PROTECTEUR Class

(AOR) multi-cargo supply ship



PROTECTEUR Class
Characteristics:

Displacement:
24,700 tons full load
Dimensions:
172.0 x 23.16 x 9.15 meters (564 x 76 x 30 feet)
Propulsion:
1 shaft;
2 water tube boilers;
2 geared steam turbines, 21,000 shp;
21 knots 
Crew:
227 (+57 transients)
Aviation:
aft helicopter deck with hangar;
up to 3 CH-124 Sea King helicopters 
Cargo:
18,000 tons fuel
400 tons munitions, provisions, spares
Sonar:
none
Armament:
2 20 mm Phalanx CIWS
6 12.7 mm MG
helo launched Mk.46 Mod 5 torpedoes, 
1 FMC 3"/50 twin gun mount (later removed)
1 Mk.29 octuple Sea Sparrow (fitted for but not with) 

The Canadian Navy has never purchased any Mk.29 Sea Sparrow launchers for these ships, nor is there any intention to, but the design originally allowed for them. 


Ships:
 
 
Name
Pendant
Commissioned
Homeport
PROTECTEUR
509
30/08/69
Esquimalt
PRESERVER
510
30/07/70
Halifax


Notes:

Built in the late 1960s, these ships benefitted from the lessons learned from Canada's first postwar replenishment vessel, HMCS PROVIDER. Once the new ships were available, PROVIDER was sent to the West Coast where she would stay until the late 1990s. PROVIDER's open "jungle" deck made her unsuited to the North Atlantic, and the new ships therefore had enclosed "jungle" decks. They were originally fitted with a 'bowchaser' twin gun mount, but these were removed due to the maintenance involved with a gun in such an exposed position on the foc's'le. During the 1990/1991 Gulf War (or Persian Excursian as it is known in CAF circles), this mount was replaced on PROTECTEUR, and removed again once she returned. Both ships have ice-strengthened hulls. They are the largest ships ever built for the Canadian Navy.

When PROTECTEUR was sent to the Gulf, two Phalanx CIWS guns were fitted as a temporary measure to guard against missiles; this addition was made permanent in post-Gulf war refits on both ships of the class. PROTECTEUR was the only supply ship in the Gulf War to conduct her own boardings as a part of the arms embargo against Iraq.

Both PROTECTEUR and PRESERVER have been deployed in aid of Operation Apollo in 2001/2002 to the Northern Arabian Sea.

These ships will require replacement by 2010, but no announcements have been made regarding this.


Photos:

 (click on thumbnail for bigger image) 

PROTECTEUR
Notes:
1. PROTECTEUR replenishes HMC Ships ATHABASKAN and TERRA NOVA on the way to the Persian Gulf. ('90) DND photo.
2. PROTECTEUR in the company of HMCS ASSINIBOINE, a Sea King, and an unnamed member of the Tribal Class. Note the presence of the 'bowchaser' gun. DND photo.
3. PROTECTEUR. DND photo.
4. An unnamed AOR of the PROTECTEUR Class replenishes a ship. DND photo.
5. PROTECTEUR replenishes two members of the Tribal Class. Steve Wilton photo.
6. PROTECTEUR with two ships of the South Korean Navy. Note the two Phalanx CIWS and the new lattice mast characteristic of the latest refits. PRESERVER returned to service in the winter of 1998 after such a refit in Halifax. DND photo.
7. One of the two AORs refuels USCGC DALLAS. DND photo, Courtesy of Dave Shirlaw.
8. PROTECTEUR performs a RAS (Replenishment At Sea) with HMC Ships ST. JOHN'S (left) and ALGONQUIN (right) in 2002. DND photo / MCpl Michel Durand.
1
2
3
4




5
6
7
8



Protecteur
PRESERVER
Notes:
1. PRESERVER returns to Halifax. Sandy McClearn photo. (March 2003)
2. PRESERVER. Sandy McClearn photo. (May 2003)
3. CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent lies alongside PRESERVER while refuelling. Sandy McClearn photo. (July 2003)
4. PRESERVER in silhouette. Sandy McClearn photo.
5. The size of PRESERVER is made apparent in this photo, with HMCS HALIFAX rafted up outside of her. (2002) Sandy McClearn photo.
6. PRESERVER alongside at the Dockyard. (2002) Sandy McClearn photo.
7. HMCS PRESERVER in ice. DND photo.
8. PRESERVER. Note the 'bowchaser' gun. DND photo.
9. PRESERVER in refit. Sandy McClearn photo.
10. PRESERVER in Scotia Dock at the Halifax Shipyard during refit. Ron Barrie photo.
11. PRESERVER leaves drydock. Sandy McClearn photo.
12. PRESERVER approaches the gun wharf in Dartmouth, NS, after leaving drydock. Sandy McClearn photo.
13. PRESERVER in refit at the Halifax Shipyard. Sandy McClearn photo.
14. PRESERVER at HMC Dockyard in Halifax. (2008) Sandy McClearn photo.
1
2
3
4
Preserver
Preserver
Preserver
Preserver
5
6
7
8
510 and 330
Preserver


9
10
11
12
13
14


Preserver


 

Back to the Canadian Navy - Current Fleet

This section of the HG&UWsite created and maintained by Sandy McClearn .
Copyright © 1997-2009, Sandy McClearn. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction, reuse, or distribution without permission is prohibited.