HMCS Nipigon - DDH 266
An Annapolis-class destroyer, she was the second to use the name “Nipigon,” the first being a Bangor-class minesweeper. She was commissioned in 1964 with the sponsorship of Madame Pauline Vanier, wife of the then-Governor General. She was one of 20 “Cadillacs” originally designed to carry and operate a helicopter.
On 18 October 1965, a fire broke out that caused the death of three crew members. No official cause for the explosion has been given. Three more crew were lost on 7 November 1971 when the Nipigon’s Sea King helicopter crashed into the ocean; after which only the helicopter’s navigator was rescued.
She was re-commissioned following refits which took place from 27 June 1983 to 22 August 1984, and though mostly used as a training ship, she also participated in rescue and assistance of other vessels such as the fishing vessel Lady Marjorie in 1985 and the tug ship Gulf Gale in 1987.
In May 1993 she joined HMNZS Endeavour and Canterbury for ceremonies commemorating the 50thanniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic off the British Isles. In 1995, crew members boarded the Spanish trawler Patricia Nores with Fisheries and Oceans Enforcement Officers and caught them with 11 tons of turbot fish more than what the ship’s log had reported.
She was decommissioned on 1 July 1998 and eventually scuttled as an artificial reef in the St. Lawrence River on 22 July 2003.
Reference Links:
Government of Canada - HMCS Nipigon
Ready Aye Ready - HMCS Nipigon
For Posterity's Sake - HMCS Nipigon