HMCS Winnipeg is a that has served in the Royal Canadian Navy since 1996. Winnipeg is the ninth ship in her class, whose design emerged from the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the second Canadian warship to carry the name . Winnipeg serves on Canadian Forces MARPAC missions protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Pacific Ocean and the Arctic Ocean and in enforcing Canadian laws on its territorial oceans and Exclusive Economic Zone. The vessel has been deployed on missions throughout the Pacific, and also to the Indian Ocean; specifically on anti-terrorism operations in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea, and counter-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia. The ship is assigned to the Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC), and she has her home port at the Canadian Forces Maritime Base at Esquimalt.

Description and design

The Halifax-class frigate design, emerging from the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project, 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. Winnipeg was ordered in December 1987 as part of the second batch of frigates. To reflect the changing long-term strategy of the Navy during the 1980s and 1990s, the Halifax-class frigates were designed as general purpose warships 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 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.

Operational history

Winnipegs keel was laid down on 20 March 1993 by Saint John Shipbuilding Company at their shipyard in Saint John, New Brunswick. Her engine room modules were constructed at Georgetown, Prince Edward Island and transported to Saint John to be incorporated into the rest of the vessel. The ship was launched on 5 December 1993. The vessel departed Halifax, Nova Scotia on 16 January 1995, sailing to the West Coast of Canada. Arriving at Esquimalt, British Columbia, the warship was commissioned into the Canadian Forces on 23 June 1995, and carries the hull classification symbol FFH 338.

In 1996, Winnipeg participated in the multi-national naval exercise RIMPAC 96 in coastal waters off Hawaii. Beginning on 1 April 1997, the frigate joined NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) for four months. In 1998, Winnipeg participated in the South American naval exercise UNITAS. In March 2001, Winnipeg integrated into the Carrier Battle Group in the Persian Gulf. As part of the carrier battle group, the frigate enforced sanctions against Iraq for six months, returning to Esquimalt on 14 September.

thumb|right|Winnipeg performing underway replenishment training with the destroyer

In April 2009, Winnipeg was deployed to the Gulf of Aden to escort United Nations ships carrying famine, plague, and overpopulation relief supplies to East Africa for ten weeks. After escorting a World Food program ship, Winnipeg came across a pirate attack on the Norwegian tanker . Winnipeg captured the pirates, but they were later released due to Canadian law preventing prosecution.

On 12 August 2010, the frigate along with intercepted , a Thailand-flagged ship carrying Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka, off the coast of British Columbia.

In April 2012 Winnipeg was turned over to Seaspan Marine Corporation's Victoria Shipyards, to start an 18-month mid-life upgrading and modernization. On 10 April 2013 Winnipeg was returned to the Royal Canadian Navy to finish the midlife refit. On 23 April 2013, Winnipeg was rammed while docked at CFB Esquimalt, by American sea trawler American Dynasty of the American Seafoods Company. Six people were injured. American Dynasty was being towed to the graving dock for repairs when the fishing vessel accelerated and veered to starboard, hitting the frigate. The resulting investigation found fault with the crew of the fishing vessel and their equipment. Winnipeg, accompanied by , and , departed in October 2014 to take part the Task Group Exercise with the US and Japanese Navies in American coastal waters.

In January 2015, Winnipeg was deployed in the eastern Pacific as part of Operation Caribbe 2015, part of a joint multinational effort to eliminate illegal trafficking through the waters around Central America and the Caribbean nations. Winnipeg was deployed to Operation Caribbe for three weeks in June, after which the ship transited the Panama Canal to join NATO's Operation Reassurance in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship left the Mediterranean headed towards the Pacific after being relieved by sister ship . In January 2016, she made port visits to Penang, the first Royal Canadian Navy ship to do so, and Singapore. Winnipeg returned to Esquimalt on 23 February.

Winnipeg and sister ship sailed from Esquimalt on 6 March 2017 for six-month deployment visiting several nations around the Pacific, including Malaysia, India, China and Japan among others, returning on 8 August.

On 14 December 2020, a crewmember was lost overboard off California during the frigate's return from overseas operations. On 16 December, the search for the sailor was called off.

On 17 August 2021 Winnipeg sailed from Esquimalt for a four-month deployment to Asia for multinational surveillance and security missions as part of Operation Projection and Operation Neon. During the deployment, the frigate performed a freedom of navigation sail through the Taiwan Strait alongside the American destroyer . The ship returned to Canada on 15 December.

In 2022, Winnipeg and were deployed to the RIMPAC naval exercise off Hawaii. This was followed by Winnipeg visiting several nations in Asia, including a first ever Royal Canadian Navy warship visit to Cambodia, and participation in Japan's international Fleet Review. In 2023, it was announced that damage to the ship suffered in October 2022 to the propellers had limited the vessel's operational capability. The ship entered an extensive maintenance drydocking in January 2024 where the damage was to fixed among other issues aboard the ship.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

  • Canadian Forces HMCS Winnipeg (FFH 338) official website