAMPTON GRAY

The History of HMCS ROBERT HAMPTON GRAY

HMCS ROBERT HAMPTON GRAY Badge

HMCS Robert Hampton Gray (AOPV 435) is the sixth and final Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessel built for the Royal Canadian Navy. Designed as part of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) project under Canada's National Shipbuilding Strategy, this class of vessels is intended primarily for patrolling and supporting operations in Canada's Arctic regions. The ship was ordered in November 2018, with construction beginning in August 2022 when the first steel was cut. Its keel was laid on August 21, 2023, and it was launched on December 9, 2024. The vessel is expected to enter service in August 2026 after completing sea trials.

The ship is named in honor of Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray, a Canadian naval officer and pilot who was the last Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross during World War II. Gray earned this distinction for his bravery in leading a fatal air attack on a Japanese destroyer in August 1945. HMCS Robert Hampton Gray is the final naval AOPS in its class, with two additional non-armed variants planned for the Canadian Coast Guard following its completion. The vessel is designed to enhance Canada's maritime presence and sovereignty in the Arctic.

Following delivery, the ship completed additional trials and evaluations. In August 2026 it began a historic deployment that combined operational work with a permanent transfer from the Atlantic to the Pacific fleet. On 14 August 2026 it sailed from Halifax leading elements of Operation NANOOK, departing alongside the Danish frigate HDMS Thetis and Canadian Coast Guard ship CCGS George R. Pearkes, with later rendezvous involving USS Wichita and the French patrol vessel FS Fulmar. It embarked a Canadian Coast Guard Bell 429 helicopter, the first such integration for the class and a sign of closer defence-team cooperation.

She is expected to be officially commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy, in Esquimalt, BC, tentatively on November 16, 2026.

HMCS ROBERT HAMPTON GRAY Statistical Data

  • Pendant: 435
  • Type: Arctic/Offshore Patrol Vessel
  • Class: Harry DeWolf Class
  • Displacement: 6,440 metric tonnes tonnes
  • Length: 103.6 m (340 ft) ft
  • Width: 19 m (62 ft) ft
  • Draught: ft
  • Speed: 17 knots kts
  • Compliment: 65 Officers and Crew
  • Arms: 1 x BAE Mk 38 25 mm; 2 x M2 Browning machine gun
  • Builder: Halifax Shipyards
  • Keel Laid: 21-Aug-2023
  • Date Launched: 9-Dec-2024
  • Date Delivered: 21-Aug-2025
  • Date Commissioned: est Nov 2026
  • Paid off:

Photos

Robert Hampton Gray under construction, Halifax Shipyards.

Robert Hampton Gray under construction, Halifax Shipyards.

Keywords: HMCS ROBERT HAMPTON GRAY, Royal Canadian Navy Ship, Arctic/Offshore Patrol Vessel, Harry DeWolf Class Class