HMCS HURON
DDH 281


 
HMCS HURON represented Canada at the Silver Jubilee naval review at Spithead on June 28, 1977 and in 1981 carried Governor-General Edward Schreyer on a tour of five Scandanavian ports. She also served as the test bed for the VLS installed in the TRUMP'ed Tribals and the Canadian Patrol Frigates.

Since joining Canadian Fleet Pacific in 1987, Huron was among the first Canadian ships to visit Vladivostok, Russia in 1990. At the end of the Gulf  War in 1991 she was the first Canadian ship to enter Kuwait having been deployed to succeed the three Canadian ships that led the Multinational Logistics Force in support of the War.  After that tour of duty, she sailed to Lauzon Quebec to undergo her TRUMP refit and was the last of her class to do so. In October of 1993, HURON relieved ALGONQUIN which was on patrol in the Adriatic sea.

Huron was a major participant in support of Citizenship and Immigration Canada's operation to stop illegal boat migrants from coming to Canada in 1999.
281phota.jpg
HMCS HURON in her pre-TRUMP configuration. (Photo source unkown)
Given her primary role as an anti-submarine destroyer with an enhanced area air defense capability, HURON is well equipped with an integrated suit of modern sensors and weapons. For Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), the ship has Canadian designed hull-mounted and variable depth sonars. These are used to direct two triple torpedo tubes which launch MK 46 torpedoes. HURON also carries two CH 124 Sea King helicopters for submarine detection and long range weapons delivery.For area air defense (AAD), HURON has 29 vertical launch Standard missiles, which reach speeds in excess of Mach 3 and have a range of over 80 kilometres. She also carries a Vulcan Phalanx 20mm Close In Weapons System (CIWS) which is capable of firing 50 rounds a second. For surface or air engagements, the ship is equipped with a 76mm Oto Melara Super-Rapid gun with an adjustable rate of fire of up to 120 rounds per minute. HURON is fitted with a number of radars suited to various tasks. For long range air search, the Signaal LW-08 radar is utilized and for surface search, the Signaal DA-08. The Standard missiles are controlled by two Separate Tracking and Illumination Fire Control Radars (called STIRs) and the gun by a Lightweight Radar Optronics Director (LIROD) system. The STIR is a track only system with  nosearch capability. For navigation, HURON is equipped with two Raytheon Pathfinder radars and a Koden radar system.

As a result of not being able to recruit a sufficient amount of crew, Huron was laid up in reserve in Esquimalt in November of 2000 after she sailed for the last time on October  23. On November 7, 2003, the navy announced she will be taken out of service mainly as a result of underfunding.  According to V-Adm Ron Buck, "To return Huron to operational service would require massive O and M resources which would greatly impact our ability to maintain the remainder of the fleet and is not the best use of resources.

The capability provided by the remainder of the Iroquois class is a key element in our maritime capability now and for the future and we are working to ensure viable plans are in place to replace this capability in due course.  In the meantime, Iroquois, Algonquin and Athabaskan will continue to provide the capabilities that the class has so well demonstrated since completion of their Trump modernization but in particular over the last two years in the campaign against terrorism".
 

HURON STORIES
The Ghost of Huron
The Life of a Canadian Destroyer
Huron Is Prepared For Sinking
Huron Is Sunk
They Came To Sink The Huron

 
281_middle_east.jpg
HURON as seen from USS Theodore Roosevelt during a Middle East deployment. It was taken in 1991.  (Photo by David Jones)

 


GENERAL INFORMATION

Laid down: June 1969
Launched: 9th April 1971
Commissioned: 16th December 1972
Modernized: 1994
Paid Off: March 31, 2005
Builder: Marine Industries, Sorel Quebec; Canada
Speed: 30 knots
Displacement: 4700 tons (slightly less than her three sisters)
Crew: 14 officers; 230 enlisted (pre-TRUMP); 290 total (post-TRUMP)
Length: 426 feet overall; 398 feet between perpendiculars
Beam: 50 feet
Draught: 15.5 feet
Radio call sign: CGXY

The Hurons were known as the Tobacco Indians, hence the design of the ships badge in the representation of the nicotine bloom. This is in keeping with the traditional use of the flower and plant forms of fighting emblems, such as the Roses of York and Lancaster, the Shamrock of Ireland, and our own Maple Leaf. "Ready the Brave" is HURON'S motto and was suggested by the wife of the first Commanding Officer and reflects both the role of Maritime Command and the Tribal nature of this class of ship.

Please refer to IROQUIS II for additional information regarding weaponary and performance data.


Contributors:

1) Davd Jones <djones007(at)comcast.net>

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Feb 12/09