Site Navigation:

Site Search:

Looking for more? Search for Articles on the Nauticapedia Site.

The HMCS Annapolis Propeller

by Christopher J. Cole 2016

HMCS Annapolis

Screw propeller from HMCS Annapolis at CFB Esquimalt. (Photo from the Christopher Cole collection. )

I saw this propeller on display near the Base Museum at CFB Esquimalt. Given the value of it as scrap I was surprised that it was on display. It was landed from HMCS Annapolis before she was sunk as an artificial reef. It was probably not intended as a memorial or monument but it certainly functions as one. The sinking is the start of a new long term mission for the ship as an artificial reef which will in time become a new habitat for rock fish species and other marine animals some of which have been seriously depleted due to over fishing and destruction of habitat over the past few decades.

h HMCS Annapolis

Plaque at screw of HMCS Annapolis. (Photo from the Christopher Cole collection. )

HMCS Annapolis was the last of the West Coast based steam powered Helicopter Destroyers (DDH). Of note were such innovations as the incorporation of an operations room from which the Captain engaged the ship and the provision of chemical, biological & radiation/nuclear (CBRN) protection. With the advances in fighting capabilities and the crew comfort that were integrated into the Class, these ships were commonly referred to as the "Cadillac of Destroyers" by the sailors who sailed them.

HMCS Annapolis

HMCS Annapolis (DND Photo. )

After being paid off in 1998, she was berthed at the Fleet Diving Unit jetty in Esquimalt, BC for eight years before being purposely sunk as an artificial reef (see the article).


To quote from this article please cite:

Cole, Christopher J. (2016) The HMCS Annapolis Propeller. Nauticapedia.ca 2016. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/Monument_Annapolis_Propellor.php

Nauticapedia

Site News: January 14, 2025

The vessel database has been updated and is now holding 94,957 vessel histories (with 16,337 images and 13,935 records of ship wrecks and marine disasters).

The mariner and naval biography database has also been updated and now contains 58,599 entries (with 3998 images).

My thanks to Ray Warren who is beginning a long process of filling gaps in the photo record of the vessel histories in the vessel database. Ray has been documenting the ships of Vancouver Harbour for more than 60 years.

Thanks to contributor Mike Rydqvist McCammon for the hundreds of photos he continues to contribute to illustrate British Columbia’s floating heritage.

My very special thanks to our volunteer IT adviser, John Eyre, who (since 2021) has modernized, simplified and improved the update process for the databases into semi–automated processes. His participation has been vital to keeping the Nauticapedia available to our netizens.

Thanks to John Spivey who is beginning his 4th year of fact checking all of the entries in the vessel database.

© 2002-2023