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CCGSLabrador

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CCGSLabrador
History
Canada
NameLabrador
NamesakeLabrador
OwnerGovernment of Canada
Operator
BuilderMarine Industries Ltd.,Sorel
Yard number187
Laid down18 November 1949
Launched14 December 1951
Commissioned8 July 1954
Maiden voyage23 July 1954
Renamed1210(1988)
RefitJanuary 1955
HomeportHalifax, Nova Scotia
Identification
FateBroken up 1989
General characteristics
Class and typeWind-classicebreaker
Tonnage3,823GRT
Displacement6,490 long tons (6,590 t)
Length
  • 82 m (269 ft 0 in)oa
  • 76.2 m (250 ft 0 in)pp
Beam19.5 m (64 ft 0 in)
Draught8.8 m (28 ft 10 in)
Ice classArctic Class 2–3
Installed power6 × 10-cylinder diesel engines (6 × 2,000bhp(1,500 kW))
PropulsionDiesel-electric;two shafts (2 × 5,000 hp (3,700 kW))
Speed16knots(30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement228
Aircraft carriedTwoBell HTL-4single-rotor helicopters, or onePiasecki HUP IItwin-rotor helicopter.
Aviation facilitiesHangarandflight deck
NotesRegistry #1 310129 Registry #2 CN

CCGSLabradorwas aWind-classicebreaker.First commissioned on 8 July 1954 asHer Majesty's Canadian Ship(HMCS)Labrador(pennant numberAW 50) in theRoyal Canadian Navy(RCN), Captain O.C.S. "Long Robbie" Robertson,GM,RCN, in command. She was transferred to theDepartment of Transport(DOT) on 22 November 1957, and re-designatedCanadian Government Ship(CGS)Labrador.She was among the DOT fleet assigned to the nascentCanadian Coast Guard(CCG) when that organization was formed in 1962, and further re-designatedCanadian Coast Guard Ship(CCGS)Labrador.Her career marked the beginning of the CCG's icebreaker operations which continue to this day. She extensively charted and documented the then-poorly-knownCanadian Arctic,and as HMCSLabradorwas the first ship tocircumnavigateNorth Americain a single voyage. The ship was taken out of service in 1987 andbroken upfor scrap in 1989.

Description

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The builder used modified plans from the just-completedWind-classicebreakers of theUnited States Coast Guard.[1]The ship was modified to include then state-of-the-art technology, becoming the first Royal Canadian Navy vessel to have central heating and ventilation, air conditioning and bunks instead of hammocks. The ship'shullwas plated in rolled, high tensile steel1+5⁄8inches (41 mm) thick.[2]

The ship had adisplacementof 6,490 long tons (6,590 t) and a tonnage of 3,823gross register tons(GRT).[1][3]The vessel measured 82 metres (269 ft 0 in)long overalland 76.2 metres (250 ft 0 in)between perpendicularswith abeamof 19.5 metres (64 ft 0 in) and adraughtof 8.8 m (28 ft 10 in).[4][5]

Labradorwas equipped with Denny Browngyro stabilizers,and fullbridgecontrol of the vessel'sdiesel engines.Labradorwas the RCN's first fullydiesel-electricvessel, with six 2,000horsepower(1,500 kW) engine/generators driving a 5,000shaft horsepower(3,700 kW) motor on eachshaft.[6]The vessel had a maximum speed of 16knots(30 km/h; 18 mph)Labradorwas equipped with starboard and portheeling tankswith 40,000 gallons per minute transfer capability, which facilitated icebreaking operations.[1][3]The ship was equipped with ahangarandflight deckcapable of operating twoBell HTL 4light helicopters or aPiasecki HUP IItransport helicopter.[7]The icebreaker had acomplementof 228.[1]

Service history

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Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the Canadian government made limited exploration within the vast Arctic coast it laid claim to, largely because it lacked the capacity to make forays into much of this remote terrain.Labradorwas conceived as Canada's first modern, powerful icebreaking vessel, which could help meet national defence needs in the high Arctic but also explore the vast area and its rich resources.

Ordered in February 1949,Labradorwas built in theMarine IndustriesLTD yards atSorel, Quebecwith theyard number187.[4][3]The vessel waslaid downon 18 November 1949 andlaunchedon 14 December 1951, christened by Jeanne St. Laurent, the wife of Prime MinisterLouis St. Laurent.[4][6]The ship was commissioned on 8 July 1954.[1]On 10 July 1954Labradordeparted Sorel, Quebec, en route to her new homeport inDartmouth, Nova Scotia.[5]Whilst underway the vessel experienced engine troubles (lowered oil pressure), between Sorel andQuebec City,Quebec. Further difficulty was experienced in theRichelieu River,where she developed steering gear problems which were fixed.Labradorarrived at Halifax on 14 July 1954.[6]

Royal Canadian Navy service

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Main article:Northwest Passage

Labradorset sail on her maiden voyage on 23 July 1954 from Halifax, bound for theLabrador Sea.[2]Over the next summer the vessel worked her way through Canada'sArctic archipelagofrom east to west, conductinghydrographicsoundings, resupplyingRCMPoutposts and deploying assorted scientific and geological teams.[6]Her rendezvous with her Americansister shipsUSCGCNorthwindandUSCGCBurton Islandoff the coast ofMelville Islandon 25 August 1954 marked the first time American and Canadian government ships had met in the Arctic from the east and west.Labradorhad been sent to escort the American vessels through Canadian waters. The voyage had been kept secret, in caseLabradorbroke down. The three ships surveyed theBeaufort Seatogether until the end of September 1954, at which pointLabradorheaded for the base of Canada's Pacific fleet atEsquimalt,British Columbia, arriving on 27 September.Labradorbecame the first warship to transit theNorthwest Passage.[2]Upon sailing down the west coast of the United States, through thePanama Canaland back to Halifax on 21 November 1954;Labradoralso became the first warship to circumnavigate North America in a single voyage.[1]

Map of Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line

In January 1955Labradorunderwent refit. The remainder ofLabrador's early career involved considerable work on theDistant Early Warning Line(DEW Line) project. Beginning in June 1955,Labradorwas sent to survey sites for the project. In August,Labradorescorted a 60-shipconvoy.[8]In 1956, the icebreaker spent five and a half months performinghydrographic surveysin the eastern Arctic.[1]In 1957, the ship made port visits toPortsmouth,England,Oslo,Norway andCopenhagen,Denmark.[1]Labradorwasdecommissionedon 22 November 1957 and transferred to civilian control in 1958.[1][9]This was done with the condition that should the Royal Canadian Navy wish to take the ship back, they could.[10]The decision was due to financial cutbacks a change of direction of the Royal Canadian Navy, with an intent to focus onanti-submarine warfarerather than Arctic research.[11][12]

Civilian service

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On entering civilian service, the icebreaker operated within theDepartment of Transport(DOT) during the four years before theCanadian Coast Guard(CCG) was formally established. From 1958 until 1977,Labradordeployed to the Arctic every year.[5]In 1964,Labradorreached the most northerly position ever attained by a Canadian vessel to that point when the ship passed Hans Island.[13]During winter months, the icebreaker would perform icebreaking operations in the lowerSt. Lawrence River.[1]

In 1974,Labradorwas sent to Arctic waters to carry out hydrographic survey work.[14]From 1977 onward,Labradorwas used primarily for hydrographic survey work.[5]In 1979, the icebreaker took part in the search for the sunken merchant vesselBreadalbane.The site of the wreck was found during the expedition, but the sunken vessel's identity was not confirmed until the following year.[14]During the ship's final years,Labradorwas restricted to southern waters due to metal fatigue and worked in theGulf of St. Lawrenceduring the winter.[5]Labradorwas taken out of service in 1987 and replaced byCCGSHenry Larsen.[15]The vessel was renamed1210in 1988 and sold forscrapto Chi Hsiang Steel Enterprise Co Ltd. The vessel was taken toKaohsiung,Taiwan, arriving on 24 June 1989 with work beginning on the dismantling of the ship on 29 July.[4]

Pogo(YFL-104), HMCSLabrador's hydrographic sounding craft was obtained by the Outaouais Branch of theNavy League of Canadafrom theCanadian War Museumin 2005.Pogo,a 36-foot (11 m) all-welded aluminum motor boat constructed in 1954, is used inRoyal Canadian Sea CadetsProgram support.[16]

Citations

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  1. ^abcdefghijMacpherson & Barrie 2002,p. 283.
  2. ^abcPigott 2011,p. 207.
  3. ^abcMoore 1981,p. 86.
  4. ^abcd"Labrador(5201336) ".Miramar Ship Index.Retrieved1 June2017.
  5. ^abcdeMaginley & Collin 2001,p. 150.
  6. ^abcdBoutiller 1982,p. 287.
  7. ^Milner 2010,p. 211.
  8. ^Pigott 2011,p. 208.
  9. ^Maginley 2003,p. 32.
  10. ^Milner 2010,p. 222.
  11. ^Maginley 2003,p. 52.
  12. ^Boutiller 1982,p. 306.
  13. ^Pigott 2011,p. 238.
  14. ^abMaginley 2003,pp. 124–126.
  15. ^Maginley 2003,p. 61.
  16. ^"Pogo Outaouais Branch of the Navy League of Canada".Archived fromthe originalon 19 April 2014.

Sources

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  • Boutiller, James A., ed. (1982).RCN in Retrospect, 1910–1968.Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.ISBN0-7748-0196-4.
  • Macpherson, Ken & Barrie, Ron (2002).The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002(Third ed.). St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing.ISBN1-55125-072-1.
  • Maginley, Charles D. (2003).The Canadian Coast Guard 1962–2002.St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing Limited.ISBN1-55125-075-6.
  • Maginley, Charles D. & Collin, Bernard (2001).The Ships of Canada's Marine Services.St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing Limited.ISBN1-55125-070-5.
  • Milner, Marc (2010).Canada's Navy: The First Century(Second ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.ISBN978-0-8020-9604-3.
  • Moore, John, ed. (1981).Jane's Fighting Ships 1981–82.New York: Jane's Publishing Incorporated.ISBN0-531-03977-3.
  • Pigott, Peter (2011).From Far and Wide: A Complete History of Canada's Arctic Sovereignty.Toronto: Dundurn Press.ISBN9781554889877.
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