Royal Canadian Navy / Marine Royale Canadienne
Restigouche class Destroyer Escort - DDE
Ships:
unit				builder		commissioned	status
DDE 235 HMCS Chaudiere				Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Halifax		1959	artificial reef
DDE 236 HMCS Gatineau				Davie Shipbuilding Ltd., Lauzon		1959	scrapped
DDE 256 HMCS St. Croix				Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel		1958	scrapped
DDE 257 HMCS Restigouche				Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal		1958	artificial reef
DDE 258 HMCS Kootenay				Burrard Dry Dock Ltd., North Vancouver		1959	artificial reef
DDE 259 HMCS Terra Nova				Victoria Machinery Depot Ltd., Victoria		1959	scrapped
DDE 260 HMCS Columbia				Burrard Dry Dock Ltd., North Vancouver		1959	artificial reef
The Restigouche class destroyer was a class of destroyers that served the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from the late-1950s to the late-1990s. The RCN began planning the St. Laurent-class destroyer in the late 1940s and originally intended to procure 14 vessels. Delays in design and construction saw the number of vessels for the St. Laurent-class halved to 7. The 7 remaining vessels were redesigned as the Restigouche-class, taking into account design improvements found during construction of the St. Laurent's. The most noticeable difference between the St. Laurent and Restigouche classes was that the latter had the bridge raised one full deck higher in order to see over a new forward Vickers 3"/70 Mk.6 gun mount. Improved Restigouche (IRE): During the late 1960s, four ships of this class were refitted to what is known as the Improved Restigouche (IRE). This refit involved replacing the aft 3"/50 gun with an octuple ASROC launcher. The old radar/communication mast was also replaced with a taller lattice mast. The stern was altered to accommodate a new variable depth sonar. The three vessels that did not receive this refit were paid off into Category "C" Reserve soon afterward, during the manpower shortages of the early to mid-1970s when the newly unified Canadian Forces experienced defence budget cuts. HMCS Chaudiere (DDE 235) was used as a parts hulk and donated her bow to HMCS Kootenay (DDE 258) after the latter was damaged in a collision. HMCS Columbia (DDE 260) became a dockside engineering training platform at CFB Esquimalt and HMCS St. Croix (DDE 256) had her weapons and propellers removed and her machinery spaces converted into classrooms. Destroyer Life Extension Project (DELEX): The four IRE vessels of the Restigouche-class that remained in active service with the CF were selected for the Destroyer Life Extension Project (DELEX) in the late 1970s. DELEX was commissioned to upgrade the ten newest St. Laurent and Restigouche-class ships with new electronics, machinery, and hull upgrades and repairs. The intent of DELEX was to extend the life of these ships for another 15 years of service while the Halifax-class frigates were being designed and built as part of the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. DELEX included the installation of a Naval Tactical Data System (NTDS) known as the Automatic Data Link Plotting System (ADLIPS), as well as the Canadian Electronic Warfare System (CANEWS), and a new communication suite. DELEX was very successful as it allowed older ships to participate in a modern electronic battle field using tactical data links between ships and aircraft. The Kootenay suffered two mishaps during her career: In 1969 one of her gearboxes exploded, killing 7 crewmembers in one of the worst peacetime accidents in Canadian naval history. 20 years later, she collided with a freighter in 1989 and suffered bow damage and was repaired with parts removed from HMCS Chaudiere (DDE 235). Gulf War refit: HMCS Terra Nova (DDE 259) was hastily and temporarily refitted in August 1990 as part of Operation FRICTION. She was re-equipped with parts from the Halifax-class frigate program to act as a primary anti-ship strike and naval battery platform. Modifications were made in Halifax as well as while underway to the Persian Gulf and involved the installation of new weapons and subsequent electronics and sensors. Among the new equipment for Terra Nova was an upgraded 3-inch (76 mm) rapid fire gun, Harpoon anti-ship missile launcher (8 missiles), Vulcan Phalanx 20 mm Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), and modified torpedo tubes for the Mk.46 Mod 50 homing torpedo. The upgrade saw the removal of the ASROC system and the well for the Limbo ASW mortar, which were replaced by Harpoon and CIWS respectively. Two 40 mm Boffin anti-aircraft guns (with an improvised fire control system) in addition to Javelin point-defense Surface-to-Air missiles and .50 cal machine guns were also added for improved close-quarter fighting. As such, Terra Nova became the first ever guided-missile destroyer ever to serve in the Canadian Navy. Recently released documents indicate that the rapid Gulf War modification plans were determined to date back to the early 1980s as part of an emergency re-armament plan devised in case of a conventional war with the Soviet Union and/or the Warsaw Pact. Refits: DDE 257 HMCS Restigouche (IRE - 1972 / DELEX - November 1985) DDE 235 HMCS Chaudiere (IRE - never / DELEX - never) DDE 236 HMCS Gatineau (IRE - April 1971 / DELEX - November 1982) DDE 256 HMCS St. Croix (IRE - October 1964 / DELEX - never) DDE 258 HMCS Kootenay (IRE - January 1972 / DELEX - October 1983) DDE 259 HMCS Terra Nova (IRE - 1968 / DELEX - November 1984) DDE 260 HMCS Columbia (IRE - never / DELEX - never) source: wikipedia
	Specifications:
	Displacement:	as built 2800 tons (full load) / after IRE 2900 tons (full load)
	Length:	111,6 meters
	Beam:	12,8 meters
	Draft:	4,3 meters
	Speed:	28 knots, max. (52 km/h)
	Range:	4750 NM (8800 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h)
	Crew:	250 / 214 after DELEX
	Aviation:	none
	Propulsion:	2 English Electric geared steam turbines, 2 Babcock & Wilcox boilers / 2 shafts, 2 propellers / 30000 shp
	Armament:	as built: 1 x Vickers Mk-6 3”/70 twin gun, forward 1 x Mk-33 FMC 3”/50 twin gun, aft 2 x Mk-10 NC Limbo ASW Mortars 2 x Mk-2 single launchers with homing torpedoes after IRE/DELEX modification: 1 x Vickers Mk-6 3”/70 twin gun, forward 1 x Mk-16 octuple box launcher for RUR-5 ASROC 1 x Mk-10 NC Limbo ASW Mortar 2 x Mk-32 triple torpedo tubes for Mk-46 Torpedoes after Gulf War (HMCS Restigouche & Terra Nova only): 1 x Vickers Mk-6 3”/70 twin gun, forward 2 x Mk-141 missile launcher for 8 RGM-84 Harpoon SSM 1 x Mk-15 Phalanx CIWS 2 x Bofors 40mm AA guns 2 x Mk-32 triple torpedo tubes for Mk-46 Torpedoes
class images:
as built after IRE refit after IRE refit 3 of a kind
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