Irving Shipbuilding Inc introduced it has actually reduced initial steel for the future HMCS Robert Hampton Gray, noting the main beginning of manufacturing for Canada’s 6th and also Final Arctic and also Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) for the Royal Canadian Navy developed under the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
Construction of Canada’s future fight fleet starts at Irving Shipbuilding’s Marine Fabricators center in Dartmouth, N.S. The resulting 70,000 items are made in a critical series to fulfill the manufacturing routine at Irving Shipbuilding’s Halifax Shipyard.
The steel evaluates 3734 kilos (3.7 tonnes) and also will certainly be made use of in a mix of places on the ship, consisting of the first items that will certainly start advancement of the keel. Upon conclusion, the future HMCS Robert Hampton Gray will certainly be 103.6 meters in size, have a 19-meter beam of light, displace 6,615 tonnes and also be consisted of 440,000 components. Each AOPS vessel has more than 300kms of wire and also greater than 36kms of pipeline.
Ross Langley, Vice Chairman– Irving Shipbuilding, claimed, “Today marks an historic milestone in the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) program as we cut steel on the sixth and final ship of the class for the Royal Canadian Navy. I am proud of our 2,100 shipbuilders, who are committed to continuous improvement and providing quality ships to those who bravely serve. Our workforce has grown by 65% since 2012. To date, we have seen over $4.75 billion in spending commitments to over 325 organizations across Canada.
“As we begin this last AOPS for the Navy, we are realizing a 50% reduction in the number of production hours it takes to build each ship. Today’s steel cutting is taking place at our Marine Fabricators facility in Dartmouth. It gives me great pleasure to share that our workers at this facility have operated for 7 years running without a lost time safety incident.
“We look forward to delivering this sixth AOPS ship to Canada in December 2025.”
To day, 2 AOPS have actually been provided to the Royal Canadian Navy– HMCS Harry DeWolf and also HMCSMargaret Brooke The future HMCS Max Bernays (AOPS 3) schedules for shipment following month. The future HMCS William Hall (AOPS 4) just recently relocated all Mega Blocks to land degree and also is undertaking last setting up to prepare for launch later on this year. The future HMCS Fr édérick Rolette (AOPS 5) formally laid the keel in June of this year and also building and construction of the bow, mid-ship and also demanding Mega Blocks are underway.
Halifax Shipyard will certainly likewise build 2 AOPS variations for the Canadian Coast Guard, complied with by 15 Canadian Surface Combatants for the Navy that result from begin building and construction in 2024.
The Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) 6th Arctic and also Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) is called in honor of Lieutenant (Lt) Robert Hampton Gray, a Canadian marine hero of the Second World War.
Lt Gray signed up with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1940 and also worked as a pilot in theRoyal Navy Fleet Air Arm He gotten started in His Majesty’s Ship (HMS) Formidable with 1841 Squadron, signing up with the battle in the Pacific as component of Operation Iceberg, the intrusion of Okinawa, Japan, in April 1945.
Lt Gray was granted the Victoria Cross posthumously for nerve and also decision in accomplishing bold air raid on the Japanese destroyer His Imperial Japanese Majesty’s Ship (HIJMS) Amakusa.
On August 9, 1945, he led 2 trips of Corsair airplane to strike marine vessels in Onagawa Bay,Japan He opened up the strike run flying directly right into focused anti-aircraft fire and also was struck virtually promptly.
With his airplane ablaze and also one bomb shed, he proceeded the strike and also launched his staying bomb on the companion vessel HIJMS Amakusa, creating the ship to tip over and also sink. His airplane after that collapsed right into the sea and also his body was never ever recouped.
Lt Gray was understood to his fellow army participants as a brave leader with a fantastic flying spirit, that remained to influence and also encourage his team after his regrettable death.
Lt Gray was the only participant of the RCN to be granted the Canadian marine Victoria Cross from the Second World War.
Over the years, Lt Gray’s nerve, solution and also sacrifice remain to be identified in several means. In 1946, the Geographic Board of Canada called Gray’s Peak, a hill in British Columbia’s Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, in honor of Lt Gray and also his sibling John, likewise eliminated throughout the battle.
In 1989, a memorial was set up to him at Onagawa Bay, the only memorial devoted to an international solution participant on Japanese dirt.
Andy Fillmore, Member of Parliament for Halifax and also Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and also Industry, claimed, “The National Shipbuilding Strategy is creating jobs and economic activity across Canada, including locally in Halifax where the number of companies and workers benefitting from this program has increased substantially since 2015. As the sixth Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship to be added to the Royal Canadian Navy fleet under the Strategy, cutting the first steel for the future HMCS Robert Hampton Gray is an important milestone in our work to equip our Navy with the ships they need to protect Canadian interests.”
Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, Commander Royal Canadian Navy, claimed, “Today marks a momentous event in the life of a ship. We have reached a very significant milestone with the commencement of production on Canada’s sixth and final Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship, the future HMCS Robert Hampton Gray. Robert “Hammy” Gray was the recipient of the only Canadian marine Victoria Cross in theSecond World War His nerve and also decision will certainly withstand within the steel made use of to build the most recent and also last enhancement to the Harry DeWolf-class. The Arctic and also Offshore Patrol Ships are an essential system for our Navy, they will certainly make certain that we can patrol, safe and also shield Arctic waters for years to find.”
