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HMCS Columbia (DDE 260)
Career (Canada) Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom Naval Jack of Canada
Namesake: Columbia River
Builder: Burrard Dry Dock Ltd., North Vancouver
Laid down: 11 June 1952
Launched: 1 November 1956
Commissioned: 7 November 1959
Decommissioned: 18 February 1974
Homeport: CFB Esquimalt
Fate: Placed in Category "C" reserve in 1974. Laid up at CFB Esquimalt and used as a dockside engineering training platform (with no-thrust wheels replacing her propellers). Sunk as artificial reef off British Columbia in 1996.
General characteristics
Class & type: Restigouche-class destroyer
Displacement: 2800 t (deep load)
Length: 366 ft (111.6 m)
Beam: 42 ft (12.8 m)
Draught: 14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion: 2-shaft English-Electric geared steam turbines, 2 Babcock and Wilcox boilers 30,000 shp
Speed: 28 knots (51.9 km/h)
Range: 4,750 nautical miles (8,797.0 km) at 14 knots (25.9 km/h)
Complement: 249
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • 1 x SPS-12 air search radar
  • 1 x SPS-10B surface search radar
  • 1 x Sperry Mk.2 navigation radar
  • 1 x SQS-501 high frequency bottom profiler sonar
  • 1 x SQS-502 high frequency mortar control sonar
  • 1 x SQS-503 hull mounted active search sonar
  • 1 x SQS-10 hull mounted active search sonar
  • 1 x Mk.69 gunnery control system with SPG-48 director forward
  • 1 x GUNAR Mk.64 GFCS with on-mount SPG-48 director aft
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
  • 1 x DAU HF/DF (high frequency direction finder)
  • Armament:
  • 1 x 3"/70 Mk.6 Vickers twin mount forward
  • 1 x 3"/50 Mk.33 FMC twin mount aft
  • 2 x Mk NC 10 Limbo ASW mortars
  • 2 x single Mk.2 "K-gun" launchers with homing torpedoes
  • 1 x 103mm Bofors illumination rocket launchers
  • Aircraft carried: none

    HMCS Columbia (DDE 260) was a Restigouche-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from 1959-1974.

    Columbia was the seventh and final ship in her class and is the second Canadian naval unit to carry the name HMCS Columbia.

    Columbia was laid down on 11 June 1952 at Burrard Dry Dock Ltd., North Vancouver and launched on 1 November 1956. She was commissioned into the RCN on 7 November 1959 carrying the pennant number 260.

    Columbia was not selected for the Improved Restigouche (IRE) or Destroyer Life Extension (DELEX) projects and was instead decommissioned from active service in the CF on 18 February 1974. She was placed in Category C reserve and was converted into a dockside engineering training platform at CFB Esquimalt; her propellers were replaced with no-thrust wheels for this purpose.

    Columbia was removed from reserve status in 1988 and sunk as an artificial reef off British Columbia in 1996.

    References[]

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