HMCS Toronto (FFH 333)

For other ships of the same name, see HMCS Toronto.

HMCS Toronto (FFH 333)
Career (Canada)
Namesake:	Toronto, Ontario
Builder:	Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd., Saint John
Laid down:	22 April 1989
Launched:	18 December 1990
Commissioned:	29 July 1993
Homeport:	CFB Halifax
Motto:	"Excellence with Vigour"
Honors and awards:	Gulf of St Lawrence, 1944
Status:	Active in service
Badge:	Azure,a mural crown argent,masoned sable,surmounted by a beaver proper holding in the dexter paw,a marlin spike or.
General characteristics
Class and type:	Halifax-class frigate
Displacement:	3,995 tonnes (light) 4,795 tonnes (operational) 5,032 tonnes (deep load)
Length:	134.2 m
Beam:	16.5 m
Draught:	7.1 m
Propulsion:	2 × LM2500 Gas turbines 1 × SEMT Pielstick Diesel engine
Speed:	30 knots (56 km/h)
Range:	9,500 nautical miles (17,595 km)
Complement:	225 (including air detachment)
Armament:	24 × Honeywell Mk 46 torpedoes 16 × Evolved Sea-Sparrow SAM 8 × RGM-84 Harpoon SSM 1 × 57 mm Bofors Mk2 gun 1 × 20 mm Vulcan Phalanx CIWS 6 × .50 Caliber machine guns
Aircraft carried:	1 × CH-124 Sea King

HMCS Toronto (FFH 333) is a Halifax-class frigate that has served in the Canadian Forces since 1993.

Toronto is the fourth ship in her class which is the name for the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the second vessel to carry the designation HMCS Toronto.

Toronto was laid down on 22 April 1989 at Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd., Saint John and launched on 18 December 1990. She was commissioned into the Canadian Forces on 29 July 1993 and carries the hull classification symbol 333.

She is assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and is homeported at CFB Halifax.

Service

Toronto serves on MARLANT missions protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Atlantic Ocean and enforcing Canadian laws in its territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone.

Service highlights

• 50th Anniversary of D-Day Celebrations - May and June 1994. The ship visited several ports in the United Kingdom including the embarkation areas for Canadian troops taking part in the June 6, 1944 landings. Other highlights included attending the unveiling of a war memorial in Hyde Park and taking part in the sailpast of the landing beaches at dawn on June 6.
• Operation Sharp Guard, 1994 - NATO patrols off the coast of the former Yugoslavia to restrict the importation of arms and fuel in an effort to end the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
• Operation Victory in Europe, 1995 - Joined international flotilla of warships to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Victory in Europe. Highlights included a port visit to Amsterdam to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands. This included visits by the ship's company to ceremonies at several Canadian War Cemeteries in the Netherlands.
• Standing Naval Force Atlantic, 1997 - Toronto deployed for North Atlantic operations with STANAVFORLANT and was involved in a major search and rescue operation off the coast of Spain.
• Operation Determination, 1998 - UN patrols in the northern Persian Gulf to effect an embargo against Iraq. Toronto's rapid redeployment to the Persian Gulf necessitated intense training to prepare the ship for tropical operations under the chemical and biological warfare threats of Iraq.
• Flagship for the Canadian Task Group Atlantic, November 1998 - January 2000 - Toronto is involved in an intensive year of operations, sailing in every CTGA exercise.
• Exercise El Morro Castle, 1999 - Successful missile engagements against target drones and missiles confirms the effectiveness of the ship's advanced missile defence system and the crew's training.
• Search and rescue of the M/V Leader L, 2000 - Toronto in company with a squadron of Canadian warships to scene of sinking and is involved in rescue of 13 crew members. 18 men perished in the accident.
• Search and rescue of fishing boat, 2001 - Toronto responds to distress call of sinking fishing boat while conducting work-ups off Nova Scotia coast and is involved in rescue of 3 crewmembers. 1 man perished in the sinking.
• Operation Active Endeavour, 2001 - 2002 - Toronto deployed for eastern Mediterranean Sea patrols with NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic on anti-terrorism operations. Toronto's rapid deployment necessitated intense training to prepare for possible nuclear, biological, and chemical threats.
• Operation Apollo, 2002 - Toronto re-deploys to the northern Arabian Sea to conduct operations in the support of anti-terrorism operations.
• Operation Altair, 2004 - Toronto re-deploys to the northern Arabian Sea to conduct operations in the support of anti-terrorism operations.
• Operation Unison, September 2005 - Part of MARCOM contingent dispatched to assist in Hurricane Katrina (see: Canadian response to Hurricane Katrina).
• 1 October 2007 - Toronto, while serving in NATO's Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), was involved in a search and rescue operation of 9 missing Yemeni soldiers after a volcanic eruption on Jabal al-Tair island, about 140 kilometres off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea. Toronto rescued one man and located the bodies of two more.
• 24 November 2008 Toronto makes port of call in Norfolk, Virginia with HMCS Algonquin and HMCS Protecteur
• In February 2011, Toronto completed a month-long deployment to the Caribbean Sea conducting counter-drug operations in cooperation with the United states. Working with an embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), Toronto provided surveillance, logistics, and refueling support for law enforcement missions. This was the first time that a U.S. Coast Guard LEDET operated from a Canadian vessel.

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External links

• HMCS Toronto (FFH 333) - official website