- Yes
- Maybe
- Unsure
- No
Notes -
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This suggestion is the followup to the remake of the Restigouche class destroyer escort suggestion as mentioned in the Canadian sub tree suggestion a separate suggestion would be made for the modernization of the class in the 1990ʻs. Since then and after finding more information about it the suggestion has shifted to be only about HMCS Restigouche (DDE 257) as only two ships had been modernized along these lines as the other ship being Terra Nova already added to the game.
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Due to their being not as many photos of HMCS Restigouche in this configuration some images will be of Terra Nova in this configuration.
Background and History
HMCS Restigouche was the lead ship of Restigouche class destroyer escorts which consisted of several ships. The Restigouche class itself was originally built in the 1950ʻs for anti submarine warfare ships to counter the Soviet submarines, yet in the 1990ʻs nearing the end of their lives two ships of the class would be repurposed for participation in the gulf war as a result of particular circumstances.
When HMCS Restigouche was modernized the ships main armament which had already been reduced in past refits remained unchanged with two 3 inch/70 (76mm) Mark 6 guns in a twin mount, these mounts in particular quite unique as they were the same ones used on the British Tiger class cruisers and was not used very widely with the only other class of ships than the previously ones that used it was the Mackenzie class destroyer escorts which were successors to the Restigouche class. With the modernization the ship also received a variety of new weapons, most notably the removal of the 8 cell ASROC launchers and instead 2 Mark 141 quad missile launchers were installed which meant the ships now carried 8 RGM-84 Harpoon anti ship missile launchers. The ships AA armament likewise was also strengthened with most prominently a 20mm Phalanx CIWS at rear of the ship, additionally the ship also surface to air missiles however these came in the form of shoulder-launched Blowpipe and Javelin MANPADS, the ship also had a variety of gun with 2 40mm Bofors and 6 12.7mm machine guns. The remaining armament of the ship was 6 324mm (12.75 inch) Mark 32 torpedo tubes which used Mark 46 Mod 5 torpedoes.
While not going into too much detail about the ships history the Restigouche herself would for most of her time in service would remain relatively peaceful as she would take part in various naval exercises during the Cold War. Up to her modernization in the 1990’s some of the particular highlights of the ships career were being involved in one incident where while on her sea trials prior to commissioning she collided with a freighter, in 1959 she attended the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and in the 1980’s she was involved in an unsuccessful attempt in tracking a Soviet spy ship due to engine problems which saw her return to Canada to undergo a refit.
With Canada being involved with the coalition during the Gulf war the Maritime command requested that they have three ships available to deploy to the Persian gulf. One issue that came with this was that the amount of ships they could deploy was limited as while they did have the four Iroquois class destroyers in service at the time only one was available at the time as three were undergoing refit. With a fleet replenishment ship available to send as the second ship there was still a need for a third ship, as such it was decided to refit and modernize the HMCS Terra Nova and would then be subsequently deployed to the Persian gulf. At the same time it was also decided to refit and modernize a second ship to relieve the Terra Nova, so as it was decided to have the Restigouche undergo this same modernization. Despite work being completed on the Restigouche she would never make it to the Middle East as the war ended and as such was reassigned to NATO’s Standing Naval Force Atlantic. The Restigouche herself would be deployed to the Red Sea as apart of a naval force formed in the event Iraq re-engaged hostilities during which time the ship inspected shipments going into a port of Aqaba in Jordan, during which time she had the honor of being the first ship to make official visits Israel and Saudi Arabia, and in 1994 the ship would be finally paid off. In the end the ship would be sunk as an artificial reef after being towed to Mexico in 2000 along with HMCS Kootenay which had its own controversy around the ones who purchased the ship and the funds they had received from the government, and in 2001 Restigouche was finally sunk in Acapulco Bay.
Specifications
Displacement:
2,900 tons (fully loaded)
Length:
371 ft (113.08 m)
Beam:
42 ft (12.80 m)
Draft:
14 ft (4.27 m)
Propulsion:
2 shafts;
2 Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers;
2 English Electric geared turbines, 30,000 shp
Speed:
28 knots (51.8 km/h ; 32.2 mph)
Complement:
214
Sensors and systems:
Marconi SPS 502 air search radar
Raytheon SPS 10D surface search radar
Sperry Mk.127 E navigation radar
SQS-505 hull mounted sonar
SQS-505 VDS
C-Tech mine avoidance sonar
Fire control systems:
Mk.69 gunnery control system with SPG-515 director forward
Electronic warfare and countermeasures:
CANEWS
ULQ-6 jammer
ALR-74 threat warning
4 x Mk.36 SRBOC chaff launchers
SLQ 25 Nixie
DLF radar decoys
Armament:
Main gun armament
2 x 3 inch/70 caliber (76mm) Mark 6 guns (1 x 2)
Anti ship missiles armament:
up to 8 x Mark 141 Missile launchers (Harpoon anti ship missiles) (2 x 4)
Anti air armament:
1 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS
unspecified amount of MANPADS consisting of Blowpipe and Javelin (Not used in special mountings of any sorts but used as normal MANPADS so this feature wouldn’t likely be included in the game)
Torpedo armament:
6 x 324mm (12.75 inch) Mark 32 torpedo tubes (2 x 3) (Mk.46 Mod 5 torpedos)
Additional gun armament:
2 x 40mm/60 Bofors guns (2 x 1)
6 x 12.7mm/50 cal machine guns
Sources
Spoiler
Restigouche-class destroyer - Wikipedia
HMCS Restigouche (DDE 257) - Wikipedia
https://www.navypedia.org/ships/canada/can_es_restigouche.htm
Image Sources