HMS Crusader (H60)
.jpg) HMCS Ottawa before 1942
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Crusader |
| Ordered | 15 July 1930 |
| Builder | Portsmouth Dockyard |
| Laid down | 12 September 1930 |
| Launched | 30 September 1931 |
| Completed | 2 May 1932 |
| Identification | Pennant number: H60 |
| Motto |
|
| Fate | Transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy, 15 June 1938 |
| Badge | On a Field Black, a Shield silver, thereon a cross Red |
| Canada | |
| Name | Ottawa |
| Namesake | Ottawa River |
| Commissioned | 15 June 1938 |
| Honours and awards | Atlantic, 1939–45 |
| Fate | Sunk by U-91, 14 September 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | C-class destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 329 ft (100.3 m) o/a |
| Beam | 33 ft (10.1 m) |
| Draught | 12 ft 6 in (3.8 m) |
| Installed power | 36,000 shp (27,000 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
| Range | 5,500 nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 145 |
| Armament |
|
HMS Crusader was a
Atlantic three months after the war began. She served as a convoy escort during the battle of the Atlantic until sunk by the German submarine U-91
on 14 September 1942. Together with a British destroyer, she sank an Italian submarine in the North Atlantic in November 1941.
Design and construction
Crusader displaced 1,375 long tons (1,397 t) at
deep load. The ship had an overall length of 329 feet (100.3 m), a beam of 33 feet (10.1 m) and a draught of 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 m). She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 36,000 shaft horsepower (27,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers. Crusader carried a maximum of 473 long tons (481 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The ship's complement was 145 officers and men.[1]
The ship mounted four 45-
21-inch torpedoes.[2] Three depth-charge chutes were fitted, each with a capacity of two depth charges. After World War II began this was increased to 33 depth charges, delivered by one or two rails and two throwers.[3]
The ship was ordered on 15 July 1930 from
Portsmouth Dockyard under the 1929 Naval Programme. Crusader was laid down on 12 September 1930, launched on 30 September 1931,[4] as the second ship to carry the name,[5] and completed on 2 May 1932.[4]
Service history
Crusader was initially assigned to the
ASDIC.[7]
The ship was purchased by the Royal Canadian Navy and she was commissioned on 15 June as HMCS Ottawa.
On 27 August 1940, Ottawa was sailed to
Western Approaches Command upon her arrival on 4 September for convoy escort duties.[11] In October, the ship's rear torpedo tube mount was exchanged for a 12-pounder AA gun.[9] On 24–26 September, she rescued survivors of two British merchant ships; 55 from SS Sulairia that had been sunk by U-43 and 60 from SS Eurymedon that had been sunk by U-29. Ottawa assisted the British destroyer Harvester in sinking the Italian submarine Comandante Faà di Bruno on 7 November. By mid-November, Ottawa had been fitted with a Type 286M short-range surface-search radar, adapted from the Royal Air Force's ASV radar. This early model, however, could only scan directly forward and had to be aimed by turning the entire ship. On 23 November, she rescued 29 survivors of the grain carrier SS Bussum which had been sunk by U-100.[12]
Ottawa returned to Canada in June 1941 and was assigned to the RCN's
St. John's, Newfoundland, Ottawa was torpedoed by U-91. Ten minutes later, unable to manoeuvre, she was hit by a second torpedo. She sank ten minutes later; 114 crewmen lost their lives, including the commanding officer, while nearby vessels rescued 69 survivors.[13]
The armament changes undergone by the ship during the war are not entirely clear. Photographic evidence shows that four Oerlikon 20 mm AA guns were added, one pair to her searchlight platform and the other pair on the bridge wings, although Ottawa retained her 2-pounder guns even after the Oerlikons were added.[14] The 'Y' gun was also removed to allow her depth charge stowage to be increased to at least 60 depth charges.[15]
Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted
| Convoy | Escort Group | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| HX 133 | 20–27 June 1941[16] | Newfoundland to Iceland | |
| SC 46 | 27 Sep – 5 Oct 1941[17] | Newfoundland to Iceland | |
ON 25
|
19–24 Oct 1941[18] | Iceland to Newfoundland | |
| SC 57 | 1–9 Dec 1941[17] | Newfoundland to Iceland | |
ON 46
|
17–20 Dec 1941[18] | Iceland to Newfoundland | |
| SC 64 | 12–20 Jan 1942[17] | Newfoundland to Iceland | |
| SC 85 | MOEF group C4
|
31 May – 12 June 1942[17] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland |
ON 105
|
MOEF group C4 | 20–28 June 1942[18] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland |
| HX 197 | MOEF group C4 | 9–16 July 1942[16] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland |
ON 116
|
MOEF group C4 | 26 July – 5 Aug 1942[18] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland |
| SC 96 | MOEF group C4 | 15–26 Aug 1942[17] | Newfoundland to Northern Ireland |
| Convoy ON 127 | MOEF group C4 | 5–14 Sep 1942[18] | Northern Ireland to Newfoundland |
Notes
- ^ "cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight, 30 cwt referring to the weight of the gun.
Footnotes
- ^ Whitley, p. 26
- ^ Lenton, p. 154
- ^ Friedman, pp. 209, 236, 298–99
- ^ a b English, p. 45
- ^ Colledge, p. 75
- ^ English, pp. 48–49
- ^ Brown, p. 164
- ^ "Ship History". Royal Canadian Navy. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e English, p. 49
- ^ Douglas, p. 68
- ^ Douglas, p. 108
- ^ Douglas, pp. 110–11, 114–15, 118, 122
- ^ Douglas, pp. 515, 522, 524
- ^ "High resolution pictures of HMCS Ottawa". Canadian Navy Heritage Project. Retrieved 2 September 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Friedman, p. 237
- ^ a b "HX convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "SC convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e "ON convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
References
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Douglas, W. A. B.; Sarty, Roger; Michael Whitby; Robert H. Caldwell; William Johnston; William G. P. Rawling (2002). No Higher Purpose. The Official Operational History of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War, 1939–1943. Vol. 2, pt. 1. St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell. ISBN 1-55125-061-6.
- 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 & Commonwealth Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- 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 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
External links
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