The Mayor of the city requested that the ships be in harbour for Dominion Day. They arrived in San Diego on the 9th. All were in accord with regard to CHAMPLAIN for Torbay, the destroyer who was to serve in the east, but the renaming of Toreador, who would replace PATRICIAN in the west, presented more difficulties. Courtesy of Cluny Nichols HMCS Vancouver F6A entering Willemstad Harbour, Netherlands Antilles, 1934 In the winder of 1934, HMCS Skeena, HMCS Saguenay, HMCS Champlain and HMCS Vancouver took part in Winter exercises off South America. The voyage was resumed on the 23rd. Other Mexican ports visited were Guaymas on 1 February, 1933, Mazatlan the 7th, Manzanillo the 10th, and Acapulco the 12th. This was found to be 14 knots. En route, in the vicinity of Oona River, the ship was stopped as per orders to investigate a report of a local resident having found a torpedo. He sent orders to the officer-in-charge of the platoon at Acajutla to remain on the jetty until further orders, and then sought an audience with General Hernández Martinez. To facilitate receiving her share, the newer destroyer berthed alongside her. On the morning of the 26th, the US halibut boat, Republic, was searched for evidence of illegal sealing and arms. [69] SKEENA arrived back in Esquimalt on 19 March, 1932. From here, on the 23rd, she passed through Johnstone Strait and Discovery Passage to the Straits of Georgia, anchoring at Nanaimo. Accordingly, it was taken back to the ship, but once it was aboard it was hurried back by a further message which requested, “Please send a landing party immediately.”  So once more the men were conveyed ashore. The itinerary included ports in the Straits of Georgia, Queen Charlotte Strait, Queen Charlotte Sound, Grenville Channel and Chatham Sound. Trouble had broken out in the Republic the previous night. It features “Three maple leaves in chief, ship in sail.” [14], Following the commissioning, on 17 March, 1928, the ships were visited by the High Commissioner for Canada in London. The visit to the Cuban capital was an enjoyable one for both officers and men. The larger part of the US Pacific Fleet was at anchor there when they entered the port on the 10th. The authorities had feared earlier that local Communists might stage a demonstration during the parade, but no untoward incidents occurred other than about a dozen women forcing their way into the ranks of marchers with banners. [48] HM Cruiser Dauntless visited Esquimalt in June 1930. During the entire voyage to Kingston, Jamaica, spray was not even taken over the forecastle. HMCS Bonaventure was a Majestic-class aircraft carrier, the third and last aircraft carrier in service with Canada's armed forces.The aircraft carrier was initially ordered for construction by Britain's Royal Navy as HMS Powerful during the Second World War.. At 0110 the 27th, while taking off ratings to the cruiser, the skiff struck a log and capsized. This offer was made “in event we cannot at the present time embark on new construction”, [1] for it should be noted that it was not until January, 1929, that deliberations and negotiations regarding the construction of the new destroyers, bore fruit in the awarding of a contract to Messrs. J. I. Thornycroft and Co. Ltd. of Southampton. In CHAMPLAIN and VANCOUVER’s case, transfer by loan had been possible without bringing additional expense to the British taxpayer. The capital is high up in the mountains of a country which has been described as “more vertical than horizontal.” [81]. [70]. The change of names took effect at the same time, so that HMS Toreador was commissioned as HMCS VANCOUVER and HMS Torbay as HMCS CHAMPLAIN. The early days of the RCN had been marked with struggle, often bitter. On 1 November, 1920, HMC Cruiser AURORA and HMC Destroyers PATRIOT and PATRICIAN were commissioned to replace the old cruisers. The women and children were placed in a shed on the wharf and the Vice-Consul and four railway officials took refuge in VANCOUVER. The trial was postponed until the gear was restowed and the ship was clear of Boundary Pass and in the open waters of the Straits of Georgia. After exercising torpedo-firing with THIEPVAL, VANCOUVER proceeded to Vancouver on 7 September, 1929. Later, when in HM Dockyard, Bermuda, the ship had a new one forged to replace it. Its force caused the jack staff to be bent. VANCOUVER parted from CHAMPLAIN on 19 March, 1930, sailing from Kingston, at 1600 for the Canal Zone. While these two had been busy on their lawful occasions, events had been pushing forward and were now drawing to a conclusion, which were to take them out of the Navy and replace them with younger ships. [72] Report of the Department of the Naval Service, 1933. Alex Barlow, who recently returned from a similar mission in the Pacific as commanding officer … ARMENTIERES appeared in this pulp and paper port with diving equipment. [39] With her sister destroyer and HM Cruiser Durban, she sailed out for exercises on 3 February. HMCS Victoria (876) / Victoria-class submarine HMCS Victoria 876. Intelligence to this effect was given on 2 September 1936 by the High Commissioner in London in a communication addressed to the Secretary of State for External Affairs. Landfall was made on the 25th. There was always a swell, which made boat work hazardous. At the end of the month, the destroyers proceeded to Duncan Bay on Discovery Passage. In Blenkinsop Bay on Johnstone Strait, a seaplane joined the ship from Vancouver. On the 16th, she patrolled toward Skidegate, but was forced back by the weather to Safety Cove. [57] Repairs and some exercises at sea occupied VANCOUVER until 26 January, 1931, when she left for her winter cruise. Speed had to be reduced on the 29th and 30th, and minor damage was caused by the waves to the upperworks and boats. Preparations were begun to form armed platoons from each ship. She called at San Pedro and Manzanillo. Barlow is an experienced, high-readiness commander who officially took command on Jan. 20. Navy week celebrations commenced in Victoria at the end of the month. The seaplane left Prince Rupert for Vancouver the 20th, and the next day VANCOUVER steamed southward from the same port. When the destroyers arrived at Balboa, they made arrangements to complete with stores and to proceed as soon as possible. Bridgetown, Barbados and Bermuda were visited in March 1935. On 30 August, 1937, Frankel Bros. informed the Department that the two destroyers had been “completely dismantled”. She was the flagship of Vice-Admiral V. J. Haggard, the C-in-C North America and West Indies Station. The ships had just been painted and the dust settled everywhere in a thin layer. The latter sent a boarding party to two Canadian trollers which were also at anchor. At the outbreak of war in 1914, the submarines CC-1 and CC-2 were added. In the latter place, there was a thick fog and, at 0602, she grounded. After patrolling up to Milbanke Sound, Finlayson Channel and Carter Bay, she turned around and returned to Quatsino Sound, paying second calls to Winter Harbour and Port Alice. On the 8th, SKEENA parted from the others to begin her voyage to the Pacific and Esquimalt. [69] She arrived at Esquimalt on the 29th, after a passage marked throughout by rough, foggy and very wet weather. After the ships had rounded Cape Flattery and begun their passage along the US coast, rough seas buffeted them for twelve hours. The Commanding Officers of both ships exchanged visits. After leaving Esquimalt, the destroyers ran into heavy seas and had to reduce speed to 10 knots. On the 4th, the ship crossed Hecate Strait to Naden Harbour. [7], It was recommended and agreed that the destroyers should be given names closely associated with Canada than the ones they already bore. The small, gallant ship which had once cruised to Siberia and Japan to lay fuel oil caches for the British Round-the-World Fliers, had, while engaged in a patrol in Barkley Sound on 27 February, 1930, struck an uncharted rock and sunk. Two customs officials and a drum of aircraft gasoline were taken aboard when the ship left on 3 September, 1931, for Christie Bay, Barkley Sound. Final deliberations on the subject resulted in the placing of orders for the construction of two ships of this type in Britain. The cruiser left for La Libertad after the Admiral had conferred with the Commanding Officer of SKEENA. Proceeding southward through Johnstone Strait en route to Elk Bay on Discovery Passage, VANCOUVER struck a large partially-submerged log. The CNMT is a charitable, non-profit organization committed to preserving HMCS Sackville in perpetuity for the benefit of all Canadians. She returned to Esquimalt after weighing anchor on the 21st and calling en route at San Pedro. VANCOUVER, while attempting to help her, also took ground. Leaving British shores behind, the ships followed the southern Atlantic route, which was longer than the northern route, but was chosen to avoid winter conditions and to allow refuelling at ports within a safe cruising radius for their type of ship. The Commanding Officer of the US coastguard cutter Snohomish, who was in charge of the course, requested VANCOUVER to detach to look for the yacht. He had been able to say that, apart from the fact that a motor boat was urgently required and that a portion of the electric wiring required renewal, the ship was in a “highly efficient condition and capable of any service.”. The Mainland Militia Force (255 rank and file) were embarked in the destroyers in Vancouver at the end of June 1932 and conveyed to Saanich Inlet, where they were landed for exercises. The programme was also affected by the embarking in the destroyers of the Canadian Trade Commissioners at Jamaica, Panama and Trinidad. She visited Queen Charlotte City and, on 3 June, 1929, effected a rendezvous with Colombo in Milbanke Sound. On the evening of 26 February, VANCOUVER reported that one of her RCNVR stokers had sustained a severe concussion. From the 13th-16th, the ship remained in Winter Harbour while the aircraft patrolled westward of Quatsino Sound. [88] Lieutenant-Commander (E) W. W. Porteous, RCN, Engineer Officer (D), East Sub-division in SAGUENAY, and Lieutenant-Commander (E) A. C. M. Davy, RCN, Engineer Officer (D), West Sub-division in SKEENA. This was because ships of the US Fleet were expected to arrive in the port to take part in very important exercises. [44]. On the 26th, the destroyer was ordered, along with HMC Minesweepers THIEPVAL and ARMENTIERES, to the search for a missing monoplane of British Columbia Airways Ltd. [26]. This was an annual affair organized by the business men of the city. Unlike the newer destroyers, they had not been designed for tropical conditions nor, considering their age, were the alterations necessary to make them so, justifiable, in their opinion. En route, they passed a number of the contestants. In April 1934, the destroyers called at St. John’s, Antigua; Basseterre, St. Kitts; Montego Bay and Kingston, Jamaica. After passing the night in Safety Cove, the two moved down to the west coast of Vancouver Island. [52]. At this speed they were able to cover 10¼ miles per ton fuel oil. [65], At about 2000 of the 22nd, SKEENA intercepted a wireless message from the Commander-in-Chief North America and West Indies Station, advising the Chief of the Naval Staff that an uprising in El Salvador had placed the lives and property of British nationals in the country in imminent danger. When she arrived in the bay, a Norwegian whaler, the Hanka, was there, but it weighed anchor and left thirty-five minutes later. When comparing these ships with PATRIOT and PATRICIAN, it was observed first that, having been completed after the war, they were of superior construction. Advantage was taken of the dry days to clean and paint the ship, this in preparation for an official visit to Vancouver. She suffered no damage, however. By The cups, trophies and presentation silver plate which had been in the ship, were transferred to HMCS FRASER, the former HMS Crescent. He had noted the truth of these observations on previous occasions and considered that the only cure was to have at least three ships, “preferably but not necessarily, of the same class, serving together.” [20], On arrival at their respective bases, both VANCOUVER and CHAMPLAIN were placed in drydock and thoroughly examined. Considerably more than the average amount of refitting was necessary in them, they pointed out, to keep them efficient, with the result that personnel had to put in longer hours of work than they should and this in hot and poorly-ventilated compartments. HM Cruiser Durban was met in the latter port and VANCOUVER went out with her for 1-inch aiming rifle practice.[25]. Meanwhile on the 24th, the Commanding Officer of SKEENA, accompanied by his Executive Officer and a petty officer with a Lewis gun carefully concealed in a hammock, left by a railway gasoline car for the capital. En route, training had as its objective the promotion of unit efficiency so that the ships could enter divisional exercises without further individual practice. He had luncheon in CHAMPLAIN and then inspected the ships’ companies drawn up on the jetty. Exercises in August 1934 were followed by a cruise to northern ports in September. Cdr Hutchinson took his new charge from Penang to Singapore, on the south tip of the Malayan Peninsula, and from there to Tokyo, and then back to Esquimalt via Pearl Harbor, arriving Feb. 22, 2016. On the 25th, US Destroyers Wickes and Philip arrived and, on the 29th, US Light Cruiser Rochester, the flagship of Rear-Admiral St. Clair Smith. Manzanillo was raised on the 17th. On the 26th, sailing together, they proceeded to Vancouver and there embarked troops. Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Vancouver has deployed on Operation PROJECTION Indo-Asia Pacific. VANCOUVER’s Commanding Officer passed the message by wireless to SKEENA and was ordered not to land the platoon. Fog, succeeded by wind, was encountered after she left the Californian port. [49], On the 27th, the two ships conveyed troops from Vancouver to Maple Bay, returning them on 1 July. [37] On 25 November, 1929, HMCS VANCOUVER was taken in hand for an annual refit. Back in Esquimalt the next day, she proceeded to Yarrows shipyard and was hauled up on the slip immediately. The cruise in company was considered to have been beneficial and was to form a model for what was to become the standard winter operation for RCN destroyers. Astoria and Portland, Oregon, were visited by the ships in September 1932. For the ceremony, armed platoons were drawn from all four ships. [2] The offer was later changed to a loan, with reconditioning expenses remaining the responsibility of the Canadian Government. Refrigerating and bathing facilities were inadequate to meet the needs of a prolonged stay in the tropics. Reprinted from the British Columbia Historical Quarterly, January-April, 1956. The visit to Vancouver on 28 October, 1929, turned out to be less successful than hoped, the reason being that many of the leading officials of the city had not been informed that it was an official one. On the 20th, the Sub-divisions met again at Kingston. This was done but, although the anchorage there was not open to the full force of the wind from any direction, it was necessary to veer to six shackles to hold the ship from dragging. While it was felt that its presence would be of great help to her, it was realized also that it would restrict her steaming to daylight hours. He will be sorely missed,” adds Commander Mike Stefanson, Commanding Officer HMCS Winnipeg. On the 19th, men from both destroyers were landed for a route march. [78], SKEENA and VANCOUVER sailed from Esquimalt on 5 January, 1934. with special thanks to CPO2 Chris Fraser for retyping these official histories. On 3 July, the citizens of VANCOUVER presented a silver-plated ship’s bell to the Commanding Officer for the ship, and a sterling silver serving tray for the wardroom. The British Vice-Consul boarded SKEENA on arrival at the latter port, bearing a letter from the British Minister at Guatemala City, in which it was stated that, while the visit of the destroyers was unofficial it would be essential for both Commanding Officers and two other officers to pay a ceremonial call on the President of the Republic. There was more trouble the next day when she was obliged to have a tug alongside and get up steam, so she would not drift into VANCOUVER. They returned by the west coast of Vancouver Island, visiting Quatsino Sound en route and going up to Port Alberni by way of Barkley Sound. [25] The 1-inch aiming rifle was a tube of this diameter introduced into the barrel of one of the 4” guns. Two thousand people came aboard and such was the interest shown in the ship by all classes of people, that it was strongly recommended that at least one Canadian warship visit the port annually. Training could not be permitted to lapse nor could the shores be left protected only by small coastal craft. [24], Commodore Hose, Chief of the Naval Staff, inspected VANCOUVER on 10 July, 1928, and he sailed aboard her when, after calling at Vancouver, she proceeded north to Alert Bay on Cormorant Island, Broughton Straits, and Prince Rupert, where he disembarked. The weather was not suitable for patrolling until the 6th. The frigate’s extended work period started at Seaspan Victoria Shipyards nearly two years ago. Offer was later changed to a loan, with reconditioning expenses remaining the responsibility of the had... 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