Original Vintage Photograph

NOT a modern reproduction or digital copy

EA12 - 36 - Photo 8x5 inch - Royal Canadian Navy - HMCS Margaree - 1971

HMCS Margaree (P230)

HMCS Margaree was a St. Laurent-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from 1957–1992. She underwent conversion to a destroyer helicopter escort (DDH) in the mid-1960s and was officially reclassed with pennant DDH 230 on 15 October 1965. The vessel served until 1992 when it was discarded, sold for scrap and broken up in 1994.

The need for the St. Laurent class came about in 1949 when Canada joined NATO and the Cold War was in its infancy. The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was assigned responsibility for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and controlling sea space in the western North Atlantic. The St Laurent class were built to an operational requirement much like that which produced the British Type 12, and were powered by the same machinery plant. The rounded deck-edge forward was adopted to prevent ice forming. The vessels were designed to operate in harsh Canadian conditions. They were built to counter nuclear, biological and chemical attack conditions, which led to a design with a rounded hull, a continuous main deck, and the addition of a pre-wetting system to wash away contaminants. The living spaces on the ship were part of a "citadel" which could be sealed off from contamination for the crew safety. The ships were sometimes referred to as "Cadillacs" for their relatively luxurious crew compartments; these were also the first Canadian warships to have a bunk for every crew member since previous warship designs had used hammocks.

As built, the ships were 366 feet long overall with a beam of 42 feet and a draught of 13 feet 2 inches. The destroyer escorts displaced 2,263 tonnes standard and 2,800 tonnes at deep load. The destroyer escorts had a crew of 12 officers and 237 enlisted.

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