HMCS Ottawa (H60)

HMCS "Ottawa" (H60) was a "River"-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1938-1942.

She was laid down on 12 September 1930 at Portsmouth Dockyard, Portsmouth and launched 30 September 1931. She was finished at Hawthorn Leslie, Newcastle upon Tyne and commissioned into the Royal Navy as sclass|C and D|destroyer HMS|Crusader|H60 in 1932. She was decommissioned from the RN on 15 June 19938 when she was commissioned into the RCN at Chatham as HMCS "Ottawa" (H60).

World War II service

Originally stationed with the RCN's Pacific Fleet, "Ottawa" was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet following the outbreak of World War II and was assigned to convoy duty in the North Atlantic.

During the first year of the war, "Ottawa" conducted convoy escort duties in the western Atlantic. In the fall of 1940, "Ottawa" was deployed to Scotland to assist in local escort operations. "Ottawa" assisted HMS Harvester (H19) sink the Italian Marcello class submarine "Faa di Bruno" in November. [Blair 1996 p.212] She returned to Canada in spring 1941 and was assigned to the RCN's Newfoundland Escort Force where she continued her service in the waters of that country.

"Ottawa" was the leader of Escort Group C-4 for convoys ON-105, [Rohwer & Hummelchen 1992 p.136] HX-133, [Blair 1996 p.309] ON-116, SC-96 and ON-127. [Milner 1985 p.289] On 14 September 1942 at 02:05 local time, while escorting Convoy ON-127 convert|500|nmi|km|-1 east of St. John's, Newfoundland, "Ottawa" was torpedoed by U-91. Less than 30 minutes later, unable to maneuver, she was hit by a second torpedo. The second attack broke her in half, sinking her. 114 crew lost their lives, including the commanding officer, while 65 survivors were rescued by nearby vessels.

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