CCGS G. Peddle S.C.

The Wednesday morning ferry was perfectly timed with the departure of the Canadian Coast Guard inshore patrol vessel CCGS G. Peddle S.C., and I managed to get some good photos in the dawn lighting.

This vessel is tasked with Fisheries Patrol and a secondary mission of Search and Rescue.

Launch of the future HMCS William Hall

The fourth of six new AOPVs to be built for the Royal Canadian Navy, the future HMCS William Hall, was launched by Irving Shipbuilding on Sunday. I caught her being towed back to the shipyard after launching. Halifax Shipping News has photos of the actual launch process.

Only a week before, the ship was still on land and looking like she wasn't going anywhere fast.

Two slightly modified additional ships (making a total of eight) will be built for the Canadian Coast Guard, once the ships for the Navy are complete.

Launching the future HMCS MAX BERNAYS

As hinted in my last post, the future HMCS MAX BERNAYS was rolled onto Boa Barge 37 on Friday in advance of her launch on Saturday. (For brevity, I will just refer to her as MAX BERNAYS from now on.)

As noted in my previous post, the red wheeled transporters in the foreground are positioned under the ship's cradles, and the entire assembly of ship and cradles is rolled out onto the Boa Barge 37.

I will start with a photo from a week or so ago, showing the ship up on the land level transfer area, prior to the transfer. She was located under the tower crane and next to the elevator tower.

MAX BERNAYS up "on the hard" prior to the transfer.

On Friday, the transfer began and the ship was moved backwards onto the barge. I nipped down over my lunch hour to grab a few photos.

MAX BERNAYS moving back onto the barge. Boa Barge 37 is the red barge with the white superstructure in this photo.

It has been noted on Twitter, where I first posted these photos, that MAX BERNAYS is the first of the AOPVs to be painted with a blue antifouling paint. The previous ships were painted with a red bottom, with a suggestion (not verified by me) that the red paint was the same as that used by the Canadian Coast Guard on their icebreakers. No word yet on whether this blue paint is a new product that will also be good in ice, or if it has been decided that the ship doesn't need the red paint.

An overall view of ship and Boa Barge 37 with the shipyard shed in the background.

When I returned later in the afternoon, the ship was entirely on the barge. 

If you look closely, you can see the red transporters under the cradles.

On Saturday morning, the Boa Barge 37 and MAX BERNAYS were towed out into Bedford Basin. The semi-submersible Boa Barge 37 was sunk underneath MAX, and the latter floated off around 4pm. I missed the actual launch, but managed to catch MAX's return to the shipyard in the early evening.

MAX was towed as a dead ship from the launch location back to the shipyard, under the command of two tugs.

The ship was turned before going alongside at the shipyard.

The ship is by no means finished, and work will continue for a number of months to complete the ship's interior and to commission it various equipment and systems. Various pieces of equipment also still need to be installed, such as sensors and the main gun. The ship is scheduled to be handed over to the Navy sometime in 2022, and won't likely commission until 2023 at the earliest after the Navy's own process of handover and familiarization. 

Future HMCS MAX BERNAYS

(Note: A previous version of this blog post incorrectly indicated that the WILLIAM HALL was rolled out, however, it is actually the MAX BERNAYS. The keel for the WILLIAM HALL was laid recently, hence my confusion on the subject. The quickest way to find the answer to something is to post the incorrect answer on the internet.)

The future HMCS WILLIAM HALL MAX BERNAYS is taking shape at the Halifax Shipyard, with the stern and midships sections having rolled out of the building hall within the last few months, and having recently been joined together. MAX BERNAYS will be the third Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV) to enter service in the Royal Canadian Navy. The first, HARRY DEWOLF, is currently undergoing sea trials and has recently operated in ice off Baffin Island. She will commission into the RCN later this year.

The arrangement of the building yard, storage for snow, ship's cradles, and high fencing does not make for easy photography, but one manages.

The opening for the port stabilizer can be seen just to the right of the yellow debris chute - it is retracted into the hull, as it would be when the ship is operating in ice or coming alongside. Icebreaking hulls are not known for great handling in rough sea conditions, and these stabilizers will help to make the ships a little more comfortable and prevent excessive rolling.

Photography from the ferry at dusk is similarly not easy, as it is taken from a distance at high ISO levels, but it can certainly be pretty. I need to find a better vantage point for this sort of night time image.

For those interested, I have a two-part article on these ships coming out in the April and May editions of Warships International Fleet Review magazine, and these articles greatly benefitted from an interview with the commander of HMCS HARRY DEWOLF.

A Flight in a CH-148 Cyclone

Last year, as a local contributor for Warships IFR magazine, I was exceptionally fortunate to fly in one of the RCAF's new CH-148 Cyclone helicopters out to HMCS VILLE DE QUEBEC so that I could prepare a piece on the Cutlass Fury naval exercise off the coast of Nova Scotia (see the January 2020 edition, Page 14). 

That trip has been constantly on my mind since the tragic accident this past week in the Ionian Sea, involving a Cyclone (tail number 148822) flying from HMCS FREDERICTON (FFH 337). The body of one sailor has been found, and the remaining sailor and four aviators onboard are now presumed lost as well. From the RCAF website, the deceased are: Sub-Lieutenant Abbigail Cowbrough, a Marine Systems Engineering Officer; Captain Brenden Ian MacDonald, Pilot; Captain Kevin Hagen, Pilot; Captain Maxime Miron-Morin, Air Combat Systems Officer; Sub-Lieutenant Matthew Pyke, Naval Warfare Officer; and Master Corporal Matthew Cousins, Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator (AESOP). My condolences to the families and friends of the crash victims.

While I intend to try and provide some minor context to Cyclone flight operations, I will preface this post with a disclaimer: I do not have any special knowledge or perspective on Cyclone flight operations, or indeed flight operations involving any maritime helicopter, and am merely writing this post to describe my one personal experience flying in one of these helicopters. 

September 17, 2019:

We (myself, and a CTV video journalist) joined our Cyclone (tail number 148817) at 12 Wing Shearwater. After meeting in a briefing room and being provided with some basic instruction, we were suited up and led out to the aircraft. The water temperature was cold enough that day that we were provided with orange immersion suits to keep us warm if we needed to ditch on the ocean. The suits are not themselves inherently buoyant, so we were also provided with life jackets. We also needed to wear hearing and eye protection. Add in my camera bag, and I was walking to the helicopter like a mummy.

Cyclone on the ground at 12 Wing Shearwater.

Keep your head down!

The Cyclone is a state-of-the-art maritime patrol helicopter - as one would hope, seeing as they are brand new and still being delivered to the Air Force. That said, they are far from luxurious inside, and in fact the cabin is rather utilitarian. 

Cabin looking forward, with the cockpit in the background. The white plastic knobs on the rail (top right) are intended to point you to the nearest emergency exit in the event of an emergency when visibility is curtailed - in other words, at night or underwater. The orange-suited guy to the left is standing in front of the tactical console, from which the helicopter's surface and sub-surface sensors are operated - this is where the AESOP would be seated. We were encouraged to NOT take photos of this console, so I didn't.

Another view looking forward, this time with the AESOP sitting at the tactical console to the left.

Helicopters are loud and sound insulation is heavy - so we were instead provided with hearing protection. Passenger seating is basic, and folds up when not in use. We were joined by two foreign naval officers on this trip, one of whom is pictured here, with his green inflatable life-jacket worn over his orange immersion suit..

While strapped into my seat, my movement restrained by my immersion suit and life jacket plus the two cameras handing from my neck, I replayed our safety briefing in my head, and hoped fervently that none of that instruction would prove to be pertinent within the next few hours. In the event of the helicopter ditching, we were told (among many other things) not to inflate our life-jackets until after exiting the aircraft, otherwise we might be too bulky to fit through the emergency exit. The Cyclone predecessor, the Sea King, was designed to land on, float on, and take off from the surface of the water - in calm conditions at least. The Cyclone, like most helicopters, is not designed in this way, and will tend to capsize (flip over) even during a gentle landing on water - helicopters are very top heavy, with the gas turbine engines mounted above the cabin.

The view from the cockpit.

The Cyclone is designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare and, in addition to the impressive sensor suite intended to locate surface and undersea objects, is fitted with large windows to allow crew and passengers a good view outside. There is some video taken during our flight here.

The view out a starboard side window. I lost the toss for the jump seat beside the open door on the way out to VILLE DE QUEBEC, and so had to content myself with this window beside my seat.

The irony is that with the crash of 148822 from FREDERICTON last week, probably the most capable platform with which to immediately search for the missing crew members was already lost. 

A room with a view!

On our way out to VILLE DE QUEBEC ("VdQ"), we flew over FREDERICTON ("Freddie") carrying out boarding drills.

A rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) from FREDERICTON approaches Leeway Odyssey during a boarding exercise. At the bow, out of site from the RHIB, are two "armed" men. FREDERICTON and NATO warships will be expected to be proficient in this sort of boarding operation. 

On the approach to VdQ, with the ship visible out the window.

We left Freddie, and headed to VdQ. Conditions were good and relatively smooth in the air, but landing on a ship sometimes requires sharp maneuvering - my stomach was in for a bit of a treat, with some banking back and forth on our approach. There is a video of this maneuver here.

Cyclone #817 approaching the ship on a flight subsequent to ours. This image is taken from the Landing Safety Officer (LSO) hut on the flight deck, from which the Beartrap hauldown equipment is operated.

The helicopter approached VdQ from aft and off to one side, then slid sideways over the deck, and touched down. It was a calm day at sea, with minimal sea state, and the Cyclone was able to land without assistance. In more lively sea states, the ship and helicopter would make use of a Canadian invention called the Beartrap (or C-RAST) haul-down and traverse system, which assists in landing the helicopter and moving it in and out of the hangar and allows helicopter operations to continue in up to Sea State 6. 

Rotor wash is visible on the surface of the water as the Cyclone comes in for a landing. The white object near the bottom right of the image is one of the ship's railing stanchions. 

The Cyclone is now moving to port, over the deck.

Now touched down on the ship, crew will run out and put chocks under the wheels, and attach chains to the helicopter to hold it to the deck.

The pilots kept the engines running to push the helicopter down onto the ship's deck until the wheels were chocked and chains were attached. Non-essential personnel are kept away from this area of the ship during helicopter operations, to minimize the number of people who could be injured in an accident - we were even told we couldn't stay in the hangar while a helicopter was operating due to the risk of a rotor blade detaching from the helicopter and being thrown through the hangar doors.

Helicopter crew members stand at the starboard door while a ship's crewmember chocks the aft wheels.

Another photographer takes photos of us from the LSO hut. Presumably there is an unflattering photo of me in a large orange suit around somewhere - having seen him there gave me the idea to ask if I could take photos of the helicopter's return to the ship from that same location. 

Ship's crewmembers aid in the landing of the helicopter. As you can see from the blurred rotor tip in the top of the image, the rotors are still spinning at this point, and we were kept on deck beside the helicopter.

Anchor chains and wheel chocks are in place to hold the helicopter on deck.

The control cabin can be seen in the top left of the image.

While the Beartrap is controlled from the LSO's hut at deck level, helicopter operations are directed from the control cabin one deck higher.

The flight operations control cabin at the aft port corner of the hangar superstructure on VdQ, with USS JASON DUNHAM in the background.

After dropping us off onboard VdQ, the Cyclone spun up again and headed off to transfer personnel to another ship in the exercise.

Liftoff!

The Cyclone slid to port and took headed off.

The Cyclone was constantly active during our visit, and carried out several take-off and landing evolutions. I was able to watch a second takeoff from the starboard bridge wing, and I was fortunate that the helicopter headed off down VdQ's starboard side this time. I have to assume it was all just luck, but I definitely felt I was being catered to as a photographer.

The Cyclone takes off and moves off the deck to starboard.

Rotor wash is kicking up spray from the ocean's surface.

If you look closely, you can see tip trails extending from the rotor blades to the right of the image.

We were not the only visitors to fly out to the ship that day - ships at sea provide good resting spots for migrating birds, such as this Baltimore Oriole.

After being overcast for most of the day, the sun briefly broke through as we headed out onto deck to re-board the Cyclone.

The North Atlantic is hard on ships, and VdQ is showing some of the wear and tear.

VdQ at sea.

As with the flight out, our return to Shearwater was uneventful. Our approach took us in over Eastern Passage, and I took this photo of a car carrier tied up at the Autoport - a reminder that one of the purposes of exercises like Cutlass Fury is to keep open our sea lines of communication and the delivery of cars and other products upon which we depend.

Car carrier at the Autoport in Eastern Passage.

In October 2019, I was able to attend the memorial service held in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the HMCS KOOTENAY gearbox explosion. Seven RCN sailors died in that accident.

The 50th anniversary service for the KOOTENAY gearbox explosion at the HMCS BONAVENTURE Anchor Memorial in Point Pleasant Park.

Local sailors and aviators gathered at the HMCS BONAVENTURE Anchor Memorial in Point Pleasant Park. The service was accompanied by a flypast and wreath laying by Cyclone helicopter - which, coupled with an onshore breeze, ensured that everyone got wet with salt spray. This memorial, built around an anchor from HMCS BONAVENTURE, bears the names of sailors lost at sea during peacetime. Sadly, some new names will now be added to that memorial.

The Cyclone headed off, spraying Air Force personnel in the process.