HMCS La Hulloise

There has been only one vessel named La Hulloise in the Royal Canadian navy.

HMCS La Hulloise (K668 / 305)

Commissioned at Montréal, Quebec, on May 20, 1944, the River Class frigate La Hulloise was named for the city of Hull, Quebec, as the name Hull was being used by a Royal Navy ship. She arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in June and then proceeded to Bermuda in July for work-ups. On her return, she was assigned to Escort Group 16 in Halifax. She was reassigned to Escort Group 25 in October, and transferred with it to Londonderry, Northern Ireland, in November 1944. She spent the remainder of the war in United Kingdom waters, alternately based at Londonderry and Rosyth, Scotland. On March 7, 1945, with her sister-ships HMCS Strathadam and HMCS Thetford Mines, she took part in sinking German submarine U-1302 in U.K. waters (St. George’s Channel). Late in May, she sailed for Canada to undergo refit at Saint John, New Brunswick. Work was completed October 19, but the Pacific war had ended and she was paid off in Halifax on December 6, 1945.

Re-commissioned for cadet and new entry training in 1949, La Hulloise was largely operational until November 23, 1953, when she was paid off for conversion to a Prestonian Class ocean escort. She was commissioned as such on October 9, 1957, and remained in service until paid off July 16, 1965. She was broken up at La Spezia, Italy in 1966.

• Builder: Canadian Vickers Ltd., Montréal, Quebec.
• Laid down: August 10, 1943
• Launched: October 29, 1943
• Date commissioned: May 20, 1944
• Date paid off (Final): July 16, 1965
• Displacement: 1,445 tons
• Dimensions: 91.9 m x 11.1 m x 2.7 m
• Speed: 19 knots
• Crew: 141
• Armament: (River) two 4-inch (102-mm) (1 double mount) guns, one 12-pound (5.45 kg) gun, eight 20-mm guns (4 double mounts), one Hedgehog mortar, depth charges; (Prestonian) two 4-inch (102-mm) (1 double mount) guns, six 40-mm guns (1 double mount, 4 single mounts), two Squid Mortars

Motto: Soyons coeur franc (Let Us Be True of Heart)