depth charge thrower. Service history Chaudière was laid down on 30 July 1953 by Halifax Shipyards at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Named for a river in Quebec, she was the last of her class. The ship was launched on 13 November 1957. While under construction the escort suffered a fire which caused $200,000 in damage in September 1958. On 4 October 1958, a visiting engineer died after falling. The ship commissioned on 14 November 1959 at Halifax with the classification DDE 235. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker was a guest of honour at the ceremony. Upon commissioning, the ship was assigned to the Fifth Canadian Escort Squadron. In March 1961, the destroyer escort was among the ships that took part in a combined naval exercise with the United States Navy off Nova Scotia. Chaudière underwent shock testing off Florida in 1962. In February 1964, the ship took part in the NATO naval exercise "Magic Lantern" off Gibraltar. Following the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces, and the change from the Royal Canadian Navy to Maritime Command, Chaudière was transferred to the west coast to join the Second Canadian Escort Squadron. On 2 October 1967, she left Halifax to travel to Esquimalt. Initially all seven Restigouche-class ships were intended to be upgraded to the IRE refit, however due to financial reasons, Chaudières conversion was cut and by 1970, the ship was reduced to a training ship. On 23 May 1974, Chaudière was paid off and used as a source for parts for the other members of the class. In 1989, Chaudières sister ship collided with a merchant vessel and her bow was severely damaged. To repair the damage, Kootenays damaged bow was removed and Chaudières was installed in place. In September 1991, the Canadian government sold the former destroyer escort to the Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia for $1 for use as an artificial reef. The project to use the ship was saved mainly by donations from the community after government funding was cut. The ship was sunk in Sechelt Inlet, British Columbia on 5 December 1992. References Notes Citations Sources External links Canadian Navy of Yesterday & Today: Restigouche-class destroyer escort Restigouche-class destroyers Shipwrecks of the British Columbia coast 1957 ships Ships built in Nova Scotia Cold War destroyers of Canada