| HMCS Nipigon (DDH 266) | |
|---|---|
 HMCS Nipigon underway during NATO Exercise Ocean Safari '85. | |
| Career (Canada) |   |
| Namesake: | Nipigon River, Ontario |
| Builder: | Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel |
| Laid down: | 5 August 1960 |
| Launched: | 10 December 1961 |
| Commissioned: | 30 May 1964 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 July 1998 |
| Refit: | 22 August 1984 (DELEX) |
| Honours and awards: | Atlantic 1941-45, Gulf of St. Lawrence 1942, 1944. |
| Fate: | Sunk for an artificial reef north-east of Rimouski, Quebec in 2003. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Annapolis-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 3,420 long tons (3,474.9 t) full load |
| Length: | 366 ft (111.6 m) |
| Beam: | 42 ft (12.8 m) |
| Draught: | 23.5 ft (7.2 m) |
| Propulsion: |
2-shaft English-Electric geared steam turbines 2 Babcock and Wilcox boilers 30,000 shp |
| Speed: | 28 kn (51.9 km/h) |
| Complement: | 228 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
Original:
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
Original:
|
| Armament: |
Original:
|
| Aircraft carried: | 1 CH-124 Sea King ASW helicopter |
| Aviation facilities: | Midships helicopter deck and hangar with Beartrap. |
HMCS Nipigon (DDH 266) was an Annapolis-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces. She was the second Canadian naval unit to carry this name. She is named for the Nipigon River, Ontario.
Nipigon was laid down on 5 August 1960 at Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel and launched on 10 December 1961. Her construction was overseen by Cdr Donald Clark CD, who also oversaw the laying-down and commencement of HMCS Bras d Or. She was commissioned into the RCN on 30 May 1964 with pennant number 266 and with the wife of the then Governor-General Georges P Vanier DSO MC & Bar CD, Madame Pauline Vanier, as her sponsor.
A fire broke out aboard the ship at 8:25 p.m. on 18 October 18, 1965, causing the death of three crew; no official cause for the explosion and subsequent fire has ever been given, although a leak in one of the fuel tanks of the on-board helicopter is the most likely cause.[according to whom?]
Nipigon served most of her career with the RCN and later Canadian Forces' Atlantic Fleet. During her service with Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT), she was primarily used as a training ship.
She was decommissioned from the Canadian Forces on 2 July 1998 and sold for use as an artificial reef. She was sunk in the St. Lawrence River north-east of Rimouski, Quebec on 22 July 2003.
External links[]
| |||||||||||
The original article can be found at HMCS Nipigon (DDH 266) and the edit history here.