HMCS Skeena (D59)

HMCS Skeena was a River-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1931-1944.

Skeena alongside the CPR's Vancouver pier C in 1934
For other ships with the same name, see HMCS Skeena.
Skeena at sea
History
Canada
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:
  • Atlantic 1939-44
  • Normandy 1944
  • Biscay 1944[1]
Fate: Wrecked 25 October 1944 during a storm off Reykjavík, 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:
  • 321 ft 3 in (97.92 m) o/a
  • 309 ft (94 m) p/p
Beam: 32 ft 9 in (9.98 m)
Draught: 10 ft (3.0 m)
Speed: 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)
Complement: 181
Armament:

She was similar to the Royal Navy's A-class and wore initially the pennant D59, changed in 1940 to I59.

She was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company at Woolston, Hampshire and commissioned into the RCN on 10 June 1931 at Portsmouth, England. Skeena and her sister HMCS Saguenay were the first ships specifically built for the Royal Canadian Navy. She arrived in Halifax on 3 July 1931.

Second World War

Skeena rescued 65 survivors of the British merchant ship Manipur, sunk by U-57 off Cape Wrath on 17 July 1940. On 2 September 1940 she rescued 19 survivors of the British merchant ship Thornlea, sunk by U-46 in the North Atlantic. On 23 November 1940 she rescued 6 survivors of the Norwegian merchant ship Bruce, damaged by U-100 and 9 survivors of the Norwegian merchant ship Salonica, sunk by U-100 nearby.

Skeena was assigned to North Atlantic convoy Escort Group C-3 escorting 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.[2] On 31 July 1942, Skeena recorded her first victory with HMCS Wetaskiwin when they depth charged and sank U-588 while escorting ON 115 at 49°59′N 36°36′W.

Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted
Convoy Escort Group Dates Notes
HX 141 30 July-6 Aug 1941[3] Newfoundland to Iceland
SC 42 2-17 Sept 1941[4] Newfoundland to Iceland
SC 54 12-22 Nov 1941[4] Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 40 30 Nov-4 Dec 1941[5] Iceland to Newfoundland
SC 63 5-10 Jan 1942[4] Newfoundland to Iceland
SC 79 MOEF group C3 19–27 April 1942[4] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 93 MOEF group C3 9–15 May 1942[5] Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 191 MOEF group C3 28 May-5 June 1942[3] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 104 MOEF group C3 18–27 June 1942[5] Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 90 MOEF group C3 6–16 July 1942[4] Newfoundland to Norther Ireland
ON 115 MOEF group C3 25–31 July 1942[5] Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 202 MOEF group C3 12-17 Aug 1942[3] Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 121 MOEF group C3 17-20 Aug 1942[5] Iceland to Newfoundland
SC 98 MOEF group C3 2-12 Sept 1942[4] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 131 MOEF group C3 19-28 Sept 1942[5] Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 210 MOEF group C3 7-15 Oct 1942[3] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 141 MOEF group C3 26 Oct-2 Nov 1942[5] Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 109 MOEF group C3 16-25 Nov 1942[4] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 152 MOEF group C3 10-19 Dec 1942[5] Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 233 MOEF group A3 12–20 April 1943[3] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 180 MOEF group C3 25 April-7 May 1943[5] Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 238 MOEF group C3 13–20 May 1943[3] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 187 3–10 June 1943[5] Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 244 20–29 June 1943[3] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 192 10–18 July 1943[5] Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 249 29 July-5 Aug 1943[3] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
HX 255 8-15 Sept 1943[3] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
HX 261 17-25 Oct 1943[3] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 210 7-17 Nov 1943[5] Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 147 23 Nov-3 Dec 1943[4] Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 216 17-29 Dec 1943[5] Northern Ireland to Newfoundland

Grounding

Skeena was lost in a storm on the night of 24 October 1944. She was anchored off Reykjavík, Iceland and dragged her anchor and grounded in 50-foot (15 m) waves off Viðey Island with 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.[6][7][8]

Notes
  1. "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 18 Sep 2013.
  2. North Atlantic Run, Marc Milner, 1985, Naval Institute Press ISBN 0-87021-450-0
  3. "HX convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  4. "SC convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  5. "ON convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 2011-06-19.
  6. Remember the 24 Archived August 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. Funds needed for HMCS Skeena memorial in Iceland Lookout, 23 Jan 2006 Archived August 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "HMCS Skeena (D 59)". uboat.net. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
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References
  • English, John (1993). Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8.
  • Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
  • 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. OCLC 164893555.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
  • Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
  • Winser, John de D. (1999). B.E.F. Ships Before, At and After Dunkirk. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-91-6.
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