Allied Warships
HMCS Kootenay (H 75)
Destroyer of the D class
Photo from Imperial War Museum (IWM), FL-11211
Navy | The Royal Canadian Navy |
Type | Destroyer |
Class | D |
Pennant | H 75 |
Built by | Thornycroft (Southampton, U.K.) |
Ordered | |
Laid down | 25 Jun 1931 |
Launched | 7 Jun 1932 |
Commissioned | 12 Apr 1943 |
End service | 26 Oct 1945 |
History | Transferred from the Royal Navy on 12 April 1943. |
Former name | HMS Decoy |
Commands listed for HMCS Kootenay (H 75)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
Commander | From | To | |
1 | A/Lt.Cdr. Kenneth Lloyd Dyer, DSC, RCN | 14 Apr 1943 | 28 Mar 1944 |
2 | A/Lt.Cdr. William Herbert Willson, RCN | 29 Mar 1944 | 26 Oct 1945 |
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Notable events involving Kootenay include:
20 May 1943
HMS H 33 (Lt. J.A. Spender, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. K.L. Dyer, DSC, RCN). (1)
22 May 1943
HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. K.L. Dyer, RCN) picks up 19 survivors from the Norwegian tanker Sandanger that was torpedoed and sunk on 12 May 1943 in the North Atlantic in position 46°00'N, 21°00'W by German U-boat U-221.
9 Jun 1943
HMS H 33 (Lt. J.A. Spender, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. K.L. Dyer, DSC, RCN), HMCS Ottawa (Cdr. H.F. Pullen, OBE, RCN), HMS Dianthus (T/A/Lt.Cdr. N.F. Israel, RNR), HMCS Arvida (T/Lt. D.G. King, RCNVR), HMCS Rosthern (T/Lt. R.J.G. Johnson, RCNVR) and HMCS Wetaskiwin (T/A/Lt.Cdr. J.R. Kidston, RCNVR). (2)
10 Jun 1943
HMS H 33 (Lt. J.A. Spender, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. K.L. Dyer, DSC, RCN), HMCS Rosthern (T/Lt. R.J.G. Johnson, RCNVR) and USS Broome. (2)
15 Jul 1943
HMS H 32 (Lt. J.A.R. Troup, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. K.L. Dyer, DSC, RCN), HMCS Ottawa (Cdr. H.F. Pullen, OBE, RCN) and HMS Egret. (3)
23 Aug 1943
HMS H 28 (Lt. E.C. Croswell, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMCS Ottawa (Cdr. H.F. Pullen, OBE, RCN), HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. K.L. Dyer, DSC, RCN) and HMCS Kitchener (T/A/Lt.Cdr. W. Evans, RCNVR). (4)
25 Apr 1944
HMS Safari (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) J.R.G. Harvey, RN) conducted attack exercises for the C.O.Q.C. (Commanding Officers Qualifying Course) in the Clyde area during which HMS Braithwaite (Lt.Cdr. E.M. Mackay, RD, RNR) and HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Willson, RCN) served as the targets. (5)
26 Apr 1944
HMS Safari (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) J.R.G. Harvey, RN) conducted attack exercises for the C.O.Q.C. (Commanding Officers Qualifying Course) in the Clyde area during which HMS Braithwaite (Lt.Cdr. E.M. Mackay, RD, RNR) and HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Willson, RCN) served as the targets. These included night exercises. (5)
27 Apr 1944
HMS Safari (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) J.R.G. Harvey, RN) conducted night attack exercises for the C.O.Q.C. (Commanding Officers Qualifying Course) in the Clyde area during which HMS Braithwaite (Lt.Cdr. E.M. Mackay, RD, RNR) and HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Willson, RCN) served as the targets. Upon completion of these exercises HMS Safari returned to Rothesay. (5)
7 Jul 1944
German U-boat U-678 was sunk in the English Channel south-west of Brighton, in position 50°32'N, 00°23'W, by depth charges from the Canadian destroyers HMCS Ottawa, HMCS Kootenay and the British corvette HMS Statice.
18 Aug 1944
German U-boat U-621 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay near La Rochelle, in position 45°52'N, 02°36'W, by depth charges from the Canadian destroyers HMCS Ottawa (Cdr. J.D. Prentice, DSO, RCN), HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Willson, RCN) and HMCS Chaudiere (A/Lt.Cdr. C.P. Nixon, RCN).
20 Aug 1944
The depth charge attacks made by the Canadian destroyers HMCS Ottawa (Cdr. J.D. Prentice, DSO, RCN), HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Willson, RCN) and HMCS Chaudiere (A/Lt.Cdr. C.P. Nixon, RCN) in the Bay of Biscay west of Brest, in position 48°16'N, 05°33'W, were earlier credited with the destruction of the German U-boat U-984, but were carried out against a nonsub target.
18 Apr 1945
HMS Volatile (Lt. F.R. Lawrence, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Tobermory with HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Willson, DSC, RCN), HMS Black Swan (Lt.Cdr. A.D.C. Inglis, RN), HMS Stork (Lt.Cdr. D.E. Mansfield, RN) and another vessel [unable to read the name in the logbook of Volatile]. (6)
24 Apr 1945
HMS Volatile (Lt. F.R. Lawrence, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Tobermory with HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Willson, DSC, RCN) and HMS Black Swan (Lt.Cdr. A.D.C. Inglis, RN). (6)
25 Apr 1945
HMS Volatile (Lt. F.R. Lawrence, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Tobermory with HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Willson, DSC, RCN) and HMS Black Swan (Lt.Cdr. A.D.C. Inglis, RN). (6)
28 Apr 1945
HMS Universal (Lt. S.S. Brooks, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Loch Alsh with HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Willson, DSC, RCN) and HMCS Saskatchewan (A/Lt.Cdr. T.C. Pullen, RCN). (7)
1 May 1945
HMS Volatile (Lt. F.R. Lawrence, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Tobermory with HMCS Assiniboine (Cdr.(Retd.) E.L. Armstrong, RCN), HMCS Kootenay (A/Lt.Cdr. W.H. Willson, DSC, RCN), HMCS Saskatchewan (A/Lt.Cdr. T.C. Pullen, RCN) and HMCS Gatineau (A/Lt.Cdr. G.H. Davidson, RCN). (8)
Media links
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Sources
- ADM 173/17782
- ADM 173/17783
- ADM 173/17772
- ADM 173/17761
- ADM 173/18620
- ADM 173/20331
- ADM 173/20127
- ADM 173/20332
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.
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