Kingston class patrol vessel
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The Kingston class consists of 12 naval vessels of Canadian Forces Maritime Command constructed under the Maritime Coastal Defense Vessel (MCDV) project. The multi-role vessels were built and launched from the mid- to late-1990s and are crewed entirely by members of the Naval Reserve, with the exception of two regular-force technicians. Their main missions are coastal surveillance, sovereignty patrol, route survey and training. They were designed with a minesweeping role in mind and are consequently classifed as Mechanical Minesweepers (MM), but this role has been moved away from due to ongoing difficulties with the sweep gear and the evolving nature of mine warfare. The possibility of acquiring the gear necessary to undertake a more appropriate mine hunting role continues to be examined.
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General characteristics
- Propulsion: Dual azimuthing Z-drives with five-bladed propellers ("rudder propellers") driven by two Jeumont DC electric motors powered by four 600VAC Wartsila SACM V12 diesel alternators
- Length: 55.3 m
- Beam: 11.3 m
- Draft: 3.4 m
- Displacement: 970 tonnes (full load)
- Speed: 15+ knots
- Range: 5000nm at 8 knots, or 4500nm at 11 knots
- Complement: Minimum crew of 31 (peacetime cruising), or up to 47 with the accommodations payload embarked
- Armament: 40mm Bofors Mk 1NC Automatic Cannon, 2 x .50 caliber Heavy Machine Guns
Payloads: Modular payloads fitted according to mission
- Thales Mechanical Minesweeping System
- Klein and Macdonald-Dettwiler Route Survey Towfish system
- DSIS Deep Sea Intervention System (deep water remotely operated vehicle)
- Phantom Remotely Operated Vehicle
- SUBSAR Submarine Rescue Package
- Diving Support
- Accommodations Payload
Other payloads - including mine hunting gear - are undergoing study and development.
Design of the Kingston class
The Kingston Class patrol vessels have many admirable qualities, including crew comfort and ship manoeuvrability, but they represent some design compromises. The program was conceived to advanced the use of commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment and construction techniques in a ship designed to military specifications.
Their main armament, the Bofors 40 mm Automatic Cannon, is modified surplus equipment that dates to World War II. While the gun itself is still quite serviceable, it does not have a mount designed for an unstable marine platform and ammunition is no longer manufactured for it, though the navy maintains a huge stockpile of rounds.
While the Z-drive thrusters make the Kingston class vessels extremely manoeuvrable (able to turn within their own shiplengths) and the engines are quite powerful and fuel-efficient, the hull shape with a blunt stern designed for minesweeping prevents the ship from achieving a "sprint" speed and the patrol vessels of other nations are considerably faster. However, the Kingstons' top speed is faster than that of most mine warfare vessels and is comparable to most large non-naval sea-going vessels.
list of Kingston class vessels
- HMCS Brandon
- HMCS Edmonton
- HMCS Glace Bay
- HMCS Goose Bay
- HMCS Kingston
- HMCS Moncton
- HMCS Nanaimo
- HMCS Saskatoon
- HMCS Shawinigan
- HMCS Summerside
- HMCS Whitehorse
- HMCS Yellowknife
