HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341)

For other ships with the same name, see HMCS Ottawa.

HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341) departs Naval Station Pearl Harbor
History
Canada
Name:	Ottawa
Namesake:	Ottawa, Ontario
Operator:	Royal Canadian Navy
Builder:	Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd., Saint John
Laid down:	29 April 1995
Launched:	31 May 1996
Commissioned:	28 September 1996
Homeport:	CFB Esquimalt
Identification:	341
Motto:	EGOR BEOFOR (Ocean Beaver)
Honours and awards:	Atlantic, 1939-1945 Normandy, 1944 English Channel, 1944 Biscay, 1944 Arabian Sea
Fate:	Active in service
Notes:	Colours:white and red
Badge:	150px Gules, a bend wavy argent charged with two cotises wavy azure, over all a beaver or, the sinister forepaw resting on a log of silver birch proper.
General characteristics
Class & type:	Halifax-class frigate
Displacement:	3,995 tonnes (light) 4,795 tonnes (operational) 5,032 tonnes (deep load)
Length:	134.2 m (440 ft)
Beam:	16.5 m (54 ft)
Draught:	7.1 m (23 ft)
Propulsion:	2 × LM2500 Gas turbines 1 × SEMT Pielstick Diesel engine
Speed:	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range:	9,500 nmi (17,600 km; 10,900 mi)
Complement:	225 (including air detachment)
Armament:	24 × Honeywell Mk 46 torpedoes 16 × Evolved Sea-Sparrow SAM 8 × RGM-84 Harpoon SSM 1 × 57 mm Bofors Mk2 gun 1 × 20 mm Vulcan Phalanx CIWS 6 × .50 Caliber machine guns
Aircraft carried:	1 × CH-124 Sea King

HMCS Ottawa is a Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate.

Ottawa is the twelfth and final ship of the Halifax class that were built as part of the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the fourth vessel to carry the designation HMCS Ottawa. The first three were named for the Ottawa River. This ship is the first named for Canada's national capital, the City of Ottawa.

Ottawa was laid down on 29 April 1995 by Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd. at Saint John and launched on 31 May 1996. The frigate was officially commissioned on 28 September 1996 at Cornwall, Ontario and carries the hull classification symbol 341.

She is assigned to Maritime Forces Pacific (MARPAC) and is homeported at HMC Dockyard, CFB Esquimalt. The ship's Sponsor is Honorary Captain Sonja Bata. At the time of her commissioning, the Commanding Officer was Commander Gilles Goulet.

Service

Mission

Ottawa serves on MARPAC missions protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Pacific Ocean and enforcing Canadian laws in its territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone.

Ottawa has also been deployed on missions throughout the Pacific and to the Indian Ocean; specifically the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea on anti-terrorism operations.

History

Ottawa deployed in June 1998 as part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Battle Group in the Persian Gulf as part of the United Nations embargo on Iraq. This made the frigate the first Canadian vessel to completely integrate with an American battle group. In February 2002, the warship was assigned to Operation Apollo, the Canadian contribution to the War in Afghanistan, returning 17 August.

On 6 June 2011, Ottawa began a four-and-a-half-month training deployment and goodwill tour in the Pacific which included port visits to Australia, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan. Ottawa participated with the Australian Navy and U.S. Seventh Fleet in the multi-lateral naval exercise Operation Talisman Saber 2011 from 11 July to 26 July 2011. Ottawa subsequently operated in the U.S. Navy's Carrier Strike Group Nine and participated in Fleet Week activities in San Diego, California, between 26 September and 30 September 2011. The warship returned to its home base of Esquimalt, British Columbia, on 13 October 2011.

Canadian sailors aboard the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa handle mooring lines.

On 12 December Ottawa welcomed a new Commanding Officer, Commander Scott Van Will.

Ottawa started working up for the next year of activity in January 2012. This began with directed workups and various training activities leading up to the larger RIMPAC sail in the summer. Training included new firefighting equipment use, Fleet Navigation Officer Training, and Air Detachment integration. There was also a stop in Port McNeill and Alert Bay to visit local schools.

The ship was scheduled to be joining the Iroquois-class destroyer HMCS Algonquin, and the Victoria-class submarine HMCS Victoria for the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. RIMPAC 2012 took place from 27 June to 3 August 2012. It is a biannual, multi-national maritime exercise held off the coast of Hawaii and is designed to improve interoperability and understanding between military forces from nations with an interest in the Pacific Rim, increasing stability in the region. Canada has participated in every RIMPAC exercise since its inception in 1971. The exercise involved forces from Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In June 2013, Ottawa received a new Commanding Officer, Commander Julian Barnard.

In July 2015, Sylvain Belair took command of the HMCS Ottawa.

Lineage - Ottawa

First of Name

HMCS Ottawa (H60)
 Destroyer, River Class
 Ex - HMS Crusader (H60)
 Commissioned 15 June 1938
 Sunk 14 September 1942

Second of Name

HMCS Ottawa (H31)
 Destroyer, River Class
 Ex - HMS Griffin; ex - HMCS Griffin
 Commissioned 7 April 1943
 Paid off 12 October 1945

Third of Name

HMCS Ottawa (DDH 229)
 Destroyer, St. Laurent Class
 Commissioned 10 November 1956
 Paid off 24 May 1963
 Recommissioned 28 October 1964
 Paid off 31 July 1992

Fourth of Name

This is the current ship with the name Ottawa

References

Citations

References

External links

• HMCS Ottawa (FFH 341 - official website