Canadian River - class destroyer The River class was a class of fourteen destroyer s of the Royal Canadian Navy ( RCN ) that served before and during the Second World War . They were named after . The River class was a dissimilar collection of warships , consisting of twelve vessels purchased from the Royal Navy and two built specifically by British yards for the RCN . They included two A class , five C class , two D class , one E class , two F class , one G class and one H class . History . The majority of the River - class ships began the Second World War with the same equipment that they were built with ; however , this was gradually modified as the war progressed . Modifications included removing gun mounts to make room for additional depth charge and torpedo systems , as well as adding new communications and radar masts . The River class were the backbone of the RCN destroyer fleet and served as leaders of the Mid - Ocean Escort Force during the Battle of the Atlantic . Four of the class were lost and one severely damaged during the war : and were sunk by collisions in 1940 ; was torpedoed by in 1942 , and " Skeena " was driven aground on Viðey Island near Reykjavík , Iceland in 1944 . " Saguenay " lost much of her stern in a November 1942 collision , and was subsequently relegated to training duties . The surviving ships were all decommissioned and scrapped following the war . 1939 . On 23 October 1939 , the German - flagged tanker " Emmy Friederich " scuttled herself on encountering " Saguenay " in the Yucatan Channel . 1940 . On 8 March 1940 " Assiniboine " , along with intercepted and captured the German merchant ship " Hannover " near Jamaica . " Hannover " was later converted into . On the night of 25 June 1940 , " Fraser " was tasked to join the destroyer and light cruiser on Operation " Ariel " to rescue 4 , 000 refugees trapped by the German Army from the coast of Bordeaux , France . The warships encountered rough seas and poor visibility , forcing the commanding officer of " Fraser " to close quarters with the other two vessels . " Fraser " executed a turn to port to bring the ship behind " Calcutta " but in doing so , the two ships collided . The bow of the heavier " Calcutta " sliced into " Fraser " with such force that the destroyer was cut into three pieces . " Fraser " lost 47 sailors , and a further 19 were lost from " Calcutta " . Many of the survivors from " Fraser " transferred that summer to " Margaree " and were lost when that vessel sank on 22 October 1940 as a result of a collision with the freighter MV " Port Fairy " . " Margaree " was lost on 22 October 1940 , when she collided with the freighter MV " Port Fairy " at position . Of the 176 aboard " Margaree " at the time , 34 were rescued by " Port Fairy " , but the other 142 , including the captain and four other officers , were lost . In November , " Ottawa " assisted in sinking the Italian submarine " Faa di Bruno " . 1942 . On 31 July 1942 , " Skeena " and depth charged and sank while escorting ON 115 at . While escorting convoy SC - 94 on 6 August 1942 , " Assiniboine " achieved her first victory when she rammed , depth charged and shelled " U - 210 " south of Cape Farewell , Greenland . On 14 September 1942 , while escorting Convoy ON - 127 east of St . John ' s , Newfoundland , " Ottawa " was torpedoed by . Less than 30 minutes later , unable to maneuver , she was hit by a second torpedo . The second attack broke her in half , sinking her . 114 crew lost their lives , including the commanding officer , while 65 survivors were rescued by nearby vessels . On 15 November 1942 , " Saguenay " was rammed by the Panamanian freighter " Azra " off Cape Race , Newfoundland . The impact of the collision set off " Saguenay " s depth charges , which blew off her stern . She made port at Saint John , New Brunswick , where her stern was plated over . On 23 May 1943 , " Saguenay " was transferred to Halifax , to serve with the Western Ocean Escort Force working from Halifax and St . John ' s , Newfoundland . In October 1943 " Saguenay " was towed to Digby , Nova Scotia , as a tender assigned to , the Royal Canadian Navy ' s training depot for new entries ( recruits ) . She was used for teaching seamanship and gunnery until 30 July 1945 , paid off in late 1945 , and broken up in 1946 . " St . Laurent " had her first victory on 27 December 1942 when she was credited with sinking " U - 356 " while escorting Convoy ON 154 north of the Azores , along with the corvettes , and . 1943 . On 2 March 1943 " Assiniboine " was damaged by her own depth charges during a battle with " U - 119 " . She made Liverpool on 7 March and took 3 months to repair . HMCS " Saskatchewan " ( H70 ) , formerly HMS " Fortune " joined the River - class in May 1943 . HMCS " Gatineau " joined in June . 1944 . On 6 March 1944 at 1830 hrs , the German U - boat was sunk in the North Atlantic , in position following a lengthy hunt to exhaustion . It was initially torpedoed by the British I - class destroyer and an unsuccessful attempt was made at towing the submarine to port . The U - boat was subsequently sunk by depth charge s from " Icarus " , Canadian corvettes and , Canadian frigate , Canadian destroyers HMCS " Chaudière " and , and the British corvette . " St . Laurent " was credited with the 10 March 1944 sinking of the " U - 845 " in the North Atlantic , along with the destroyer , corvette and corvette . On 6 July 1944 , " Ottawa " and " Kootenay " were detached from a convoy to assist HMS " Statice " with a submarine contact off Beachy Head , Sussex . As " Ottawa " swept the area , she gained sonar contact and attacked with depth charges . Shortly afterward , large amounts of debris appeared on the surface , including caps marked " U - 678 " . On 7 July 1944 , " Kootenay " , " Ottawa " , and the corvette depth - charged and sank the German VIIC - class U - boat in the English Channel south - west of Brighton . On 18 August " Kootenay " , " Ottawa " , and " Chaudière " depth - charged and sank the German VIIC - class U - boat in the Bay of Biscay near La Rochelle . On 20 August , the same ships depth - charged and sank the German VIIC - class U - boat in the Bay of Biscay west of Brest . " Skeena " was lost in a storm on the night of 24 October 1944 . She was anchored off Reykjavík , Iceland and dragged her anchor and grounded in waves off Viðey Island with the loss of 15 of her crew . Her hulk was written off and sold to Icelandic interests in June 1945 ; she was then raised and broken up . Her propeller was salvaged and used in a memorial near the Viðey Island ferry terminal . 1945 . On 14 February 1945 " Assiniboine " collided with merchant ship " Empire Bond " in the English Channel . She made Sheerness for repairs and was operational again in early March .