HMCS ''Skeena'' was a River-class destroyer that served in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

(RCN) from 1931 to 1944. She was similar to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

's A class and wore initially the pennant D59, changed in 1940 to I59. She was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company at

Woolston, Hampshire Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen, Hampshire, River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Hampshire, River Itchen, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston, Southampton, Weston. The ar ...

and commissioned into the RCN on 10 June 1931 at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. ''Skeena'' and her sister were the first ships specifically built for the Royal Canadian Navy. She arrived in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

on 3 July 1931.

Second World War

''Skeena'' rescued 65 survivors of the British merchant ship ''Manipur'', sunk by off

Cape Wrath Cape Wrath (, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in Great Britain. The cape is separated from the rest of the mainland by the Ky ...

on 17 July 1940. On 2 September 1940 she rescued 19 survivors of the British merchant ship ''Thornlea'', sunk by in the North Atlantic. On 14 October 1940 ''Skeena'' and the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

rescued 220 members of the crew of , which had damaged by torpedo. On 23 November 1940 ''Skeena'' rescued 6 survivors of the Norwegian merchant ship ''Bruce'', damaged by 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 On 31 July 1942, ''Skeena'' recorded her first victory with when they

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

d and sank while escorting ON 115 at .

Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted

Grounding

''Skeena'' was lost in a storm on the night of 24 October 1944. She was anchored off

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

and dragged her anchor and grounded in waves off Viðey Island with the loss of 15 crewmembers. Her hulk was paid 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 Viðey Island ferry terminal.Funds needed for HMCS ''Skeena'' memorial in Iceland ''Lookout'', 23 Jan 2006

Notes

References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skeena (D59) Canadian River-class destroyers Canadian River-class destroyers converted from A-class destroyers (1929) Ships built in Southampton 1930 ships World War II destroyers of Canada Maritime incidents in October 1944 World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company