HMCS Skeena (D59)

HMCS "Skeena" (D59) was a "River"-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1931-1945.

She was similar to the Royal Navy's "A"-class and wore both pennants D59 and I59 during her service.

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 warship|HMCS|Saguenay|D79 were the first ships specifically built for the RCN. She arrived in Halifax, on 3 July 1931.

World War II

"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."North Atlantic Run", Marc Milner, 1985, Naval Institute Press ISBN 0-87021-450-0] On 31 July 1942, Skeena recorded her first victory with warship|HMCS|Wetaskiwin|K175 when they depth charged and sank U-588 while escorting ON-115 at coord|49|59|N|36|36|W.

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 convert|50|ft|m|sing=on waves off Videy Island with the loss of 15 crewmembers.

Her hulk was written 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 Videy Island ferry terminal. [ [http://www.cornwallismuseum.ca/Rememberthe24.html Remember the 24] ] [ [http://www.lookoutnewspaper.com/archive/20060123/4.shtml Funds needed for HMCS "Skeena" memorial in Iceland "Lookout", 23 Jan 2006] ] [ [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4348.html uboat.net page] ]

ee also

* List of ships of the Canadian Navy

References

ee also

* List of ships of the Canadian Navy