HMCS Athabaskan (DDG 282)

For other ships with the same name, see HMCS Athabaskan.
History
Canada
Name: Athabaskan
Namesake: Athabaskan
Builder: Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon
Laid down: 1 June 1969
Launched: 27 November 1970
Commissioned: 30 September 1972
Refit: 4 June 1994 (TRUMP)
Homeport: CFB Halifax
Motto: We Fight as One
Honours and
awards:		 Arctic, 1943-44; English Channel, 1944; Korea, 1950-53; Gulf and Kuwait[1]
Status: in active service
Notes: Colours:White and Scarlet
Badge: Blazon On a field argent, a North American Indian clad in buckskin breeches, leggings and beaded moccasins, but bare to the waist except for a necklace of bear's claws and blue shells, and ear ornaments of the last. The Indian wears the full-feathered headdress and is mounted bareback upon an Indian pony being halted from the trot. The Indian holds a red bow and arrow in the "ready" position, the latter pointing down.[1]
General characteristics
Class and type: Iroquois-class destroyer
Displacement: 5100 t
Length: 129.8 m (425.9 ft)
Beam: 15.2 m (49.9 ft)
Draught: 4.7 m (15.4 ft)
Propulsion:
Speed: 29 kn (53.7 km/h)
Range: 4,500 nmi (8,334.0 km)
Complement: 280
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Signaal AN/SPQ 501 DA-08 radar
  • Signaal LW-08 AN/SPQ 502 radar
  • SQS-510 hull sonar
  • SQS-510 VDS sonar
Armament:
Aircraft carried: 2 × CH-124 Sea King helicopters
Aviation facilities: hangar and flight deck
Foredeck, gun and bridge

HMCS Athabaskan is an Iroquois-class destroyer that has served in the Royal Canadian Navy since 1972. Athabaskan is the third ship of her class which is sometimes referred to as the Tribal class or simply as the 280 class. She is the third vessel to use the designation HMCS Athabaskan.

Athabaskan was laid down on 1 June 1969 at Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon and was launched on 27 November 1970. She was officially commissioned on 30 September 1972 and carries the hull classification symbol 282.

Athabaskan completed a refit known as the Tribal Class Update and Modernization Project (TRUMP) on 4 June 1994. At this time her classification changed from Destroyer Helicopter (DDH) to Destroyer Guided Missile (DDG). She is assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and is homeported at CFB Halifax.

Command team

Service

Athabaskan serves on MARLANT missions protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Atlantic Ocean and enforcing Canadian laws in its territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone. She has also been deployed on missions throughout the Atlantic and to the Indian Ocean; specifically, the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea after Iraq occupied Kuwait.

NATO missions in Atlantic Ocean

Athabaskan has also participated in several NATO missions, patrolling the Atlantic Ocean as part of Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) and its successor Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1).

Iraq–Kuwait war in Persian Gulf

In August 1990, Athabaskan was hurriedly refitted with several advanced weapons and took part in Operation Friction and in Operation Desert Shield. The weapons included a close-in weapon system (CIWS). Athabaskan was appointed flagship of the Canadian Naval Task Group, which included the destroyer Terra Nova and supply ship Protecteur. The task group served in the central Persian Gulf, with other coalition naval forces, through the fall of 1990.

After Operation Desert Storm began in January 1991, the task group undertook escort duties for hospital ships and other vulnerable naval vessels of the coalition. The Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Princeton detonated two Iraqi bottom-moored influence mines (MANTAs) at the north end of the Persian Gulf and was seriously damaged. Athabaskan was not assigned to the area, but the commanding officer of Princeton specifically requested her assistance. Unlike most ships of her size, Athabaskan could simultaneously operate two large CH-124 Sea King helicopters, which could search out mines for long periods. Athabaskan and her helicopters helped both ships avoid mines until the minesweeper USS Adroit escorted them out of the minefield. As a gesture of solidarity, Athabaskan winched over several cases of beer for the crew of Princeton, since United States Navy vessels were dry.[NB 1] Athabaskan returned to her task group and remained on station in the Persian Gulf until after the war ended. After the hostilities were complete she was relieved by her sister ship Huron. The professionalism of Athabaskan earned praise from Princeton's commanding officer, Captain Edward Hontz.

Disaster relief in U.S.

Sailors from HMCS Athabaskan unload supplies on a pier on board Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida as part of Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts

On 2 September 2005, Athabaskan was one of several MARLANT vessels and a Canadian Coast Guard ship that were deployed to Mississippi and Louisiana to assist disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. This was part of the larger Canadian response to Hurricane Katrina.[3]

Disaster relief in Haiti

On 14 January 2010, as part of Operation Hestia, following rapid outfitting Athabaskan and Halifax were deployed to Haiti to assist with disaster relief efforts after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. This was as part of the larger multi-pronged Canadian response of DART (Disaster Assistance Response Team).[4] The crew of the Athabaskan primarily concentrated relief efforts in the city of Léogâne where the crew assisted in triage efforts with the Canadian Medical Assistance Team, cleared rubble within Notre Dame Asylum, built three orphanages and lent aid to five others. Léogâne is a city of 135,000 that was slow to receive relief efforts and was almost completely destroyed by the earthquake. There were an estimated 20,000-30,000 casualties in the city.

NATO exercises

After experiencing a series of engine failures and maintenance issues, the ship underwent repairs.[5] The ship was repaired and set sail on 8 September 2015, NATO naval exercises Joint Warrior and Trident Venture with Windsor, Halifax, Montréal, Goose Bay and Summerside.[6][7] However, the starboard cruise engine failed while crossing the Atlantic. The ship sailed to the United Kingdom where she was joined by a mobile repair team which replaced the engine.[8][9]

In September 2016 Athabaskan was among the Canadian warships deployed to the NATO naval training exercise "Cutlass Fury" off the east coast of North America.[10]

Decommissioning

In September 2016, the RCN announced that Athabaskan would be paid off in the spring of 2017, leaving the navy without a platform capable of long-range air defence, at least until the introduction of the planned Canadian Surface Combatant.[11]

Engine

In 2009, a man in Nova Scotia discovered one of the Athabaskan's pre-1994 refit engines in a shipping container he had been using as a bridge on his property. The man had bought the container for $400 believing it was empty. The engine was originally valued at $2 million.[12]

Timeline

Notes

  1. ↑ officially without alcoholic beverages

References

  1. 1 2 "Official Lineages, Volume 2: Ships". National Defence and the Canadian Forces. 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  2. ↑ Canadian Navy, HMCS Athabaskan - Coxswain Archived June 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ CTV.ca News Staff (2005-09-14). "Canadian sailors go ashore to help in Biloxi". CTV News. Retrieved 2009-09-07.
  4. ↑ "Canada to send 1,000 soldiers to Haiti". CTV News. Archived from the original on 20 January 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  5. ↑ Pugliese, David (19 July 2015). "Canadian navy's East Coast flagship sidelined by engine problems". Defense Watch. Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "HMCS Halifax, Athabaskan depart for NATO exercises". CBC News. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "HMCS Windsor returning to Halifax port after NATO exercises". CBC News. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  8. ↑ "HMCS Athabaskan tied up in U.K. after engine fails". CBC News. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Engine problems sideline HMCS Athabaskan in U.K.". The Chronicle Herald. The Canadian Press. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "NATO warships converge on Halifax for military exercises". CTV News. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  11. ↑ Wagner, Elise (1 September 2016). "Last Canadian Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan to be Decommissioned in 2017". NATO Association of Canada. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "Cargo container yields $2M surprise". CBC News. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  13. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/june/01Jun.txt
  14. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/november/27nov.txt
  15. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/september/30Sep.txt
  16. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/november/26nov.txt
  17. ↑ "Canadian Navy: HMCS Athabaskan - About the Ship". Navy.forces.gc.ca. 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  18. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/february/18Feb.txt
  19. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/october/15Oct.txt
  20. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/june/04Jun.txt
  21. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/october/08Oct.txt
  22. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/march/15Mar.txt
  23. ↑ Archived August 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  24. ↑ Archived August 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  25. ↑ Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  26. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/november/08nov.txt
  27. ↑ Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  28. ↑ Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  29. ↑
  30. ↑ Archived September 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  31. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/january/11Jan.txt
  32. ↑ Archived August 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  33. ↑ Archived November 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  34. ↑ Archived August 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  35. ↑ http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/21Apr.txt
  36. ↑ Archived August 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  37. ↑ Archived November 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  38. ↑ Archived August 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  39. ↑ "Canadian Navy: HMCS Athabaskan - News & Events". Navy.forces.gc.ca. 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  40. ↑ Archived November 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  41. ↑ "Canadian Navy: HMCS Athabaskan - News & Events". Navy.forces.gc.ca. 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  42. ↑
  43. ↑
  44. ↑ Chronicle Herald, "Helping: It’s what we do", Stephen Maher, 15 January 2010 Archived January 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  45. ↑ "HMCS Athabaskan hull damaged in tow line break". CBC News. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  46. ↑ "HMCS Athanbaskan receives minor damage in storm". Ottawa Citzen. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
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