HMCS Toronto (FFH 333) is a that has served in the Canadian Forces since 1993. Toronto is the fourth ship in her class which is the name for the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the second RCN ship to be named for Canada's largest city. When not on operations, she is assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and is based at CFB Halifax. Toronto serves on MARLANT missions protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Atlantic Ocean and enforcing Canadian laws in its territorial sea and exclusive economic zone.

Description and design

The Halifax-class frigate design of which Toronto belongs, was ordered by the Canadian Forces in 1977 as a replacement for the aging , , , and es of destroyer escorts, which were all tasked with anti-submarine warfare. In July 1983, the federal government approved the budget for the design and construction of the first batch of six new frigates of which Toronto was a part, out of twelve that were eventually built. To reflect the changing long term strategy of the Navy during the 1980s and 1990s, the Halifax-class frigates was designed as a general purpose warship with particular focus on anti-submarine capabilities. That made them slightly larger than the Iroquois-class destroyers.

The FELEX program comprised upgrading the combat systems integration to CMS330. The SPS-49 2D long-range air search radar was replaced by the Thales Nederland SMART-S Mk 2 E/F-band 3D surveillance radar, and the two STIR 1.8 fire-control radars were replaced by a pair of Saab Ceros 200 recontrol radars. A Telephonics IFF Mode 5/S interrogator was installed and the Elisra NS9003A-V2HC ESM system replaced the SLQ-501 CANEWS. An IBM multi-link (Link 11, Link 16 and Link 22 enabled) datalink processing system was installed along with two Raytheon Anschütz Pathfinder Mk II navigation radars. Furthermore, Rheinmetall's Multi Ammunition Softkill System (MASS), known as MASS DUERAS, was introduced to replace the Plessey Shield decoy system. The existing 57 mm Mk 2 guns were upgraded to the Mk 3 standard, the Harpoon missiles were improved to Block II levels, the Phalanx was upgraded to Block 1B, and the obsolete Sea Sparrow system was replaced by the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile.

Service history

Toronto was laid down on 22 April 1989 by Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd. at Saint John, New Brunswick, and launched on 18 December 1990. The frigate was commissioned into the Canadian Forces on 29 July 1993 at Toronto, Ontario, and carries the hull classification symbol FFH 333.

In 1994, Toronto deployed to the Adriatic Sea in support of the NATO blockade of Yugoslavia. In 1995, with and , Toronto sailed to Europe making a series of port visits in commemoration of the end of the Second World War in Europe. The same year, the ship took part in the NATO naval exercise Linked Seas off Portugal. In 1996, Toronto sailed through the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes making several port visits. The ship returned to Canada on 16 June. On 5 December, Toronto sailed to the Middle East as part of Operation Apollo in the War in Afghanistan. The ship returned to Canada on 27 May 2002.

On 6 September 2005, Toronto, with , and the Canadian Coast Guard vessel , were dispatched to the Gulf of Mexico to aid the United States in their response to the flooding of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. In 2008, Toronto with and the Canadian Coast Guard vessel made an Arctic patrol through Frobisher Bay as part of Operation Nanook. In 2009, Toronto deployed to the Caribbean Sea to perform drug-smuggling interdiction duties as part of Operation Caribbe. The ship returned to the Caribbean in 2011 as part of Operation Caribbe.

Toronto participated in Operation Artemis, commencing her first rotation (ROTO 2) in January 2013 and finishing in February 2014 (which included a crew swap in July 2013 [the first crew swap in RCN history since 1991]).

While relieving in the Mediterranean Sea as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, Toronto was reassigned to the Black Sea for Operation Reassurance in response to Russian intervention in Central and Eastern Europe. Toronto led Task Unit 2 (TU.02) and worked in concert with Spanish Navy frigate , and operated with Romanian Navy frigate Regele Ferdinand and United States Navy destroyer as well as other vessels from Bulgaria, Georgia, Turkey, and Ukraine.

On 8 September 2014, Toronto was circled by two Russian Su-24 attack aircraft and a Russian surveillance plane in a provocative manner. In November 2014, six members of the crew helped fight a fire while on shore leave in Antalya, Turkey. While in the Mediterranean Sea, Toronto suffered a fire in its auxiliary machinery room on 25 December 2014. The fire was extinguished and all personnel affected by the smoke were treated and released. During the frigate's deployment, Toronto participated in three naval exercises and led Task Unit 2 while operating in the Black Sea. relieved the ship in January 2015.

Toronto was the last ship of the class to complete her FELEX refit, which was performed at Irving Shipyards in Halifax. The vessel was returned to the Royal Canadian Navy on 29 November 2016 to begin sea trials. The vessel was not expected to be operational until 2017–18. In January 2018, Toronto trained with the new Resolve-class auxiliary vessel, off the coast of Nova Scotia.

In October, Toronto was deployed to European waters. During a series of exercises in UK waters, the frigate developed a significant electrical problem that caused a loss of power to the ship. Power was later restored and Toronto was ordered to Belfast for repairs. As the frigate was docking in Belfast, a small fire began in the starboard gas turbine enclosure in the forward engine room, which was quickly extinguished by the crew. This marked the second such fire in days aboard Halifax-class frigates, the first aboard . The ship returned to Canada. On 19 January 2019, Toronto departed Halifax for the Mediterranean Sea as part of Operation Reassurance. The frigate sailed into the Black Sea and visited Odesa, Ukraine.

Toronto returned to Halifax on 4 August 2019. On 22 August 2019, a fire broke out aboard Toronto while the ship was at dock in Halifax undergoing routine maintenance. The fire broke out at roughly 6:50 pm and was extinguished within 20 minutes. No one was injured.

Images

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File:Starboard bow view of HMCS Toronto (FFH 333) cruising in front of USS George Washington (CVN-73) during Operation Iraqi Freedom 040603-N-5319A-014.jpg|

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File:US Navy 040214-N-5319A-003 Canadian Navy, Master Corporal Christopher Kelly photographs the crew of the Canadian Navy Halifax-class patrol frigate, HMCS Toronto (FFH 333) on Valentine's Day.jpg|

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File:HMCS Toronto (FFH 333).jpg|

File:Ships of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1.jpg|

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References

Notes

Citations

Sources

  • HMCS Toronto (FFH 333) – official website