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HMS Uganda (C66), a Royal Navy Colony class cruiser, transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy and recommissioned HMCS Uganda, later renamed HMCS Quebec.
The HMS Uganda was commissioned by the Royal Navy on December 17, 1942. While serving in the Mediterranean Sea she took a direct hit from a 1.4-tonne glider-bomb off Salerno Italy. There being no dry dock available in the theatre of war that could handle the repairs, the Uganda was sent to the United States Navy shipyard at Charleston, South Carolina. During this time the Canadian government arranged to acquire the Uganda. Originally it had two hangers for Walrus aircraft that were designed for reconnaissance work, which were later removed and used for radio and radar rooms as well as crew amenities.
Construction details
- Class: Colony, sub-class Fiji (2nd group) - 3 ships of 1939
- Builder: Vickers-Armstrong (Walker)
Theatres of service
- Home fleet 1943
- Mediterranean fleet 1943-44,
- Refit U.S.A. 1944,
- With RCN assigned to Pacific fleet 1945
- With RCN assigned to Atlantic Duty 1952
- With RCN Korean War
Service with the Royal Navy
In March 1943 after training at Scapa Flow, HMS Uganda sailed as convoy escort to protect a convoy bound for Sierra Leone from the German Narvik class destroyers operating out of the Bay of Biscay. After two such convoy duties, she was sent as escort for the Queen Mary carrying Winston Churchill and his staff to Washington. The journey was made at 30 knots, and the ship sailed into Argentia, Newfoundland low on fuel. Upon return from that duty the Uganda returned to Plymouth for a refit.
Mediterranian Operations
With the refit completed she was sent to the Mediterranean as escort to one of the largest troop convoys of the war heading to Sicily. The Uganda was part of the bombardment fleet for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943. She was then assigned to close support for major bombardments throughout Sicily. On the opening of Operation Avalanche, September 9, 1943, she was part of the fleet bombardment covering the invasion of Italy at Salerno.
Battle Casualty
On September 13 the ship was hit by a new German radio controlled glider bomb. The bomb hit the starboard side aft and penetrated through seven decks and the ship's bottom before exploding. Sixteen crew were killed and seven injured. Damage control under Lieutenant Leslie Reed managed to get the ship moving with one engine.
Repair and Refit
The ship was towed to Malta by the USS Narragansett, where temporary repairs were made. The heavily damaged ship, with only one of her four propellers working, then proceeded across the Atlantic ocean to Charleston, South Carolina for repairs. She arrived on November 27, 1943. While under repair the Canadian government negotiated with Britain to obtain HMS Uganda for the Canadian Navy.
Service with the Royal Canadian Navy
The Uganda had been refitted and improved during the repairs. The Walrus aircraft and catapult were removed. The aircraft hangers were converted to crew recreation and radar suites. The radar, radio and aircraft identification package on the Uganda was among the latest available. The ship was recommissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy on Trafalgar Day, October 21, 1944. Upon commissioning, the cruiser HMCS Uganda became the pride of the navy being the largest and strongest warship in the Royal Canadian Navy. Uganda was the first Canadian warship to circumnavigate the globe.
The Canadian Crew
The officers assigned to the Uganda were of the highest quality. The captain was Captain Rollo Mainguy, OBE, who is considered to have been one of the best officers in the RCN. He later became chief of Naval Staff. The executive officer, Commander Hugh Pullen, and other officers including Lieutenant Commanders Landymore and Littler were all eventually promoted to flag rank. Lieutenant John Robarts, Aircraft Recognition Officer, went on to become Premier of Ontario. The petty officers and other ranks of her crew were carefully picked group with many years of training behind them. The RCN had to have some 907 officers and men trained to man her. They did this by sending personnel to the Royal Navy to train on their cruisers. The crew came from every province in Canada and Newfoundland. Eight-seven per cent were RCNVR and RCNR, and the balance RCN.
Assignment of Far East
The Uganda was sent to join the British Pacific Fleet's operational area south of Sakishima Gunto. Leaving Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 31, 1944, she steamed via Britain, Gibraltar, Alexandria via the Suez Canal, Aden and Colombo, Ceylon, Ceylon to the fleet base at Fremantle, Australia, on May 4, 1945. She joined the 4th Cruiser Squadron and spent the month working up in gunnery, antiaircraft, refuelling and other exercises that would be required when they joined the British Pacific Fleet. The working conditions in the tropics were, however, hard on the crew. The ship had not been converted to tropical conditions, which would have provided better air circulation throughout the ship and more fresh water capacity.
Pacific Operations
HMCS Uganda proved valuable during operations undertaken by the BPF because her radar and aircraft identity capability was among the best in the fleet. On April 10, the strike against Sakishima was cancelled and the Task Force was ordered to attack Formosa instead. For three days they attacked the Formosan airfields. They were then directed back to Sakishima Gunto. The islands were attacked from April 15 to 20, before the fleet was sent to Leyte Gulf.
She later joined the U.S. Third Fleet 300 miles east of Japan. She was the only Canadian warship to fight in the Pacific Theatre against the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Out of the Action
It was while HMCS Uganda was involved in these Pacific operations that a directive came through from Ottawa to poll the crew on whether they would volunteer for the Pacific war. The requirement that only volunteers would be sent to the war zones had become a major issue in the Canadian election. Canada had faced a desperate shortage of soldiers in the closing days of the European war. As a result, "zombies" (conscripted soldiers who refused combat duty) had been ordered into combat roles. This had caused a political storm, and Prime Minister Mackenzie King, trailing in the polls, promised that only volunteers would fight against Japan. He narrowly won the election, largely because of the military vote. When the war ended in Europe the rate of re-enlistment fell dramatically. While this was going on the Canadian government wanted the crew to volunteer for the war in the Pacific. The crew for one reason or another felt they had volunteered for "hostilities only", (hostilities against Canada) but now they found themselves in a war zone on the far side of the Pacific. On May 7, the vote was held on the Uganda and 605 crew refused to volunteer for the Japanese war. The British Admiralty was furious and said it could not replace the ship until July 27. An embarrassed RCN in Ottawa offered to replace HMCS Uganda with HMCS Prince Robert, an anti-aircraft flak ship, that was being refitted in Vancouver. HMCS Uganda was detached from the fleet on July 27 when HMS Argonaut joined the fleet. The ship proceeded to Eniwetok, and then to Pearl Harbor for fuelling before heading for Esquimalt. En route to Pearl Harbor, one boiler suffered a liner collapse which would have required the ship's withdrawal from active combat. The ship limped into Pearl Harbor on August 4, but was not welcomed because of the resentment that they were "quitting" the war. They were refuelled and sent on their way. En route to Esquimalt, they heard about the atomic bombs being dropped on Japan. They arrived in Esquimalt on August 10, the day the Japanese announced their acceptance of the terms of surrender. Had the ship remained in the Pacific, it would likely have steamed into Tokyo Bay on August 30 to witness the official surrender. There were no Canadian ships present at the surrender ceremonies.
HMCS Quebec
On August 1, 1947, HMCS Uganda was paid off into reserve status. As a result of the Korean War, on January 14, 1952, HCMS Uganda was recommissioned as HMCS Quebec. She was moved to her new station on Canada's east coast. Another cruiser, HMCS Ontario, which didn't come on steam until the war was over, was stationed on the west coast. In 1953, HMCS Quebec was the flag ship under Rear Admiral Bidwell, which lead the Canadian ships to Spithead for the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Canadian group consisted of a carrier, two cruisers, one destroyer, and two frigates. HMCS Quebec served two tours in the Korean War theatre. As part of the post-war reduction, HMCS Quebec was paid off in June 1956.
See also: List of ships of the Canadian Navy
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