HMCS Assiniboine was a that served in the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from 1956 to 1988. She was the second ship to bear the name. Entering service in 1956, the ship underwent conversion to a destroyer helicopter escort (DDH) in 1962, the conversion performed primarily by Victoria Machinery Depot. She was officially reclassed with pennant DDH 234 on 28 June 1963. After being paid off in 1988, the vessel was used as a harbour training ship until being discarded in 1995. The vessel sank under tow to the breakers that year. Design and description The need for the St. Laurent class came about in 1949 when Canada joined NATO and the Cold War was in its infancy. The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was assigned responsibility for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and controlling sea space in the western North Atlantic. The St Laurent class were built to an operational requirement much like that which produced the British Type 12, and were powered by the same machinery plant. The rounded deck-edge forward was adopted to prevent ice forming. The vessels were designed to operate in harsh Canadian conditions. They were built to counter nuclear, biological and chemical attack conditions, which led to a design with a rounded hull, a continuous main deck, and the addition of a pre-wetting system to wash away contaminants. The living spaces on the ship were part of a "citadel" which could be sealed off from contamination for the crew safety. The ships were sometimes referred to as "Cadillacs" for their relatively luxurious crew compartments; these were also the first Canadian warships to have a bunk for every crew member since previous warship designs had used hammocks. As built, the ships were long overall with a beam of and a draught of . The destroyer escorts displaced standard and at deep load. The destroyer escorts had a crew of 12 officers and 237 enlisted. Armament The St. Laurent class was fitted with twin /L50 caliber guns in two mounts for engaging both surface and air targets. The ships were also fitted with two single-mounted guns. The class's anti-submarine armament consisted of a pair of triple-barreled Mk. NC 10 Limbo ASW mortars in a stern well. The stern well had a roller top to close it off from following seas. As with the British Type 12 design, the provision for long-range homing torpedoes (in this case