HMCS Protecteur (AOR 509)
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| Career |  |
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|---|---|---|
| Ordered: | December 16, 1966 | |
| Laid down: | October 17, 1967 | |
| Launched: | July 18, 1968 | |
| Commissioned: | August 30, 1969 | |
| Fate: | in active service | |
| General characteristics | ||
| Displacement: | 8,380 tonnes light/24,700 tonnes full load | |
| Length: | 172 metres (563 feet) | |
| Beam: | 23 metres (76 feet) | |
| Draught: | 10 metres (33 feet) | |
| Propulsion: | Two Babcock and Wilcox boilers; One General Electric steam turbine engine | |
| Speed: | 20 knots | |
| Complement: | 365 officers and crew (men and women) including 45 in air detachment | |
| Armament: | 2 x 20 mm Close-In Weapons Systems (CIWS), 6 x heavy (.50 calibre) machine guns | |
| Aircraft: | 3 - CH124 Sea King helicopters | |
| Motto: | "Soutiens avec Courage/Support with Courage" | |
| Battle Honours: | Gulf and Kuwait 1991 | |
HMCS Protecteur is a Canadian Protecteur-class Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment (replenishment oiler) ship. Built by Saint John Shipbuilding and Dry Docks in Saint John, New Brunswick, she was commissioned in 1969, the first ship of her class. The ship is assigned to the Pacific Command post in British Columbia and currently commanded by Commander Sean Cantelon. In 1991, HMCS Protecteur was part of the Canadian contingent sent to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield and later Operation Friction (the Canadian name for its operations during the Persian Gulf War). The ship, part of a three-vessel force (the other two being the Tribal-Class destroyer HMCS Athabaskan and old Destroyer Escort HMCS Terra Nova), saw extensive service in the Central Gulf as a replenishment, supply and workshop vessel. (The books Operation Friction by Jean Morin and The Persian Excursion by Rear Admiral Duncan (Dusty) E. Miller and Sharon Hobson tell the story of the Canadian Navy in the Gulf comprehensively.)
The ship will continue to operate until the Joint Support Ship Project has been completed.
She is the first Canadian naval unit to carry the name Protecteur, however there have been several units, including a base named HMCS Protector.
[edit] Departments
HMCS Protecteur has fewer departments than her sister ship HMCS Preserver (AOR 510):
- Executive
- Combat
- Combat Systems
- Deck
- Marine System Engineering
- Logistics
