HMCS ATHABASKAN 282 - For Posterity's Sake

For Posterity's Sake

A Royal Canadian Navy Historical Project

HMCS ATHABASKAN 282

WE FIGHT AS ONE

HMCS Athabaskan 282 during transit to participate in the Sub Commanders Course in the Caribbean, 09 Nov 2016

Photographer: Cpl Tony Chand, Formation Imaging Services, HS05-2016-1056-2870

Battle honours and awards: Arctic 1943-44, English Channel 1944, Korea 1950-53, Gulf and Kuwait

Laid down: 01 Jun 1969

Launched: 27 Nov 1970

Commissioned: 03 Sep 1972

TRUMP refit: 15 Oct 1991

TRUMP refit completed: 04 Jun 1994

Paid off: 10 Mar 2017

Third of her class, and built by the Davie Shipbuilding Co., Lauzon, Athabaskan was commissioned on 30 Sep 1972. On 26 Nov 1981, she was dispatched, along with Algonquin and Preserver, to the aid of the M.V. Euro Princess, which was badly holed and drifting down on the drill-rig Rowan Juneau, off Sable Island. Rescue helicopters took off the ship's crew, while Athabaskan’s Sea King evacuated 44 from the drill-rig despite 60-knot winds. This procedure had to be done “free-deck” at both ends, owing to a malfunction of her Beartrap. The abandoned merchant ship was recovered by CGS Alert.

On 24 Aug 1990, Athabaskan departed Halifax as one of three ships representing Canada in the Persian Gulf conflict, returning on 07 Apr 1991. Not resting on the laurels of her predecessors, the crew of the Athabaskan proved their metal on 18 Feb 1991. On that morning, USS Princeton was patrolling 28 nautical miles off Failaka Island in the Persian Gulf when, at 7:15 a.m. local time, two MN103 Manta bottom-mounted influence mines detonated, one just under the port rudder and the other just forward of the starboard bow. The blasts cracked the superstructure, buckled three lines in the hull, jammed the port rudder, flooded the #3 switchboard room through chilled water pipe cracks, and damaged the starboard propeller shaft. BM3 Ford was seriously injured, along with two other crewmembers who sustained various injuries. At great risk to his ship and crew, the CO of Athabaskan navigated her, with the use of the Seaking helicopters to locate mines, though the minefield to deliver damage-control supplies to the severely damaged USS Princeton. Athabaskan then guided USS Princeton thorough the minefield until relieved by the minesweeper USS Adroit.

In Oct 1991 she was turned over to MIL, Lauzon, for her TRUMP refit, after which, on 03 Aug 1994, she was provisionally accepted by the Navy. In the fall of 1995 she took part, with Kootenay, in the two-month Exercise UNITAS, along with ships from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain, the U.S. and Uruguay. On 15 Mar 1999 Athabaskan departed Halifax for a six month deployment with SNFL, rejoining the Force again at the beginning of 2000. On 03 Aug 2000 she was handed a rather bizarre assignment: to board (via helicopter) the GTS Katie 160 kilometres off Newfoundland. The freighter had a cargo of Canadian military equipment destined from Kosovo to Bécancour, Que., which her chartered had refused to land because of a dispute over payment. She was compelled by the boarding party to deliver her cargo as originally intended. In Sep 2005, with Toronto, Ville de Québec and the CCGS Sir William Alexander, she deployed to Louisiana to assist disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. On 21 Apr 2006, as flagship of the NATO Standing Maritime Group One (SNMG 1) she was moored at Devonport UK to mark the 80th birthday of HM Queen Elizabeth II. In Jan 2010, with Halifax, she deployed to provide disaster relief following the major earthquake in Haiti. That same year, on 29 Jun 2010, she was the the command ship for HM Queen Elizabeth II for the International Fleet Review marking the Canadian Naval Centennial. Following a refit in St Catherine’s, Ontario, while being towed back to Halifax in Dec 2012, she broke loose from her tow off Cape Breton Island, sustaining some hull damage.

HMCS Athabaskan was paid off in Halifax, NS on 10 Mar 2107. She was the last of the Iroquois Class destroyers.

Historical note: The 5"54 cal gun on the 280s were named after the Oto Melara technicians who built and did the FSR work in Canada. The names for the guns were as follows: Iroquois - Pasquale, Huron - Tulio, Athabaskan - Leno and Algonquin - Luigi.

Photos and Documents Ship's company photos The Ship's Bell

Commissioning Booklet SNFL 1983 Commemorative Book Paying Off Book

Commanding Officers

Cdr Robert Demytre Yanow - 30 Sep 1972 - 06 Sep 1974

Cdr Gordon Lewis Edwards - 06 Sep 1974 - 29 Mar 1976

Cdr John Charles Slade - 29 Mar 1976 - 07 Jul 1978

Cdr James Bernard O'Reilly - 07 Jul 1978 - 07 Jul 1980

Cdr John Windsor McIntosh - 07 Jul 1980 - 02 Aug 1981

Cdr K.R. Scotten - 02 Aug 1981 - 31 Mar 1984

LCdr R.D. Buck - 1984

Cdr David Cogdon - 31 Mar 1984 - 16 May 1986

Cdr Gregory Ralph Maddison - 16 May 1986 - 14 Apr 1988

Cdr Jerome Douglas Peacocke - 14 Apr 1988 - 11 Jul 1990

Cdr K.J. Pickford - 11 Jul 1990 - 06 Sep 1991

LCdr A.G. Munroe - 06 Sep 1991 - 09 Jul 1992

LCdr J.G. King - 09 Jul 1992 - 30 Jun 1993

LCdr H.C. Edmundson - 30 Jun 1993 - 16 Nov 1993

Cdr P.C. Leblanc - 16 Nov 1993 - 15 Dec 1995

Cdr D. Rouleau - 15 Dec 1995 - 01 Dec 1997

LCdr B.A. Mosley - 1997

Capt Jaques .J. Gauvin - 01 Dec 1997 - 18 Aug 1999

Capt D.W. Robertson - 18 Aug 1999 - 06 Jan 2000

Cdr P.V. Dempsey - 06 Jan 2000 - 30 Aug 2001

LCdr S. Bishop - 30 Aug 2001 - 20 Aug 2002

Capt A.B. Donaldson - 20 Aug 2002 - 15 Dec 2004

Capt D.C. Gardam - 15 Dec 2004 - 14 Jul 2006

Capt H.T. Harsch - 14 Jul 2006 - 19 Jul 2007

Cdr S. Jorgensen - 19 Jul 2007 - 27 Aug 2009

Cdr P.R. Crain - 27 Aug 2009 - 17 Dec 2010

Cdr M. Davie - 17 Dec 2010 - 06 Jul 2012

Cdr M. Plaschka - 06 Jul 2012 - 2015

Cdr J. Couillard - 2015 - 10 Mar 2017

In memory of those who have crossed the bar

They shall not be forgotten

A-B

Adams, Clinton James

1946-2002

Allen, Cecil Robert Copp

1956-2017

Served in Athabaskan during the Gulf War

Bilodeau, Benoit

____-2015

Blakeney, Cameron Lyall

1943-2018

Bland, Edward Albert

1936-2018

Served in Athabaskan c1972 - 1973

C-D

Cameron, John Edward Ingham

1939-2011

Carter, Lorne Fulton

1936-2012

Case, Lyle Gladwin

1955-2010

Chaney, Joe

Charbonneau, Joseph W.E.

Chiasson, Joseph T.

Ciccolella, Antonio V.

Cockburn, Gordon Blake

____-2019

Cogdon, David

1947-2018

8th Commanding Officer

Collins, Stephen M.

1971-2016

Cox, Brian A.

Cox, Donald E.

Deiter, Clayton Lloyd

1943-2014

Dooley, James Samuel

1951-2018

Downie, Robert E.

____-2003

Dowthwaite, Jon Anthony

____-2015

Dungy, Greg

____-2015

CWIS Tech on Athabaskan during Op Friction

Dunn, George R.

____-2003

Commissioning Crew as LS.ET

Doucette, Raymond Joseph Frank

1931-2016

Dwyer, Tony

1963-2018

E-F

Edwards, Gordon L.

Falldien, Einar S.

G-J

Gebler, Michael K.

1949-2011

Greenlaw, William Albert

1943-2018

Served in Athabaskan in 1975 as CERA.

Commissioning crew as a C2ERA

Hobson, David Patrick

1932-2017

Commissioning crew as a LSBN

Hurdis, Gerald

____-2017

Commissioning crew as a LSCK

Joyce, John A.

K-L

Kaiser, William J.

Knott, Michael P.

Kostal, Joseph Wilfred

1935-2014

Commissioning Crew as a PO2 Electrician

Laforme, George Richard

1942-2016

Latour, Joseph Jean-Yves

1954-2017

Lawlor, Patrick

____-2014

M-N

MacCallum, Boyd H.

1933-1981

MacFadyen, Steven Ellis

____-2009

Mailloux, Richard Joseph

____-1992

Mayville, Keith Carl

____-2017

McCourt, Maxwell K.

McGregor, Douglas B.

1943-2006

McQuade, Shawn Michael

1966-2017

Merritt, James

1941-2016

Served in Athabaskan 1976-1978

Messervey, Richard F.

Middleton, Maurice

Mielke, Gordon Arnold

1941-2016

Mohr, Richard Walter

____-2008

O-P

O’Leary, Paul Cameron

____-2017

Served in Athabaskan as a P2SG

Paradis, Fernand J.

Pasquarelli, Marc-Andre

____-2016

Patenaude, Marc

____-2017

Peacocke, Jerome Douglas

1949-1994

9th Commanding Officer

Peterson, Buddy Lionel

____-2017

Served in Athabaskan during NATO 1983

Phillips, Richard Wayne

1944-2019

Pringle, James C.

____-2013

Q-R

____-2015

Rybczyn, Alexander R.

S-T

Shergold, Terrance A.

1938-2013

____-2015

1937-2003

3rd Commanding Officer

Smith, Sean

1988-2017

Spears, Patrick Harold

1949-2013

Stanick, Steve

1962-2013

Starr, Edward R.

1933-2006

Commissioning crew as P1ET

Street, Ronald

Tapscott, Gene Alan

____-2018

Served in Athabaskan in 1980

Tessier, Yves Georges

1936-2010

Tofflemire, Roscoe Edwin

____-2015

Commissioning crew as a P1RP

Tracey, J. Earle

U-V

Urquhart, Glen Cameron

1942-2017

W-X

1943-2011

Y-Z

1933-2017

1st Commanding Officer

Former Crew Members

Barter, Bill

Caldwell, Eldon, MSET

De L'Eveille, Sean Jennifer - 2004

Dempsey, Mike, MSET - 1991

Ellis, Mike - Jan 1974 - Mar 1978

Finch, Corey, OSET - 1991

Grondin, Roger, ABET - 1991

Hobson, Steve, MSET - 1991

Holstead, Gordon Ramsey, C2WS, C.A.F. (Navy)

Kennedy, Dan, P2ET - 1991

Lapierre, Brian, ET, RCN / C.A.F.

Miller, Duncan E.

Munroe, Eurban, Jr., C.A.F. (Navy)

Newbury, George, ER, C.A.F. (Navy)

Reaume, Wayne, 27146-H

Rutherford, Robert (Bob), LCdr, Combat O - Sep 1972 - Jul 1974 / XO - Jul 1974 - Jul 1976

Samms, Emanuel, P2ET - 1991

Sinagra, Danny, RM, 1982 - 1984, 1987-1990

Tremblay, Gilbert (Gigi), PO1 NESOP - 22 Jan 2001 - 23 Sep 2001

Tremblay, Stephane, LSET

Tufts, Ernie, OSET - 1991

Wiper, Steve, LSET - 1991

Photos and Documents

Athabaskan being fitted out at the Davies Shipbuilding Company, Quebec - summer, 1971

Courtesy of Richard Larcheveque

Battle Board for HMCS Athabaskan 282

Maritime Command Museum, CFB Halifax, NS

Courtesy of Jarrod David

HMCS Athabaskan 282

Courtesy of Mike Ellis

HMCS Athabaskan 282 circa 1974

Courtesy of Mike Ellis

HMCS Athabaskan 282 - DRES Team, FC / WS Dept. circa 1974

Courtesy of Mike Ellis

HMCS Athabaskan 282 - Welcome Aboard Booklet

Courtesy of Nigel Whiteley, LCdr, RCN, Ret'd

HMCS Athabaskan 282 - circa 1975

Courtesy of Nigel Whiteley, LCdr, RCN, ret'd

DND/RCN Photo

HMCS Athabaskan 282 departing Gibraltar, 1982

Photo, with the Rock of Gibraltar in the background, was taken by Brian Lapierre from one of the ship's Sea Kings

Courtesy of Brian Lapierre

Burial at sea from HMCS Athabaskan 282 circa 1983

Courtesy of Stephane Tardif

HMCS Athabaskan 282 and HMCS Fraser 233 during Exercise Team Work '88

Credit: Trident Magazine Photographer: Cpl Herbert

Courtesy of Jarrod David

HMCS Athabaskan 282 RASing with USS Wisconsin during the Gulf War 1990-1991, Persian Gulf

Courtesy of Gerald Doutre, CPO1, RCN

HMCS Athabaskan 282 Welcome Aboard booklet (Post-TRUMP refit)

Courtesy of Jarrod David

HMCS Athabaskan 25th Anniversary crew list

HMCS Athabaskan boarding GTS Katie during Op MEGAPHONE, 160 km off Newfoundland, 03 Aug 2000

Courtesy of Gerald Doutre, CPO1, RCN

HMCS Athabaskan arriving in Halifax, Feb 2005

Courtesy of Brian Lapierre

Newspaper article on the visit of HMCS Athabaskan 282 to Picton, Ont.

The Wellington Times, 28 Mar 2012

Courtesy of John Lyons

HMCS Athabaskan celebrated her 40th and 41st birthday during a dependent day sail on 04 Oct 2013.

They couldn't celebrate the 40th properly due to refit last year.

Courtesy of Rejean Trudeau

HMCS Athabaskan 282 - Exercise Joint Warrior - 2015

Courtesy of Scott Murphy

HMCS Athabaskan 282 participating in the sail past at Halifax at the start of Exercise Cutlass Fury - 12 Sep 2016

Courtesy of Clarence Hemeon

HMCS Athabaskan 282 during transit to participate in the Sub Commanders Course in the Caribbean, on November 9, 2016

Photographer: Cpl Tony Chand, Formation Imaging Services, HS05-2016-1056-2870

HMCS Athabaskan 282 phone directory

From the collection of Steven Whyte

Commanding Officers of HMCS Athabaskan 282

Courtesy of Brian Lapierre

David Porter (left) the 1st and Commissioning Chief Electrician and CPO2 Russell Smythe (right), the Paying-off Chief Electrician

Taken in the MCR in front of the Main Switchboard during the former members cruise in March 2017 - just prior to HMCS Athabaskan being paid off

Courtesy of Brian Lapierre

Montage that was presented to Mr. Ernie Takalo, a survivor of the sinking of HMCS Athabaskan G07, onboard HMCS Haida during a Remembrance Ceremony for the crew of Athabaskan G07. The montage has the last crew photo taken of HMCS Athabaskan G07 and a crew photo from HMCS Athabaskan 282

Courtesy of Blair Gilmore

Newspaper article from the Trident Magazine on a memorial service conducted on HMCS Athabaskan 282 on 16 Oct 2015, off the coast of France, for those lost on HMCS Athabaskan G07 by Slt Blair Gilmore, HMCS Athabaskan.

Courtesy of Blair Gilmore

Surviving crew members for HMCS Athabaskan G07 onboard HMCS Athabaskan 282 in the English Channel near where HMCS Athabaskan G07 was sunk - 1974

From the collection of Greg Mackenzie

Courtesy of David H. Brown

Click on the above photo to view a larger image

In 2003, Greg Mackenzie, a commissioning crew member for HMCS Athabaskan 282, received a tour of HMCS Athabaskan 282 from MS David Brown. Greg sent David a thank you letter for the tour and sent him the above photo with the letter.

Click here to read the letter Greg Mackenzie sent to MS David Brown

Six survivors of HMCS Athabaskan G07 on HMCS Athabaskan 282 - circa 2002

(1) Wilf Henrickson (2) Ernie Takalo (4) Herm Sulkers

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