New Waterford was ordered in June 1942 as part of the 1942–1943 River-class building program.[4][5] She was laid down on 17 February 1943 by Yarrows Ltd. at Esquimalt and launched 3 July 1943.[5] She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 21 January 1944 at Victoria, British Columbia.[4]
The River-class frigate was designed by William Reed of Smith's Dock Company of South Bank-on-Tees. Originally called a "twin-screw corvette", its purpose was to improve on the convoy escort classes in service with the Royal Navy at the time, including the Flower-class corvette. The first orders were placed by the Royal Navy in 1940 and the vessels were named for rivers in the United Kingdom, giving name to the class. In Canada they were named for towns and cities though they kept the same designation.[6] The name "frigate" was suggested by Vice-Admiral Percy Nelles of the Royal Canadian Navy and was adopted later that year.[7]
Improvements over the corvette design included improved accommodation which was markedly better. The twin engines gave only three more knots of speed but extended the range of the ship to nearly double that of a corvette at 7,200 nautical miles (13,300 km) at 12 knots.[7] Among other lessons applied to the design was an armament package better designed to combat U-boats including a twin 4-inch mount forward and 12-pounder aft.[6] 15 Canadian frigates were initially fitted with a single 4-inch gun forward but with the exception of HMCS Valleyfield, they were all eventually upgraded to the double mount.[7] For underwater targets, the River-class frigate was equipped with a Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar and depth charge rails aft and four side-mounted throwers.[6]
River-class frigates were the first Royal Canadian Navy warships to carry the 147B Sword horizontal fan echo sonar transmitter in addition to the irregular ASDIC. This allowed the ship to maintain contact with targets even while firing unless a target was struck. Improved radar and direction-finding equipment improved the RCN's ability to find and track enemy submarines over the previous classes.[6]
Canada originally ordered the construction of 33 frigates in October 1941.[6][7] The design was too big for the shipyards on the Great Lakes so all the frigates built in Canada were built in dockyards along the west coast or along the St. Lawrence River.[7] In all Canada ordered the construction of 60 frigates including ten for the Royal Navy that transferred two to the United States Navy.[6]
Service history
After commissioning, New Waterford transited to Halifax, arriving on 9 March 1944. She then proceeded to work up in Bermuda. Upon her return, New Waterford was assigned to escort group EG 6 to replace the severely damaged HMCS Teme. Arriving towards the end of June 1944, she remained with this group until the end of the war, assigned for short periods to Plymouth and Portsmouth.[4] From 14 March to 20 April 1945, New Waterford, as Senior Officer's Ship, deployed with Escort Group 6 into the English Channel.[8]
In April 1945 she returned to Canada to commence a tropicalization refit in preparation for service in the southern Pacific Ocean. The work, done in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, was completed in November and she departed for the west coast in January 1946.[4] Soon after arrival, she was paid off at Esquimalt on 7 March 1946.[4][5]
Postwar service
New Waterford remained out of service until 1953, when she was briefly recommissioned. She was then sent for conversion to a Prestonian-class frigate. This meant a flush-decked appearance aft, with a larger bridge and taller funnel. Her hull forward was strengthened against ice and the quarterdeck was enclosed to contain two Squid anti-submarine mortars.[9] She was recommissioned with pennant number 304 on 31 January 1958.[5] She served with the Seventh Canadian Escort Squadron[10] In March 1961, New Waterford was among the ships that took part in a combined naval exercise with the United States Navy off Nova Scotia.[11] She was paid off for the final time on 22 December 1966.[5] She was sold in 1967 and broken up at Savona, Italy.[4]
^"Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
^"RHSC Roll of Arms: New Waterford". Royal Heraldry Society of Canada. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
^ abcdefMacpherson, Ken; Burgess, John (1981). The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910–1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Toronto: Collins. ISBN0-00216-856-1.
^ abcde"HMCS New Waterford (K 321)". uboat.net. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
^ abcdef"Fact Sheet No. 21 – Canadian River Class Frigates". Retrieved 3 April 2014.
^ abcdeMacpherson, Ken (1989). Frigates of the Royal Canadian Navy 1943–1974. Lewiston, New York: Vanwell Publishing. pp. 6–7, 15. ISBN0920277225.
^Raymond V.B. Blackman, ed. (1958). Jane's Fighting Ships 1958–59. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. p. 77.
^"Seventh Escort Squadron". The Crowsnest. Vol. 13, no. 1. Queen's Printer. November 1960. p. 25.
^"A/S Exercise Off Nova Scotia". The Crowsnest. Vol. 13, no. 6. Queen's Printer. April 1961. p. 2.
Sources
Arbuckle, J. Graeme (1987). Badges of the Canadian Navy. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Nimbus Publishing. ISBN0-920852-49-1.
Macpherson, Ken; Burgess, John. The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910–1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Collins: Toronto, 1981. ISBN0-00216-856-1
Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Revised & Expanded ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-59114-119-2.
May 04, 2023
hmcs, waterford, river, class, frigate, that, served, with, royal, canadian, navy, during, second, world, then, again, from, 1958, 1966, prestonian, class, frigate, served, primarily, waters, around, united, kingdom, convoy, support, escort, named, waterford, . HMCS New Waterford was a River class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and then again from 1958 1966 as a Prestonian class frigate She served primarily in the waters around the United Kingdom as a convoy support escort She was named for New Waterford Nova Scotia HMCS New WaterfordHistoryCanadaNameNew WaterfordNamesakeNew Waterford Nova ScotiaOrderedJune 1942BuilderYarrows Ltd EsquimaltLaid down17 February 1943Launched3 July 1943Commissioned21 January 1944Decommissioned7 March 1946Identificationpennant number K 321Recommissioned31 January 1958Decommissioned2 December 1966ReclassifiedPrestonian class frigate 1958Identificationpennant number FFE 304Motto Nulli secundis Second to none 1 Honours andawardsAtlantic 1944 1 2 FateSold scrapped 1967BadgeBarry wavy of eight Argent and Azure a dolphin hauriant embowed Or 1 3 General characteristicsClass and typeRiver class frigateDisplacement1 445 long tons 1 468 t 1 618 short tons 2 110 long tons 2 140 t 2 360 short tons deep load Length283 ft 86 26 m p p 301 25 ft 91 82 m o aBeam36 5 ft 11 13 m Draught9 ft 2 74 m 13 ft 3 96 m deep load Propulsion2 x Admiralty 3 drum boilers 2 shafts reciprocating vertical triple expansion 5 500 ihp 4 100 kW Speed20 knots 37 0 km h 20 5 knots 38 0 km h turbine ships Range646 long tons 656 t 724 short tons oil fuel 7 500 nautical miles 13 890 km at 15 knots 27 8 km h Complement157Armament2 QF 4 in 102 mm 45 Mk XVI on twin mount HA LA Mk XIX 1 QF 12 pdr 3 in 76 mm 12 cwt 40 Mk V on mounting HA LA Mk IX not all ships 8 20 mm QF Oerlikon A A on twin mounts Mk V 1 Hedgehog 24 spigot A S projector up to 150 depth chargesNew Waterford was ordered in June 1942 as part of the 1942 1943 River class building program 4 5 She was laid down on 17 February 1943 by Yarrows Ltd at Esquimalt and launched 3 July 1943 5 She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 21 January 1944 at Victoria British Columbia 4 Contents 1 Background 2 Service history 2 1 Postwar service 3 References 3 1 Notes 3 2 SourcesBackground EditMain article River class frigate The River class frigate was designed by William Reed of Smith s Dock Company of South Bank on Tees Originally called a twin screw corvette its purpose was to improve on the convoy escort classes in service with the Royal Navy at the time including the Flower class corvette The first orders were placed by the Royal Navy in 1940 and the vessels were named for rivers in the United Kingdom giving name to the class In Canada they were named for towns and cities though they kept the same designation 6 The name frigate was suggested by Vice Admiral Percy Nelles of the Royal Canadian Navy and was adopted later that year 7 Improvements over the corvette design included improved accommodation which was markedly better The twin engines gave only three more knots of speed but extended the range of the ship to nearly double that of a corvette at 7 200 nautical miles 13 300 km at 12 knots 7 Among other lessons applied to the design was an armament package better designed to combat U boats including a twin 4 inch mount forward and 12 pounder aft 6 15 Canadian frigates were initially fitted with a single 4 inch gun forward but with the exception of HMCS Valleyfield they were all eventually upgraded to the double mount 7 For underwater targets the River class frigate was equipped with a Hedgehog weapon Hedgehog anti submarine mortar and depth charge rails aft and four side mounted throwers 6 River class frigates were the first Royal Canadian Navy warships to carry the 147B Sword horizontal fan echo sonar transmitter in addition to the irregular ASDIC This allowed the ship to maintain contact with targets even while firing unless a target was struck Improved radar and direction finding equipment improved the RCN s ability to find and track enemy submarines over the previous classes 6 Canada originally ordered the construction of 33 frigates in October 1941 6 7 The design was too big for the shipyards on the Great Lakes so all the frigates built in Canada were built in dockyards along the west coast or along the St Lawrence River 7 In all Canada ordered the construction of 60 frigates including ten for the Royal Navy that transferred two to the United States Navy 6 Service history EditAfter commissioning New Waterford transited to Halifax arriving on 9 March 1944 She then proceeded to work up in Bermuda Upon her return New Waterford was assigned to escort group EG 6 to replace the severely damaged HMCS Teme Arriving towards the end of June 1944 she remained with this group until the end of the war assigned for short periods to Plymouth and Portsmouth 4 From 14 March to 20 April 1945 New Waterford as Senior Officer s Ship deployed with Escort Group 6 into the English Channel 8 In April 1945 she returned to Canada to commence a tropicalization refit in preparation for service in the southern Pacific Ocean The work done in Liverpool Nova Scotia was completed in November and she departed for the west coast in January 1946 4 Soon after arrival she was paid off at Esquimalt on 7 March 1946 4 5 Postwar service Edit New Waterford remained out of service until 1953 when she was briefly recommissioned She was then sent for conversion to a Prestonian class frigate This meant a flush decked appearance aft with a larger bridge and taller funnel Her hull forward was strengthened against ice and the quarterdeck was enclosed to contain two Squid anti submarine mortars 9 She was recommissioned with pennant number 304 on 31 January 1958 5 She served with the Seventh Canadian Escort Squadron 10 In March 1961 New Waterford was among the ships that took part in a combined naval exercise with the United States Navy off Nova Scotia 11 She was paid off for the final time on 22 December 1966 5 She was sold in 1967 and broken up at Savona Italy 4 References EditNotes Edit a b c Arbuckle p 72 Battle Honours Britain s Navy Retrieved 5 April 2014 RHSC Roll of Arms New Waterford Royal Heraldry Society of Canada Retrieved 6 April 2014 a b c d e f Macpherson Ken Burgess John 1981 The ships of Canada s naval forces 1910 1981 a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships Toronto Collins ISBN 0 00216 856 1 a b c d e HMCS New Waterford K 321 uboat net Retrieved 6 April 2014 a b c d e f Fact Sheet No 21 Canadian River Class Frigates Retrieved 3 April 2014 a b c d e Macpherson Ken 1989 Frigates of the Royal Canadian Navy 1943 1974 Lewiston New York Vanwell Publishing pp 6 7 15 ISBN 0920277225 Rohwer p 400 Raymond V B Blackman ed 1958 Jane s Fighting Ships 1958 59 New York McGraw Hill Book Company Inc p 77 Seventh Escort Squadron The Crowsnest Vol 13 no 1 Queen s Printer November 1960 p 25 A S Exercise Off Nova Scotia The Crowsnest Vol 13 no 6 Queen s Printer April 1961 p 2 Sources Edit Arbuckle J Graeme 1987 Badges of the Canadian Navy Halifax Nova Scotia Nimbus Publishing ISBN 0 920852 49 1 Macpherson Ken Burgess John The ships of Canada s naval forces 1910 1981 a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships Collins Toronto 1981 ISBN 0 00216 856 1 Rohwer Jurgen 2005 Chronology of the War at Sea 1939 1945 The Naval History of World War Two Revised amp Expanded ed Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 59114 119 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMCS New Waterford amp oldid 1135640845, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
