Cadillac of Destroyers: HMCS St Laurent and Her Successors

Dean F. Oliver is a postdoctoral fellow at the Norman Paterson School of
International Affairs.

This handsome guide provides an excellent introduction to naval
construction programs in Canada since World War II. The book begins with
a brief discussion of the design requirements and construction of the
St. Laurent class; it then considers succeeding groups of warships
derived from or inspired by the parent design and includes brief but
detailed accounts of the individual vessels in each class. The volume,
which is lavishly illustrated, contains several very useful appendices
featuring lists of the ships that took part in UN missions in the
Adriatic and off Haiti from 1993 to 1995.

The text, though devoted primarily to ship descriptions, highlights the
extent to which the St. Laurent design was more advanced than those
produced by Canada’s major allies, none of whom had thought Canada up
to the challenge. The long list of crew comforts installed in the newer
vessels offers a striking contrast to the inhospitable ships that had
roamed the North Atlantic scant years before and brings home to naval
enthusiasts the high quality of the postwar project—the first warship
class designed and built entirely in Canada.