HMCS Vancouver is a , of the Royal Canadian Navy launched on 8 July 1989, as the second vessel of her class. She is based at CFB Esquimalt on the west coast of Canada, and is the third vessel to be named after Vancouver, British Columbia.

Description and design

The Halifax-class frigate design of which Vancouver 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 Vancouver 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 Frigate Equipment Life Extension (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 CEROS 200 Fire Control 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 Soft kill 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 and 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.

Construction and career

The frigate's keel was laid down on 19 May 1988 by Saint John Shipbuilding at Saint John, New Brunswick, the second ship of her class. Vancouver was launched on 8 July 1989. After trials, the warship was commissioned on 23 August 1993 in her namesake city of Vancouver alongside Canada Place, third ship of the class, as sister ship commissioned almost a month before her. After commissioning, she was assigned to CFB Esquimalt, British Columbia on Vancouver Island as the first Halifax-class frigate to be based there.

From May to July 1994, the frigate took part in the RIMPAC naval exercise off the coast of Hawaii. The ship then made a training cruise around the Pacific, making several port visits. The following year, Vancouver, with sister ship , deployed on another Pacific training cruise. In 1995, the frigate deployed with a United States Navy carrier battle group. In 1997, Vancouver performed another Pacific training cruise and in 1998, took part in the RIMPAC naval exercise.

War on Terror

thumb|right|Vancouver as part of the John C. Stennis carrier battle group in 2002

After the 11 September 2001 attacks, Vancouver and her sisters were a primary part of Canada's anti-terrorism naval forces in the Middle East. For instance, Vancouver was an integrated part of the American carrier battle group led by , arriving at Hong Kong on 29 November 2001 and in the Persian Gulf in 19 December. The ship returned to Esquimalt on 28 May 2002. The overall Canadian Forces contribution to Operation Unified Protector is known as Operation Mobile. She relieved , which had been on patrol in the region since the early spring. Operation Mobile closed on 1 November 2011, Vancouver was transferred to the NATO-led Operation Active Endeavour on 15 November 2011. She set course for her home port of CFB Esquimalt on 10 January 2012.

Refit

On 6 May 2013 Vancouver was turned over to Seaspan Marine Corporation's Victoria Shipyards, to start an 18-month mid-life upgrading and modernization program. The HCM/FELEX refit was completed in May 2014.

Harpoon Block II testing

In October 2015, Vancouver, along with and , participated in the United States Navy's Task Group Exercise, a naval exercise held off southern California. In April 2016, Vancouver was used as the testbed for the launch of the new Harpoon Block II surface-to-surface missile, increasing the land strike capabilities of the frigate class.

Pacific deployment

In June 2016, Calgary, Vancouver, and sailed from Esquimalt to participate in the RIMPAC naval exercise. Following RIMPAC, Vancouver was sent on a training cruise around the Pacific, making several port visits and participating in the Royal Australian Navy's training exercise "Kakadu".

Vancouver was sent to take part in the Royal New Zealand Navy's 75th Birthday Celebrations on 19–21 November 2016. However, following an earthquake in New Zealand's South Island, the frigate was re-directed to Kaikōura to aide in humanitarian and disaster relief operations. In 2018, Vancouver deployed to the Pacific, participating in training with the Fijian Navy. In June and July 2018, Vancouver, along with sister ship and the supply ship , took part in RIMPAC 2018 around the Hawaiian Islands.

In 2022, Vancouver and were deployed to the RIMPAC naval exercise off Hawaii followed by taking part in enforcing UN sanctions against North Korea. In September 2022, Vancouver sailed through the Taiwan Strait alongside the guided-missile destroyer in a freedom-of-navigation demonstration. In mid 2024, Vancouver took part in the multi-national exercise RIMPAC 2024 along with and Asterix.

Badge

The ship's badge depicts a square-rigged, Royal Navy ship of the line sailing west along the ocean. The vessel in the badge is intended to represent , which, under the command of Captain George Vancouver, mapped much of North America's north-western coast and learned more about the area than had hereto been discovered. Among the geographical locations named after Vancouver is the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. The badge has been maintained through the history of all three Canadian vessels named Vancouver.

References

Citations

Sources

  • Vancouver (FFH 331) – official website
  • "HMCS Vancouver" – Extant Commissioned Ships