Micmac began a refit at Halifax on 27th March, 1947. Changes in her automatic armament were completed on 9th July and a week later Micmac slipped for her full power trials off Halifax. On 16th July, the weather was foggy, although visibility seemed to be improving, but suddenly Micmac entered an extensive area of dense, low lying fogsmoke. Speed was reduced and the destroyer altered course 20 degrees to starboard to keep well clear of the lightship. Almost immediately a fresh radar contact appeared on the screen almost dead ahead. Micmac went hard a starboard and full astern, but the bow of the 10,000 ton freighter Yarmouth County crashed into the port side of the Tribal's fo'c'sle.
Later investigation showed that a 5 degree obscured sector on the radar screen had hidden Yarmouth County until Micmac altered course. But at the time, the important thing was to get the ship back safely. Fortunately there were no leaks abaft No. 5 bulkhead, and that held firm while the destroyer returned to port at 4 - 6 knots. Above the water line, however, there was extensive damage and serious casualties. Fifteen men had been injured and ten were killed or missing, including a dockyard worker. HMCS Haida and the tugs Riverton and Glendyne stood by until Micmac had secured alongside the jetty.
Wally McLeod of Oakville, Ontario witnessed Micmac's arrival. "When Micmac came into harbour, the damage was unbelievable. The port side of the ship was torn back as if by a can opener right back to the bridge structure. 'A' and 'B' guns were bent backwards like they were made of soft metal. You could see directly into the Messdeck. Dockyard maties had to use torches to get a lot of the bodies out. The most unfortunate part of the accident was the timing. It happened at meal time when the most ratings were eating in the forward messdecks. Many of the casualties, some even beach commandos, made it through D-Day unscathed only to become victims of this mishap."
While under repair, she was partially converted to a destroyer escort.
The 'A' and 'B' guns were removed. A triple-barrelled mortar Squid was
mounted at 'A' position and quadruple 40mm guns at 'B' position. Micmac's
keel had been damaged at the time of collision so the ship could not support
heavy mountings in 'A' and 'B' positions. This was the reason why she was
never deployed to the Korean theatre. The keel damage was fixed when Micmac
received the 'full' DDE modernization. There were two twin 4 inch mountings
aft and a further four single Bofors. All the work was completed in November
1949 and MICMAC found her way into Caribbean waters. After completing her
duties there, she was paid off on 30th November 1951 and made her way into
the dockyard to complete her conversion to a destroyer escort.
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The autumn of 1963 saw MICMAC's last cruise - a visit to European waters. At the end of that year, after many strenuous years of training, NATO exercises and "showing the flag", more and more mechanical defects were occurring so she was declared surplus on 13th December 1963. On 31st March, 1964, MICMAC was paid off at Halifax and broken up at Faslane Scotland in 1964.
The Micmac Indians of northeast North America for which the ship is named are thought to have been the first native American society to encounter Europeans--the Norse VIKINGS who arrived about AD 1000. After John Cabot's visit in 1497, European fishermen and explorers regularly visited Micmac territory, which stretched from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to Newfoundland. The Micmac spoke an Algonquian language most closely related to CREE, but their closest political and social relations were with the ABNAKI. As expert canoeists and sea navigators, they based their economy on the resources of the sea and its inlets, supplemented by hunting and collecting of plant foods. The Micmac became the first Indians to serve as middlemen in the European fur trade with interior tribes of North America.
For additional information, please refer to MICMAC's
dedicated web page.