HMCS Toronto (FFH 333)

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

HMCS Toronto (FFH 333)
History
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"
Honours and awards:	Gulf of St Lawrence 1944, Arabian Sea; Meritorious Unit Commendation (United States)
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 & type:	Halifax-class frigate
Displacement:	3,995 tonnes (light) 4,795 tonnes (operational) 5,032 tonnes (deep load)
Length:	134.2 m (440 ft)
Beam:	16.5 m (54 ft)
Draught:	7.1 m (23 ft)
Propulsion:	2 × LM2500 Gas turbines 1 × SEMT Pielstick Diesel engine
Speed:	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range:	9,500 nmi (17,600 km; 10,900 mi)
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 Mk3 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 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. Toronto is the fourth ship in her class which is the name for the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the second vessel (and frigate) to carry the designation HMCS Toronto.

Service

When not on operations she is assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and is based at CFB Halifax. 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. HMCS Toronto participated in Operation Artemis, commencing her first rotation (ROTO 2) in January 2013 and finishing in February 2014 (which included a crew swap in July 2013 [the first crew swap in RCN history since 1991]).

While relieving HMCS Regina in the Mediterranean Sea as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2, Toronto was reassigned to the Black Sea for Operation Reassurance in response to alleged Russian intervention in Central and Eastern Europe. It led Task Unit 2 (TU.02) and worked in concert with Spanish Navy frigate Almirante Juan de Borbón, and will operate with Romanian Navy frigate Regele Ferdinand and US Navy destroyer USS Ross as well as other vessels from Bulgaria, Georgia, Turkey, and Ukraine.

On 8 September 2014, Toronto was circled by two Russian Su-24 attack aircraft and a Russian surveillance plane in a provocative manner. In November 2014, six members of the crew helped fight a fire while on shore leave in Antalya, Turkey. While in the Mediterranean Sea, Toronto suffered a fire in its auxiliary machinery room on 25 December 2014. The fire was extinguished and all personnel affected by the smoke were treated and released. During the frigate's deployment, Toronto participated in three naval exercises and led Task Unit 02 while operating in the Black Sea. HMCS Fredericton relieved the ship in January 2015.

Images

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• HMCS Toronto (inset).jpg
• US Navy 040214-N-5319A-003 Canadian Navy, Master Corporal Christopher Kelly photographs the crew of the Canadian Navy Halifax-class patrol frigate, HMCS Toronto (FFH 333) on Valentine^rsquo,s Day.jpg
• HMCS Toronto (FFH 333) 4.jpg
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External links

• HMCS Toronto (FFH 333) - official website