All of the
Iroquois class was laid down in 1969,
Iroquois on 15 January,
Huron and
Athabaskan on 1 June and
Algonquin on 1 September. Their names were chosen both to honour the First Nations of Canada, but also to perpetuate the names of destroyers that served during the
Second World War. The destroyers underwent the TRUMP modifications beginning in 1987, with
Algonquin being taken in hand on 26 October to 11 October 1991;
Athabaskan, from October 1991 to 3 August 1994; and
Huron, from July 1993 and 25 November 1994. From the onset of their careers, the
Iroquois-class ships were deployed to
NATO naval missions such as
STANAVFORLANT, performing search and rescue missions, such as
Algonquin rescuing the crew from the fishing vessel
Paul & Maria in 1974 In 1986,
Algonquin captured the renegade fishing vessel
Peonia 7 which had made off with personnel from the
Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Peonia 7 had been caught illegally fishing in Canada's
exclusive economic zone and had been boarded by Fisheries personnel for inspection. In 1987,
Huron became the first member of the class to transfer to the
west coast of Canada. In 1988, while attempting to assist the Belgian frigate
Westhinder which had already grounded,
Athabaskan herself went aground in
Vestfjord, Norway. On 24 August 1990,
Athabaskan, after a refit to add several advanced weapons including a
close-in weapon system (CIWS), sailed to the
Arabian Sea as flagship of the naval component of
Operation Friction, the Canadian contribution to the Gulf War. In 1993
Algonquin was flagship of the force sent to the
Adriatic Sea to enforce the blockade on
Yugoslavia. In August 1994,
Algonquin transferred to the west coast. In September 1999,
Huron, carrying Canadian immigration officials, intercepted a ship trafficking 146 Chinese migrants.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police boarded the vessel from
Huron while the destroyer escorting the vessel into
Nootka Sound. In 2003, while readying for deployment to Operation Apollo,
Iroquoiss Sea King crashed on deck and the ship was forced to return to
Halifax. In September 2005,
Athabaskan was among the Canadian ships sent to
Louisiana to aid in the recovery efforts following the devastation of
New Orleans by
Hurricane Katrina. In 2008
Iroquois was among the Canadian warships deployed to the waters off Somalia as part of CTF 150, the multi-national task force that concerned itself with drug and people smuggling and piracy in the region. In 2010, after Haiti was hit by a major earthquake followed by at least twelve significant aftershocks, Canada sent
Athabaskan and the
frigate to Haiti as part of Operation Hestia.
Athabaskan was sent to
Leogane. In 2011,
Athabaskan and
Algonquin deployed to the Caribbean Sea as part of
Operation Caribbe, a counter-narcotics smuggling operation.
Iroquois deployed in 2012, with
Athabaskan returning in 2014 and 2015. HMCS Algonquin was also deployed during the 2010 Winter Olympics as part of Operation Podium.
Retirement Despite
Huron being the most recently refitted
Iroquois-class destroyer, she was placed in mothballed status in 2000, due to a personnel shortage following defence cutbacks during the late 1990s.
Huron was paid off in 2005, and sunk in a live-fire exercise in 2007 by her
sister ship Algonquin. In August 2013,
Algonquin was involved in a collision with the
auxiliary vessel during a naval exercise.
Algonquin suffered significant damage along her port side hangar. The vessel was laid up following the collision. In May 2014, while visiting
Boston, Massachusetts, severe cracks were discovered in the hull of
Iroquois requiring her immediate return to Canada and lay up for inspection. The inspection determined the hull was compromised and would require the ship to be laid up indefinitely. On 19 September 2014, the Royal Canadian Navy announced that these two ships were to be
paid off along with the , leaving only
Athabaskan active. On 27 November 2015,
Algonquin, along with
Protecteur, was sold to be
broken up for scrap to R.J. MacIsaac Ltd. of
Antigonish, Nova Scotia. They were towed to
Liverpool, Nova Scotia where the work was done. On 10 March 2017
Athabaskan, the last active ship in the class, was decommissioned. ==Replacement==