of the task force; however, all the other Iroquois-class vessels were in refit. Maritime Command chose from among the remaining fleet the vessel with the best electronic countermeasures suite, Terra Nova, to deploy with the task force. Terra Nova was quickly altered to make her ready for an active war zone. The ship's ASROC system was landed and instead two quad Harpoon surface-to-surface missile systems were installed. A Mk 15 Phalanx close-in weapon system was placed on the quarterdeck in place of the landed Limbo ASW mortar, and two 40 mm/60 calibre Boffin guns were installed in single mounts where the ship's boats were. The ship was also fitted with new chaff, electronic and communications systems. Restigouche received a similar refit before deploying as Terra Novas intended replacement in the Persian Gulf in 1991. Construction and career Terra Nova, named for river in Newfoundland and Labrador, was laid down on 14 November 1952 by Victoria Machinery Depot Co. Ltd at Victoria, British Columbia. The ship was launched on 21 June 1955 and commissioned at Victoria on 6 June 1959 with the classification DDE 259. Following her commissioning, Terra Nova joined the ceremonies for the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in July 1959. The following year, in August, with sister ships , and , she took part in the 500th anniversary of Prince Henry the Navigator's death off Lisbon. After work ups, 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. In March 1965, Terra Nova and Gatineau participated in the search for a Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair CP-107 Argus that had disappeared north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. In May, the ship began her IRE refit. As the first to undergo the conversion, Terra Nova tested the new SQS-505 sonar for several months before the refit was considered completed. In all the conversion took ten months to complete. However Terra Novas sea trials delayed the conversion program by four years. During this period, the ship first transferred from to the Third Canadian Escort Squadron in January 1966, before being transferred to the west coast as part of the re-ordering of naval forces following the Unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968. She was one of four Restigouche-class vessels that were