Royal Canadian Navy Coastal Defence Vessels (Kingston Class): HMCS Kingston, Glace Bay, Nanaimo, Edmonton, Shawinigan, Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Goose Bay, Moncton, Saskatoon, Brandon and Summerside

RCN, Coastal Defence Vessels (Kingston Class)

Kingston Class Coastal Defence Vessels

HMCS Kingston MM 700, HMCS Glace Bay MM 701, HMCS Nanaimo MM 702, HMCS Edmonton MM 703, HMCS Shawinigan MM 704, HMCS Whitehorse MM 705, HMCS Yellowknife MM 706, HMCS Goose Bay MM 707, HMCS Moncton MM 708, HMCS Saskatoon MM 709, HMCS Brandon MM 710, HMCS Summerside MM 711.

(Jordanroderick Photo)

HMCS Nanaimo MM 702 and HMCS Saskatoon MM 709, off the coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in 2007.

Kingston-class coastal defence vessels are multi-role vessels built and launched from the mid- to late-1990s and are crewed by a combination of Naval Reserve and Regular-Force personnel.  Each vessel displaces 970 t and runs with a complement of between 31 and 47 officers and crew.  Their main missions are counter narcotics, coastal surveillance, sovereignty patrol, route survey, and training.  The ships' capabilities include a mechanical minesweeping system, a route survey system, and a bottom object inspection vehicle.

The Kingston class was designed to fill the minesweeper, coastal patrol and reserve training needs of the Canadian Forces.  In order to perform these varied duties the Kingston-class vessels are designed to carry up to three 6.1-metre (20 ft) ISO containers with power hookups on the open deck aft in order to embark mission-specific payloads.  The seven module types available for embarkation include four route survey, two mechanical minesweeping and one bottom inspection modules.

The Kingston class displaces 970 long tons (990 t) and are 55.3 metres (181 ft 5 in) long with a beam of 11.3 metres (37 ft 1 in) and a draft of 3.4 metres (11 ft 2 in).  The coastal defence vessels are powered by four Jeumont ANR-53-50 alternators coupled to four Wärsilä UD 23V12 diesel engines creating 7.2 megawatts (9,700 hp).  Two LIPS Z-drive azimuth thrusters are driven by two Jeumont CI 560L motors creating 3,000 horsepower (2,200 kW) and the Z drives can be rotated 360°.  This gives these ships a maximum speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) and a range of 5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).

The Kingston class is equipped with a Kelvin Hughes navigational radar using the I band and a Kelvin Hughes 6000 surface search radar scanning the E and F bands.  The vessels carry an AN/SQS-511 towed side scan sonar for minesweeping and a Remote-control Mine Hunting System (RMHS).  The vessels are equipped with one Bofors 40-mm/60 calibre Mk. 5C gun and two M2 machine guns.  The 40-mm gun was declared obsolete and removed from the vessels in 2014.  Some of them ended up as museum pieces and are on display at naval reserve installations across Canada (see the artillery pages on this web site).  The Kingston-class coastal defence vessels have a complement of 37.  (Wikipedia)

(Charny Photo)

HMCS Kingston MM 700, commissioned 21 September 1996, shown here on 10 June 2012.  HMCS Kingston is the lead ship of her class, ordered under the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessel Project.  She is the first vessel to use the designation HMCS Kingston.  She is assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and is homeported at CFB Halifax, Nova Scotia.

(U.S. Navy Photo, Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Rafael Martie)

HMCS Glace Bay MM 701, commissioned 26 October 1996, shown here on 9 June 2010.

(Sabrewyn Photo)

HMCS Nanaimo MM 702, commissioned 10 May 1997, shown here on 1 July 2009.

(Jordanroderick Photo)

HMCS Nanaimo MM 702, 7 July 2007.

(U.S. Navy Photo, Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Victoria Foley)

HMCS Edmonton MM 703, commissioned 21 June 1997, shown here on 29 July 2009.

(Alcide55 Photo)

HMCS Shawinigan MM 704, commissioned 14 June 1997, shown here on 5 June 2009.

(Webber Photo)

HMCS Whitehorse MM 705, commissioned 17 April 1998, shown here on 6 Oct 2006.

(Tawker Photo)

HMCS Yellowknife MM 706, commissioned 18 April 1998, shown here on 2 July 2006.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Goose Bay MM 707, commissioned 26 July 1998.

(Halifaxwaterfront Photo)

HMCS Moncton MM 708, commissioned 12 July 1998, shown here in 2010.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Moncton MM 708.

(Rayzlens Photo)

HMCS Saskatoon MM 709, commissioned 5 December 1998, shown here on 29 July 2019, near Esquimalt, British Columbia and a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter that is practicing personnel transfers.

(Tony Hisgett Photo)

HMCS Brandon MM 710, commissioned 5 June 1999, shown here on 10 Oct 2014.

(Nilfanion Photo)

HMCS Summerside MM 711, commissioned 18 July 1999, shown here on 30 July 2008.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Summerside MM 711.

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