by Glen Stewart
I was on the Iroquois during the storm described in the Crowsnest article of February 1960. To say that the escorts came through "with relatively light damage" is somewhat of an "untruth".
The Iroquois lost virtually everything on the upper deck including motor cutters, whalers, all life rafts and even the dinghy. One of the motor cutters that "disappeared" left its motor dangling from the davit and it was smashing against the side of the ship and doing considerable damage. One of the crew was sent up the davit with a cutting torch and cut the motor loose before it stove in the side of the ship. I watched as the "bread locker" was ripped from the deck like a matchstick.
During the height of the storm we lost steering twice - if prayers are answered (and I believe that they were in this instance) I know that everyone on the Iroquois were doing their praying in double time, especially when we lost our steering. I know I was. We also suffered severe structural damage when a crack appeared in one of the forward compartments. This was shored up. The officer that was injured was Lt.(S) Carl Hortie (my boss - I was an AB Naval Storesman) - He was our Supply Officer. He received his injuries while out on the open bridge and a wave broke over us carrying him back against the bulkhead an the force of the wave "crushed his chest". He was hospitalized in the Azores for several months. His family were brought over because he was not expected to survive - thankfully he did.
The Iroquois spent several months in "drydock" in Halifax after the incident. I can still see the Athabaskan on the crest of a wave with her "screws" completely out of the water. I have many slides of the storm and the damage it caused. I believe there were several small craft driven ashore in various parts of the area during the storm with considerable loss of life.
I believe that the Bonnie had an accident upon entering Halifax when one of her aircraft went down with three crew members onboard. (I am not certain if this was the trip when this happened or not). There is a large picture in the Wardroom at Shearwater depicting the incident - pictures of the aircraft and the three crewmembers.
Click to enlarge any photo.
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Athabaskan is to Iroquois' stern and a small fishing boat is at the right side of the photo. |
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Look at the size of this wave! It was indeed a stormy sea. |
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Aftermath - the motor cutter is completely gone. It was smashed into pieces and washed overboard. |
These were taken somewhere between Brest, France and the Azores. (Photos courtesy of Glen Stewart)
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