HMCS Saguenay was a River-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from 1931 to 1945.
She was similar to the Royal Navy's and initially wore the pennant D79, changed in 1940 to I79.
History She was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company at Woolston, Hampshire and commissioned into the RCN on 21 May 1931 at Portsmouth, England. Saguenay and her sister were the first ships specifically built for the RCN. Her first two commanding officers went on to become two of the most important Admirals of the Battle of the Atlantic. She arrived in Halifax, on 3 July 1931.
Second World War For the first month of Second World War, Saguenay was assigned to convoy duties in the Halifax area. In late September 1939, she was assigned to the American and West Indies Squadron based at Kingston, Jamaica.
On 23 October 1939, the German-flagged tanker Emmy Friederich scuttled herself on encountering Saguenay in the Yucatán Channel, and thus became the Canadian destroyer's first war conquest. In December 1939, Saguenay returned to Halifax to join the local convoy escort force, with which she remained until 16 October 1940, when she was transferred to Greenock, Scotland to serve as a convoy escort on the North Atlantic run. On 1 December 1940, Saguenay was torpedoed west of Ireland by the while escorting Convoy HG 47, and managed to return to Barrow-in-Furness, escorted by , largely under her own power, but with 21 dead and without most of her bow; she was under repair in Greenock until 22 May 1941.
After repairs at Greenock, she returned to sea on 22 May 1941. Saguenay was assigned to Escort Group C-3 escorting convoys ON 93, HX 191, ONS 104, SC 90, ON 115, HX 202, ON 121, SC 98, ON 131, HX 210 and ON 141 prior to a collision while escorting SC 109.North Atlantic Run, Marc Milner, 1985, Naval Institute Press On 15 November 1942, Saguenay was rammed by the Panamanian freighter Azra off Cape Race, Newfoundland. The impact of the collision set off Saguenays depth charges, which blew off her stern.
She made port at Saint John, New Brunswick, where her stern was plated over. On 23 May 1943, Saguenay was transferred to Halifax, to serve with the Western Ocean Escort Force working from Halifax and St. John's, Newfoundland. In October 1943 Saguenay was towed to Digby, Nova Scotia, as a tender assigned to , the Royal Canadian Navy's training depot for new entries (recruits). She was used for teaching seamanship and gunnery until 30 July 1945, paid off in late 1945, and broken up in 1946.
Convoys escorted
Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted ConvoyEscort GroupDatesNotesHX 13214–23 June 1941Newfoundland to IcelandHX 1379–17 July 1941Newfoundland to IcelandSC 6018-27 Dec 1941Newfoundland to IcelandON 525-11 Jan 1942Iceland to NewfoundlandSC 79MOEF group C319–27 April 1942Newfoundland to Northern IrelandON 93MOEF group C39–15 May 1942Northern Ireland to NewfoundlandHX 191MOEF group C328 May-5 June 1942Newfoundland to Northern IrelandON 104MOEF group C318–27 June 1942Northern Ireland to NewfoundlandSC 90MOEF group C36–16 July 1942Newfoundland to Northern IrelandON 115MOEF group C325–31 July 1942Northern Ireland to NewfoundlandHX 202MOEF group C312-17 Aug 1942Newfoundland to IcelandON 121MOEF group C317-20 Aug 1942Iceland to NewfoundlandSC 98MOEF group C32-12 Sept 1942Newfoundland to Northern IrelandON 131MOEF group C319-28 Sept 1942Northern Ireland to NewfoundlandHX 210MOEF group C37-15 Oct 1942Newfoundland to Northern IrelandON 141MOEF group C326 Oct-2 Nov 1942Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
Notes
References
Macpherson, Keneth R. and Burgess, John. (1982)(Second Printing) The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–1981. Collins Publishers.
External links
Convoy Web: The Website for Merchant Ships during WW2 warsailors.com