OVERVIEW: The St. Laurent-class destroyer escort is a steam-powered 2-shaft escort vessel optimized for ASW. 


DETAILS: Similar to the British Type 12 destroyer, the St. Laurent class was intended to be built in North American ports, so it relied on relied more on American equipment than British. 

 Designed to operate in harsh Canadian conditions, these ships looked remarkably different from other warships of the time. The vessels were designed to operate in harsh Canadian conditions. They were built to counter nuclear, biological and chemical attack conditions, which led to a design with a rounded hull, a continuous main deck, and the addition of a pre-wetting system to wash away contaminants. The living spaces on the ship were part of a "citadel" which could be sealed off from contamination for the crew safety. Other innovative features not found on other ships of its time included an operations room separate from the bridge, from which the captain could command the ship while in combat, 12 separate internal telephone systems, air conditioning, and the latest advances in radar and sonar technology The ships were sometimes referred to as "Cadillacs" for their relatively luxurious crew compartments. 



In the early 1960's all seven ships of this class were converted into helicopter carrying destroyers (DDH). This involved the removal of one of the Limbo ASW mortars and the aft 3"/50 gun to make room for the hangar and landing deck, the twinning of the single funnel, and various other improvements all over the ship. Activated fin stabilizers were added to reduce the ship's roll in heavy seas, as well as the Beartrap device which allows helicopter recovery in almost any sea state. One CH 124 Sea King helicopter was carried. The transom was altered drastically in order to allow for the placement of the new Canadian designed SQS 504 VDS. The VDS was instrumental in extending the range of the ship's sonar, then limited to about 2000 yards.

Specifications:

Displacement: 2,800 ton (full load)
Length: 111.56 m
Beam: 12.8m
Draught: 3.96m
Propulsion: 2 shafts; 2 Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers; 2 English Electric geared turbines, 30,000 shp
Complement: 249
Speed: 28kn
Range: 8,463.6km @ 12kn

NOTES: In service 1955-1994.  Units in class: St. Laurent (205); Saguenay (206); Skeena (207); Ottawa (229); Margaree (230); Fraser (233); Assiniboine (234). St. Laurent stricken in 1974.  The ST. LAURENT class served as the basis for another 11 ships, in two different classes, whose design differed only slightly. All were named after Canadian rivers, though many shared names with Second World War destroyers.

SOURCES:
McClearn, S. (n.d.). ST. Laurent class. Haze Gray & Underway - Naval History and Photography. https://www.hazegray.org/navhist/canada/postwar/stlauren/ ; St. Laurent class destroyer DDE DDH royal Canadian navy. (n.d.). Seaforces Online - Naval Information. https://www.seaforces.org/marint/Canadian-Navy/Destroyer/St-Laurent-class.htm ; St. laurent-class destroyer. (2021, September 8). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Laurent-class_destroyer
