HMCS Skeena (D59)
Skeena at sea
| |
History | |
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Canada | |
Name | Skeena |
Namesake | Skeena River |
Ordered | 6 March 1928 |
Builder | 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 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 | |
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 |
|
HMCS Skeena was a
She was built by
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 14 October 1940 Skeena and the corvette HMS Periwinkle rescued 220 members of the crew of HMS Cheshire, which U-137 had damaged by torpedo.[2] On 23 November 1940 Skeena 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
Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted
Convoy | Escort Group | Dates | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
HX 141 | 30 July-6 Aug 1941[4] | Newfoundland to Iceland | |
SC 42 | 2-17 Sept 1941[5] | Newfoundland to Iceland | |
SC 54 | 12-22 Nov 1941[5] | Newfoundland to Iceland | |
ON 40
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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 to Northern 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
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.[7][8][9]
Notes
- ^ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Cheshire (F 18)". Ships hit by U-boats. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ISBN 0-87021-450-0
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "HX convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "SC convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "ON convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ Remember the 24 Archived August 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Funds needed for HMCS Skeena memorial in Iceland Lookout, 23 Jan 2006 Archived August 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "HMCS Skeena (D 59)". uboat.net. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
References
- English, John (1993). Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s. Kendal: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
- Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8.
- Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, MD: 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, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
- Winser, John de D. (1999). B.E.F. Ships Before, At and After Dunkirk. Gravesend: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-91-6.