Allied Warships

HMCS St. Croix (I 81)

Destroyer of the Town class

HMCS St.Croix as seen during the war.

Navy	The Royal Canadian Navy
Type	Destroyer
Class	Town
Pennant	I 81
Built by	Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. (Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.A.)
Ordered
Laid down	11 Sep 1918
Launched	31 Jan 1919
Commissioned	24 Sep 1940
Lost	20 Sep 1943
Loss position	57° 30'N, 31° 10'W

History	HMCS St. Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. Andrew Hedley Dobson, DSC, RCNR) was torpedoed and sunk south-west of Iceland in position 57º30'N, 31º10'W by U-305 while escorting convoy ON-202. The ship was one of the first victims of the newly developed acoustic torpedo Gnat. 68 crew members were lost. Of the 5 officers and 76 ratings picked up by the British frigate HMS Itchen (sunk by German U-boat U-666), only one, Leading Stoker William Allen Fisher, survived the sinking of the Itchen a few days later. Hit by U-boat Sunk on 20 Sep 1943 by U-305 (Bahr).
U-boat Attack	See our U-boat attack entry for the HMCS St. Croix
Former name	USS McCook (DD 252)

Commands listed for HMCS St. Croix (I 81)

Please note that we're still working on this section.

	Commander	From	To
1	Lt Morson Alexander Medland, RCN	24 Sep 1940	10 Oct 1940
2	Lt.Cdr. Harry Kingsley, RCN	11 Oct 1940	10 Dec 1941
3	T/Lt. Ian Hunter Bell, RCNVR	11 Dec 1941	5 Jan 1942
4	A/Lt.Cdr. Andrew Hedley Dobson, RCNR	6 Jan 1942	20 Sep 1943 (+)

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Notable events involving St. Croix include:

Photograph taken by Charles James Sadler, RCNVR. First Class Stoker, Official number V-4963, serving in the Canadian destroyer HMCS Columbia.

3 May 1941
HMS Tribune (Lt.Cdr. R.G. Norfolk, RN) conducts A/S exercises with ships of the Royal Canadian Navy, HMCS Renard, HMCS St Croix (Cdr. H. Kingsley, RCN) and HMCS Wetaskiwin (Lt.Cdr. G.S. Windeyer, RCN) (1)

2 Oct 1941
HMCS St. Croix (Cdr. H. Kingsley, RCN) picks up 34 survivors from the Dutch merchant Tuva that was torpedoed and sunk the previous day by German U-boat U-575 in the North Atlantic southwest of Iceland in position 54°16'N, 26°36'W.

24 Jul 1942
German U-boat U-90 was sunk in the Northern Atlantic, in position 48°12'N, 40°56'W by depth charges from the Canadian destroyer HMCS St Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. A.H. Dobson, RCNR).

3 Sep 1942
HMS H 32 (Lt. J.R. Drummond, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMCS Amherst (T/Lt. H.G. Denyer, RCNR), HMCS St. Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. A.H. Dobson, DSC, RCNR), USS Nicholson and USS Ludlow. (2)

4 Sep 1942
HMS H 32 (Lt. J.R. Drummond, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMCS Amherst (T/Lt. H.G. Denyer, RCNR), HMCS St. Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. A.H. Dobson, DSC, RCNR), HMCS Ottawa (A/Lt.Cdr. C.A. Rutherford, RCN), HMCS Sherbrooke (T/Lt. J.A.M. Levesque, RCNR), HMCS Arvida (T/Lt. A.I. MacKay, RCNR) and HMCS Brandon (T/Lt. R.J.G. Johnson, RCNVR). (2)

10 Sep 1942
At 21.10 hours on 10 September 1942 German U-boat U-659 attacked the convoy ON-127 southwest of Iceland and reported hits on two ships. In fact, two torpedoes hit the British tanker Empire Oil at the bow and stern and stopped the tanker. At 01.47 hours the next day, German U-boat U-584 sank the drifting Empire Oil with two coups de gr?ce. The master, 12 crew members and six gunners were picked up by the Canadian destroyer HMCS St Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. A.N. Dobson, RCNR) and landed at St. John's on 15 September. 29 crew members and five gunners were picked up by the Canadian destroyer HMCS Ottawa (A/Lt.Cdr. C.A. Rutherford, RCN) On 14 September, 13 crew members and five gunners were lost when this destroyer was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-91.

4 Mar 1943
German U-boat U-87 was sunk west of Leixoes, in position 41°36'N, 13°31'W, by depth charges from the Canadian corvette HMCS Shediac (Lt. J.E. Clayton, RCNR) and the Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. A.H. Dobson, DSC, RCNR).

29 Mar 1943
HMS H 44 (Lt. P.S. Beale, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMCS St. Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. A.H. Dobson, DSC, RCNR), HMCS Battleford (T/Lt. F.A. Beck, RCNVR), HMS Itchen (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) C.E. Bridgman, DSO, RNR) and HMS Keppel (Lt.Cdr. R.B.S. Tennant, RN). (3)

12 Apr 1943
The Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. A.H. Dobson, DSC, RCNR) and the Canadian corvette HMCS Camrose (Lt L.R. Pavillard, RCNVR) together pick up 28 survivors from the Norwegian merchant Ingerfire that was torpedoed and sunk about 400 miles east of Newfoundland, Canada in position 51°29'N, 42°59'W.

12 Apr 1943
The Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. A.H. Dobson, DSC, RCNR) and the Canadian corvette HMCS Camrose (Lt L.R. Pavillard, RCNVR) together pick up 28 survivors from the Norwegian merchant Ingerfire that was torpedoed and sunk the previous day about 400 miles east of Newfoundland, Canada in position 51°29'N, 42°59'W.

28 Aug 1943
HMS H 33 (T/Lt. C.P. Thode, RNZNVR) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMS Geranium (T/Lt. A.R.J. Tilston, DSC, RNR), HMS Azalea (Lt. G.C. Geddes, RD, RNR), HMS Balsam (Lt. J.E.L. Peters, RNVR) and HMCS St. Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. A.H. Dobson, DSC, RCNR). (4)

3 Sep 1943
HMS H 28 (Lt. E.C. Croswell, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMCS St. Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. A.H. Dobson, DSC, RCNR) and HMS Amaranthus (T/A/Lt.Cdr. W.G. Pardoe-Matthews, RNR). (5)

7 Sep 1943
HMS H 33 (Lt. D.G. Kent, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMCS Sackville (Lt. A.H. Rankin, RCNVR), HMCS Chambly (T/A/Lt.Cdr. A.F. Pickard, RCNR), HMS Itchen (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) C.E. Bridgman, DSO, RNR) and HMCS St. Croix (A/Lt.Cdr. A.H. Dobson, DSC, RCNR). (6)