HMCSSkeena(D59)
![]() Skeenaat sea
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History | |
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Name | Skeena |
Namesake | Skeena River |
Ordered | 6 March 1928 |
Builder | John I. Thornycroft & Company,Woolston |
Yard number | 1092 |
Laid down | 14 October 1929 |
Launched | 10 October 1930 |
Commissioned | 10 June 1931 |
Honours and awards |
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Fate | Wrecked 25 October 1944 during a storm offReykjavík,Iceland. |
Badge | Blazon Azure, out of a base invected argent, a salmon sinisterwise proper. |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | |
Displacement | 1,337 long tons (1,358 t) |
Length | |
Beam | 32 ft 9 in (9.98 m) |
Draught | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
Speed | 31knots(57 km/h; 36 mph) |
Complement | 181 |
Armament |
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![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/H.M.C.S._Skeena_at_C.P.R._Pier_C_Vancouver_1934.jpg/220px-H.M.C.S._Skeena_at_C.P.R._Pier_C_Vancouver_1934.jpg)
HMCSSkeenawas aRiver-class destroyerthat served in theRoyal Canadian Navy(RCN) from 1931 to 1944. She was similar to theRoyal Navy'sA classand wore initially thepennantD59, changed in 1940 to I59.
She was built byJohn I. Thornycroft & CompanyatWoolston, Hampshireand commissioned into the RCN on 10 June 1931 atPortsmouth,England.Skeenaand her sisterHMCSSaguenaywere the first ships specifically built for the Royal Canadian Navy. She arrived inHalifax, Nova Scotiaon 3 July 1931.
Second World War
[edit]Skeenarescued 65 survivors of the British merchant shipManipur,sunk byU-57offCape Wrathon 17 July 1940. On 2 September 1940 she rescued 19 survivors of the British merchant shipThornlea,sunk byU-46in the North Atlantic. On 14 October 1940Skeenaand thecorvetteHMSPeriwinklerescued 220 members of the crew ofHMSCheshire,whichU-137had damaged by torpedo.[2]On 23 November 1940Skeenarescued 6 survivors of the Norwegian merchant shipBruce,damaged byU-100and 9 survivors of the Norwegian merchant shipSalonica,sunk byU-100nearby.
Skeenawas assigned to North Atlantic convoyEscort Group C-3escorting convoys ON 93, HX 191, ONS 104, SC 90, ON 115, HX 202, ON 121, SC 98, ON 131, HX 210, ON 141, SC 109, ONS 152 prior to refit in January 1943.[3]On 31 July 1942,Skeenarecorded her first victory withHMCSWetaskiwinwhen theydepth chargedand sankU-588while escorting ON 115 at49°59′N36°36′W/ 49.983°N 36.600°W.
Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted
[edit]Convoy | Escort Group | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
HX 141 | 30 July-6 Aug 1941[4] | NewfoundlandtoIceland | |
SC 42 | 2-17 Sept 1941[5] | Newfoundland to Iceland | |
SC 54 | 12-22 Nov 1941[5] | Newfoundland to Iceland | |
ON 40 | 30 Nov-4 Dec 1941[6] | Iceland to Newfoundland | |
SC 63 | 5-10 Jan 1942[5] | Newfoundland to Iceland | |
SC 79 | MOEF group C3 | 19–27 April 1942[5] | Newfoundland toNorthern Ireland |
ON 93 | MOEF group C3 | 9–15 May 1942[6] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland |
HX 191 | MOEF group C3 | 28 May-5 June 1942[4] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland |
ON 104 | MOEF group C3 | 18–27 June 1942[6] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland |
SC 90 | MOEF group C3 | 6–16 July 1942[5] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland |
ON 115 | MOEF group C3 | 25–31 July 1942[6] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland |
HX 202 | MOEF group C3 | 12-17 Aug 1942[4] | Newfoundland to Iceland |
ON 121 | MOEF group C3 | 17-20 Aug 1942[6] | Iceland to Newfoundland |
SC 98 | MOEF group C3 | 2-12 Sept 1942[5] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland |
ON 131 | MOEF group C3 | 19-28 Sept 1942[6] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland |
HX 210 | MOEF group C3 | 7-15 Oct 1942[4] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland |
ON 141 | MOEF group C3 | 26 Oct-2 Nov 1942[6] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland |
SC 109 | MOEF group C3 | 16-25 Nov 1942[5] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland |
ON 152 | MOEF group C3 | 10-19 Dec 1942[6] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland |
HX 233 | MOEF group A3 | 12–20 April 1943[4] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland |
ON 180 | MOEF group C3 | 25 April-7 May 1943[6] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland |
HX 238 | MOEF group C3 | 13–20 May 1943[4] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland |
ON 187 | 3–10 June 1943[6] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland | |
HX 244 | 20–29 June 1943[4] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland | |
ON 192 | 10–18 July 1943[6] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland | |
HX 249 | 29 July-5 Aug 1943[4] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland | |
HX 255 | 8-15 Sept 1943[4] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland | |
HX 261 | 17-25 Oct 1943[4] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland | |
ON 210 | 7-17 Nov 1943[6] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland | |
SC 147 | 23 Nov-3 Dec 1943[5] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland | |
ON 216 | 17-29 Dec 1943[6] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland |
Grounding
[edit]Skeenawas lost in a storm on the night of 24 October 1944. She was anchored offReykjavík,Icelandand dragged her anchor and grounded in 50-foot (15 m) waves offViðey Islandwith the loss of 15 crewmembers.
Her hulk was paid off and sold to Iceland interests in June 1945; she was then raised and broken up. Her propeller was salvaged and used in a memorial near the Viðey Island ferry terminal.[7][8][9]
Notes
[edit]- ^"Battle Honours".Britain's Navy.Retrieved18 September2013.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."HMS Cheshire (F 18)".Ships hit by U-boats.Retrieved9 January2024.
- ^North Atlantic Run,Marc Milner, 1985, Naval Institute PressISBN0-87021-450-0
- ^abcdefghij"HX convoys".Andrew Hague Convoy Database.Retrieved19 June2011.
- ^abcdefgh"SC convoys".Andrew Hague Convoy Database.Retrieved19 June2011.
- ^abcdefghijklm"ON convoys".Andrew Hague Convoy Database.Retrieved19 June2011.
- ^Remember the 24ArchivedAugust 13, 2007, at theWayback Machine
- ^Funds needed for HMCSSkeenamemorial in IcelandLookout,23 Jan 2006ArchivedAugust 24, 2007, at theWayback Machine
- ^"HMCS Skeena (D 59)".uboat.net.Retrieved25 July2014.
References
[edit]- English, John (1993).Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s.Kendal: World Ship Society.ISBN0-905617-64-9.
- Friedman, Norman (2009).British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War.Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.ISBN978-1-59114-081-8.
- Lenton, H. T. (1998).British & Empire Warships of the Second World War.Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-55750-048-7.
- March, Edgar J. (1966).British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans.London: Seeley Service.OCLC164893555.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005).Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two(Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-59114-119-2.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988).Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia.Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.ISBN0-87021-326-1.
- Winser, John de D. (1999).B.E.F. Ships Before, At and After Dunkirk.Gravesend: World Ship Society.ISBN0-905617-91-6.
External links
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