RCN Frigates (River Class): HMCS Penetang K676/HMCS Port Colborne K326/HMCS Poundmaker K675/HMCS Prestonian K662/HMCS Prince Rupert K324/HMCS Ribble K525/HMCS Royal Mount K677/HMCS Runnymede K678/HMCS Sea Cliff K344/HMCS Springhill K323

Royal Canadian Navy Frigates (River Class): HMCS Penetang (K676) to HMCS Wentworth (K331).

‍Frigates were initially called "twin-screw corvettes" and were larger and more habitable than the standard corvettes.  They had twice the endurance rate, at 7,200 sea miles at 12 knots.

‍HMCS Penetang (K676)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3198954)

HMCS Penetang (K676) (River-class), 1945.  Laid down as HMCS Rouyn K676, she was renamed prior to being commissioned on 19 Oct 1944, at Quebec City.  She left on 6 Nov 1944 for Halifax and in Dec 1944 proceeded to Bermuda to work up.  Returning northward in Jan 1945, HMCS Penetang joined convoy HX.331 at New York as local escort.  She was allocated in February to EG C-9, and made the crossing to the group's Londonderry base as an escort to SC.168.  She spent the rest of the war as a mid-ocean escort, returning to Canada in Jun 1945, to be employed as a troop carrier between St. John's, Newfoundland, and Quebec City.  One of the few frigates not taken in hand for tropicalization, she was paid off on 10 Nov 1945 and laid up at Shelburne, NS.  She was sold in Dec 1945 to Marine Industries Ltd., but later re-acquired and converted to a Prestonian class ocean escort (316), and re-commissioned on 1 Jun 1954 . Again paid off on 2 Sep 1955, she was lent to the Norwegian navy on 10 Mar 1956 and re-named Draug.  Transferred outright three years later, she served until 1966 and was then broken up at Oslo, Norway.

(Bill Robinson Photo)

HMCS Penetang (K676) (River-class).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3204730)

HMCS Penetang (K676) River class Frigate in the North Atlantic, March 1945.

HMCS Port Colborne (K326)

(DND Photo)

HMCS Port Colborne (K326) (River-class).  Built at Esquimalt, BC, she was commissioned at Victoria on 15 Nov 1943.  On 12 Dec 1943, HMCS Port Colborne arrived at Halifax; departing Halifax on 8 Feb 1944 for Bermuda to work up.  Late in Apr 1944 she was assigned to EG 9 based out of Londonderry.  On 27 Apr 1944 she departed Halifax for Londonderry via St. John's, Newfoundland.  On 1 May 1944, HMCS Port Colborne sailed from St. John's to search for a sub reported off the Newfoundland coast.  She was detached from the search on 3 May 1944 and joined C-3, for her transit to Derry, as escort to HX 289, joining EG 9 or her arrival on 12 May 1944.  She remained on patrol and escort duty in UK waters, including participation on D-Day, except for a round trip to North Russia in Dec 1944, with convoys JW.62 and RA.62.  She left 'Derry for Halifax 21 Feb 1945, and on 24 Sep 1945 completed tropicalization refit at Liverpool, NS.  On 7 Nov 1945 she was paid off at Halifax and laid up in reserve in Bedford Basin, and in 1947 was broken up at Sydney.

HMCS Poundmaker (K675)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3554608)

HMCS Poundmaker (K675) (River-class).  Built at Montreal, she was commissioned there on 17 Sep 1944.  She arrived at Halifax in Oct 1944 and worked up in Bermuda in Nov 1944.  In mid-Dec 1944 she arrived at St. John's to join EG C-8, serving as a mid-ocean escort for the rest of the war.  She left Londonderry for the last time on 11 May 1945 to escort convoy ONS.50 westward, and on 31 May 1945 began tropicalization refit at Lunenburg.  Work was completed on 20 Aug 1945, and on 25 Nov 1945 she was paid off at Sydney and taken to Shelburne for disposal.  She was sold to the Peruvian Navy in 1947 and re-named Teniente Ferre and, in 1963, Ferre.  She was broken up in 1966.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3554609)

HMCS Poundmaker (K675).

HMCS Prestonian (K662)

(Margaret & Duane Drouillard Photo)

HMCS Prestonian (K662) (River-class).  Named to commemorate Preston, Ontario, she was named HMCS Prestonian K662, as there was an RN ship, HMS Preston already in commission.  Commissioned 13 Sep 1944 at Quebec City, HMCS Prestonian arrived at Halifax the following month in need of repairs, and it was early Jan 1945, before she could go to Bermuda to work up.  On her return to Canada she was assigned to EG 28, based at Halifax, and employed locally until VE-Day.  She then underwent tropicalization at Halifax, completing 20 Aug 1945, and on 9 Nov 1945 was paid off and sold to Marine Industries Ltd.  Later re-acquired by the RCN, she was rebuilt to become the name-ship of the Prestonian ocean escort class (307).  She was re-commissioned on 22 Aug 1953, and finally paid off on 24 Apr 1956, having been lent to the Norwegian navy.  Re-named Troll, she was transferred outright in 1959, and in 1965 reclassified as a submarine depot ship and re-named Horten.  She was discarded in 1972 and broken up same year.

(Margaret & Duane Drouillard Photo)

HMCS Prestonian (K662) (River-class).

HMCS Prince Rupert (K324)

(DND Photo)

HMCS Prince Rupert (K324) (River-class).  Commissioned at Esquimalt on 30 Aug 1943, she arrived at Halifax 21 Oct 1943, worked up at Pictou and, in Jan 1944, joined EG C-3 as Senior Officer's ship.  HMCS Prince Rupert left St. John's on 3 Jan 1944 to join her maiden convoy, SC.150, and was thereafter continuously employed as an ocean escort until late that year.  On 13 Mar 1944, with US naval units and US and British aircraft, she assisted in sinking U-575 in the North Atlantic.  In Nov 1944, she began a refit at Liverpool, NS, and on its completion in Mar 1945, joined EG 27, Halifax.  In Jun 1945, HMCS Prince Rupert sailed for Esquimalt, where she was paid off 15 Jan 1946.  She was sold in 1947, and her hull expended as a breakwater at Royston, BC, the following year.

(Jim Pierce Photo)

HMCS Prince Rupert (K324) (River-class).

HMCS Ribble (K525)

(John Smythe Photo)

HMCS Ribble (K525) (River-class).  Named for an English river, she was laid down as HMS Duddon.  Renamed HMS Ribble in Jun 1943, she was transferred to the RCN and commissioned on 24 Jul 1944 as HMCS Ribble at Blyth, UK.  After workups at Tobermory she arrived at Londonderry on 4 Sep 1944 to join the newly formed EG 26 the following month.  She spent her whole career with this group, based much of the time at Portsmouth and Plymouth, and from 07-09 Oct 1944, towed the damaged HMCS Chebogue toward Swansea, Wales.  On 18 Dec 1944 HMCS Ribble and HMCS Montreal rescued 44 of 53 crewmembers of U-1209 ( OLtzS Ewald Hülsenbeck CO) in the Channel off Scilly Isles, after hitting Wolf Rock.  Both frigates claimed their attacks were cause, but this was dismissed by Admiralty findings.  HMCS Montreal and HMCS Ribble were members of Escort Group 26.  They had attacked several asdic contacts but these produced no results and the contacts were classified as wrecks, of which there were many in the area.  When the survivors were found and recovered a short time later the two ships were quick to claim that their attacks were the cause of a sinking.  U-1209 had been scuttled after hitting Wolf Rock after her successful efforts to evade her pursuers.  OLtzS Hülsenbeck was among those lost.  HMCS Ribble was paid off at Sheerness on 11 Jun 1945, and returned to the RN.  After 12 years in reserve at Harwich, she arrived at Hughes Bolckow, Blyth on 9 Jul 1957 and was broken up that year.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Ribble (K525) (River-class).

(DND Photo)

HMCS Ribble (K525) (River-class).

HMCS Royalmount (K677)

(DND Photo)

HMCS Royalmount (K677) (River-class).  Laid down as HMCS Alwington K677 at Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal, she was named after a historic house in Kingston, Ontario.  In Apr 1944 she was renamed HMCS Royalmount K677, to commemorate Mount Royal, PQ.  HMCS Royalmount was commissioned at Montreal on 25 Aug 1944, arrived at Halifax on 8 Sep 1944 and carried out working-up exercises in Bermuda later that month.  She arrived at St. John's on 15 Nov 1944 to join EG C-1, and spent the remainder of the war with the group as a mid-ocean.  She left Liverpool 21 Apr 1945 and escorted convoy ONS.48 on her homeward passage to refit, from 26 May to 5 Oct 1845, at Sydney.  She was paid off at Halifax on 17 Nov 1945, and placed in reserve in Bedford Basin until 1947, when a New York buyer purchased her for scrap.

(Brian Dobing Photo)

HMCS Royalmount (K677) (River-class), before receiving her armament.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Royalmount (K677) (River-class).

(DND Photo)

HMCS Royalmount (K677) (River-class).

HMCS Runnymede (K678)

(DND Photo)

HMCS Runnymede (K678) (River-class).  She was commissioned on 14 June 1944 at Montreal and arrived in Bermuda for workups toward the end of Jul 1944.  On 21 Aug 1944 she returned to Halifax to become Senior Officer's ship of EG C-5, and was to wear its barber pole stripes the rest of her wartime career.  She left Londonderry toward the end of May 1945, and made her passage home as escort to convoy ON.305.  She left Halifax on 20 Jun 1945 for Esquimalt, arriving 18 Jul 1945 and early in Aug 1945 commenced tropicalization refit at North Vancouver.  Work was soon suspended and she sailed for Esquimalt 20 Jun 1945 to be placed in reserve, though not paid off until 19 Jan 1946.  Sold in 1947, she is reported to have been expended as part of a breakwater at Kelsey Bay, BC, in 1948.

HMCS Sea Cliff (K344)

(David Ross Photo)

HMCS Sea Cliff (K344) (River-class), 31 March 1945.  Originally laid down as HMCS Megantic, she was re-named HMCS Sea Cliff in honour of the town of Leamington, Ontario and it's citizens.  She was built at Lauzon, Quebec, and was commissioned at Quebec City on 26 Sep 1944.  She arrived at Halifax 20 Oct 1944, proceeding to Bermuda in Nov 1944 to work up.  On completion she sailed to St. John's to become a member of EG C-3, and left 23 Dec 1944 to join her first convoy, HX.237.  On 27 Dec 1944, HMCS Sea Cliff made contact with a possible U-boat.  She radioed HMCS St Thomas who went to investigate.  HMCS St Thomas immediately made contact and did a hedgehog and then a depth charge run.  When U-877 surfaced, HMCS Sea Cliff's crew fired on her with small arms fire.  HMCS Sea Cliff rescued 21survivors from U-877.  She spent the remainder of the war on North Atlantic convoy duty, and on 21 May 1945, left Londonderry for the last time, to join ON.304 on her passage to Canada.  She began tropicalization refit at Liverpool, NS, on 10 Jun 1945, but work was halted 28 Aug 1945 and the ship was paid off 28 Nov 1945 at Halifax.  She was placed in reserve at Shelburne until 1946, when she was sold to the Chilean navy and renamed Covadonga.  She was broken up in 1968.

(Collin Hazell Photo)

HMCS Sea Cliff (K344) in rough seas.

(David Ross Photo)

HMCS Sea Cliff (K344) in rough seas.

HMCS Springhill (K323)

(DND Photo)

HMCS Springhill (K323) (River-class).  Built at the Yarrows Shipyard in BC, she was commissioned on 21 Mar 1944, at Victoria; arrived at Halifax on 12 May 1944; and left in mid-Jun 1944 for three weeks' working up in Bermuda.  In Aug 1944 HMCS Springhill joined EG 16, Halifax, as Senior Officer's ship.  She left on 7 Mar 1945, for Londonderry, the group having been transferred there, but returned in Apr 1945 for tropicalization refit at Pictou.  This occupied her from May to Oct 1945, and on Dec 1945 she was paid off at Halifax and laid up in reserve in Bedford Basin.  She was broken up in 1947 at Sydney, NS.

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