The ceremony of handing over the Robert Hampton Grey Arctic patrol ship to the Royal Canadian Navy took place at the Irving Shipbuilding shipyard in Halifax. As noted by Naval Today, this is the last, sixth, ship of the Harry Dewolf class.
The ship is named after a Canadian fighter pilot, Lieutenant, recipient of the Victoria Cross (posthumously). He served in naval aviation during the Second World War. He bombed the German fleet off the coast of Norway, and after the end of the European campaign he found himself in the Pacific Theater of Operations. In July 1945, he sank a Japanese destroyer in the Mysore raid. On August 9 of the same year, Gray participated in an attack on Japanese warships in Onagawa Wan and came under heavy anti-aircraft fire. His plane caught fire, but Gray, going extremely low, continued to move towards the target and hit the Amakusa escort ship with a bomb, but then crashed into the water.
Patrol icebreaker "Robert Hampton Gray"
Canadian Royal Navy
After the ceremony of handing over to the Royal Navy, the ship will undergo trial operation in various conditions. The commissioning ceremony of the patrol icebreaker is expected to take place in 2026, after arrival at the home port of Esquimalt (British Columbia).
"The adoption of the latest patrol vessel for Arctic operations is a key event for us, as it highlights the success of the national shipbuilding strategy," said Vice Admiral Angus Topshi, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy.
The Government of Canada and Irving Shipbuilding have signed a contract for the supply of six new Arctic-class patrol ships in 2015. The deal amounted to 3.5 billion Canadian dollars (at that time – 2.92 billion US dollars).
The first pair of patrol icebreakers, the Harry Dewolf and the Margaret Brook, began construction in September 2015 and September 2016, respectively. The lead ship was commissioned in June 2021, after a year of trial operation. The Margaret Brook was transferred to the Canadian Navy in July 2021, and commissioned in October 2022. A month earlier, in September 2022, the Canadian Navy received its third patrol icebreaker, the Max Bernays.
The next ship in the series, the William Hall, was delivered to the customer in early September 2023, and the fifth, the Frederick Rolette, in August 2024 (commissioned in June 2025).
The Robert Hampton Gray ship was laid down in August 2023 and launched in December 2024.
With a hull length of 103 meters and a displacement of 6,615 tons, the Harry Dewolf-class ships have become the largest in the Royal Canadian Navy. They are designed to patrol Canada's territorial waters, including the Arctic, and are suitable for missions abroad in support of foreign partners, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and the fight against drug trafficking.
The power plant of the patrol icebreaker consists of two diesel engines and four generators, which can reach speeds of up to 17 knots in open water and 3 knots when moving through ice 1 meter thick. The cruising range is 6800 nautical miles, and the autonomy is 85 days. The crew consists of 65 people (additional accommodation is possible for 22 people – Marines, special operations service soldiers, medical staff or participants in scientific expeditions).
The ships are armed with a 25 mm Mk.38 artillery complex from British BAE Systems and two American 12.7mm Browning-M2 machine guns. There is one helicopter on board, the CH-148 Cyclone or the CH-149 Kormorant.
