HMCS Saint John

There has been only one vessel named HMCS Saint John in the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Saint John (K456)

Commissioned on 13 December 1943 at Montréal, Québec, the River class frigate HMCS Saint John arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 20 December and was sent to Bermuda for work-ups the following month. After her return in February, she was based for a short time at Halifax, but in April joined Escort Group 9 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. She was present on D-Day.

On 1 September 1944, she and HMCS Swansea sank the German submarine U-247 off Land’s End, United Kingdom and on 16 February 1945, Saint John destroyed the submarine U-309 in Moray Firth, Scotland. In December 1944, she escorted convoys JW.62 and RA.62 on the North Russia run to and from Kola Inlet.

She arrived at Cardiff, United Kingdom, for repairs on 27 February 1945, and in April proceeded for refit at Saint John, New Brunswick, from May to October. She was paid off 27 November 1945 at Halifax and placed in reserve in Bedford Basin until sold in 1947 for scrapping at Sydney, Nova Scotia.

• Builder: Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montréal, Québec
• Date laid down: 28 May 1943
• Date launched: 25 August 1943
• Date commissioned: 13 December 1943
• Date paid off: 27 November 1945
• Displacement: 1468.2 tonnes
• Dimensions: 91.9 m x 11.1 m x 2.7 m
• Speed: 19 knots
• Crew: 141
• Armament: one 4-inch (102-mm) gun, one 12-pound (5.45 kg) gun, eight 20-mm guns (4 x II), one Hedgehog mortar and depth charges

Battle honours

• Arctic 1944
• Atlantic 1944
• English Channel 1944
• Normandy 1944
• North Sea 1945