They Came To Sink The Huron
by Veronica Rhodes,
Leader-Post
Published: Friday, May 18, 2007

ONBOARD HMCS REGINA -- "Wow, it's busy," says a female officer, as she walks into the wardroom around 6:30 a.m. Monday and notices the packed breakfast table. "Something must be up today," another officer jokes in reply.

On this morning, something was definitely up. Starting just over an hour later, HMCS Regina would be performing a live fire exercise. But  rather than on smaller practice targets, it's sights would be set on the former HMCS Huron, a destroyer that's time with the Canadian navy was now coming to an end. The live firing is the highlight of a nearly two week long training  exercise called Trident fury that the Canadian Navy and Air Force is completing with it's American counterparts.

While planning for the exercise has been ongoing for months, the excitement began to build on Regina on Sunday when the detailed plan for the firing was reviewed during the Commanding Officers evening brief and the pre-firing brief. Trident Fury is a war game that is based on a realistic scenario, similar to a North Korea-South Korea threat situation. As part of the brief, each department on board provides an update in relation to the game that is being played.

For example, as part of the intelligence report, ten explosions in Port Angeles ar reported, where the UN is holding meetings. Hundreds of people have been killed or injured and a a fake extremist group has taken responsibility for the attack. The briefing provides further updates on the weather anticipated for Monday's exercise. It is also reported that the Huron is being towed by a tugboat from Esquimalt to the exercise area roughly 100 miles west of Vancouver Island and is expected to arrive around 2 a.m.

While the commanding officers briefing is held in the wardroom, the pre-fire briefing is conducted in "the cave", which is the junior ranks mess. As is found constantly around the ship, the cave pays homage to a city of Regina locale with the sign for Bushwakker's pub painted on the door.

This briefing features more details about the actual live firing, which is referred to as "sweet gunnery" by one officer. Regina is set  to fire first on the Huron, starting at 7:45 a.m. and wrapping up by 9:50 a.m. Back in the wardroom for breakfast on Monday morning, I ask Sub-Lt.  Travis Bain if he is looking forward to the firing exercise. While admitting to some excitement, he also calls it "business as usual," explaining that while it is exciting to see the missile go off, the ship often has its gun going off for live fire exercises. "It would be so embarrassing if we missed," said Bain of the upcoming missile launch.

He explains the list of weaponry that Regina will assault the Huron with, including Sea Sparrow missiles and Regina's main gun, the 57 mm Bofors gun. "Once Regina is done tearing it up, we'll let some other ships at it. That's if we don't wink it," Bain said. He admits Regina sinking the Huron is not expected but it is clear the crew sure wouldn't mind if they did.

We head up to the ship's bridge, where it seems to be calm before the storm. Officers and crew members are getting ready while cameras are being set up and windows are being washed for a clearer view. "Flying stations, hats off" is shouted by an officer and immediately  everyone removes their headware. I'm told the command is given when the ship's resident Sea King helicopter is preparing to land. If there is anything loose that could fly off into the helicopter's propulsion as it lands, such as a hat if someone were to step out onto the bridge wings, it is taken off and secured.

It is a clear morning with calm seas and the Huron is barely visible on the hazy horizon. While waiting for Regina to get closer, Master Seaman "Doc" Halliday creates a short, poetic tribute to the doomed ship. "Out of the fog like a ghost ship. the Huron came. Until Regina fired two missiles into her, oh what a shame," Halliday recites.

Regina is moving at 3.8 knots or "idling speed", Chief Petty Officer second class Rob Brydon calls it. he begins reminiscing about his time on the Huron and is one of about eight Regina crew members who once sailed on the now decommissioned ship. But the reminiscence is cut short when the Sea Sparrow is enabled and the bridge becomes quiet as everyone waits for the first missile. "Hopefully it will hit the target," Brydon says, right before the missile is finally launched.

Coming out in a fiery burst from the starboard side, the missile heads straight for the Huron, leaving a smoky trail in its wake. But where the missile ends up is unclear. "Did we hit it?" an officer asks as numerous pairs of binoculars focus in on the ship but there is no visual indication of impact. A second missile was expected to launch momentarily but it never comes and any further launch is vetoed when it is deemed a dud. Moving on to shoot with the 57mm gun, Regina moves from its position roughly 7.5 miles away to within 3,000 yards.

While the 57 mm gun is fired on the ship, water splashes up and black smoke rises from the contact. But as the gun is adjusted, the visual inspection of the Huron continues and the discovery everyone has been hoping for is made -- a hole that could only be made by a missile is discovered jusy above the waterline. "Looks like we had some missile success," says Lt-Cmdr. Robert Lewis-Manning.

After the 57 mm, the close-in weapons system (CIWS) is used for practice on the Huron. But after numerous rounds, a problem occurs  and further firing of the CWIS is vetoed before all the planned rounds are used. "Well. we're done," announced Cmdr. Langford from the Canadian Force Maritime Warfare Centre, joking that it's time for a drink.

While Canadian and U.S. ships got the chance to practice firing on the Huron, it was supposed to ultimately succumb to a 16-foot long  torpedo from the USS Topeka submarine. But during live firing by airforce jets on Monday afternoon, the Huron began its descent to the  ocean floor.

But the crew of HMCS Algonquin is claiming it finished off Huron. Ironically, Algonquin's main deck gun formerly was part of Huron's armament, meaning Huron was sunk by one of its own guns.

vrhodes@leaderpost.canwest.com
© Leader-Post 2007

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