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HMCS St. Croix

St. Croix, (ex- USS McCook),1940-42. Defended shipping in the west Atlantic. Sunk German U-90 700 miles east of St. John's, 1943. Escorted convoys to and from Tunisia under heavy attack by aircraft and submarines. Sunk U-87, August 1943.Transferred to Western Approaches Command. September 23,while hunting a U-boat, St. Croix was twice torpedoed and sank with heavy loss of life. Some survivors were rescued by HMS Itchen, herself torpedoed and sunk two days later. There was only one survivor of St. Croix's Complement of 147 officers and men. Many times St. Croix's officers visited the Crow's Nest.

William Fisher, Lone survivor of HMCS St. Croix
On the black night 20 Sept. 1943, the Royal Navy's first HMCS St. Croix was torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic. Another escort - British corvette MNS Polyanthus - was also torpedoed as she steamed in to pick up the St. Croix survivors. The following day the Royal Navy Frigate HMS Itchen picked up five officers and 76 men of the St. Croix, all that were left of a ship's company of 147. Soon after, the Itchen herself was sunk. Two men from the Itchen and one man from the St. Croix were rescued, the total survivors of 3 ships' crew. The lone survivor from the St. Croix was William Fisher who boarded the new destroyer escort HMCS St. Croix, this summer as a special guest. "Unbelievable" was the comment of the former sailor after touring the ultra-modern warship. But not nearly so unbelievable as his own story.

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HMCS St. Croix 2nd, Ships Bell
1958
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

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Completed in 1919, she operated with the Atlantic Fleet as USS McCook until placed in reserve at Philadelphia in 1922. Recommissioned in December, 1939, she again served with the Atlantic Fleet prior to being transferred to the RCN at Halifax as Town class destroyer HMCS St. Croix on September 24,1940. She sailed for the U.K. via St. John's on November 30th but ran into a hurricane and had to return. Arriving at Halifax on December 18, she remained under repairs until mid-March 1941, when she took up role of local escort. In August 1941, she joined NEF, escorting convoys to Iceland. In May, 1942, following six months refit at Saint John, N.B, she escorted her first convoy, SC.84, to the U.K., and thereafter employed constantly on the "Newfie-Derry" run. In April, 1943, she was assigned to EG C-1 and in June to C-5. During this period she sank U-90 while escorting ON-113 on July 24, 1942 and on March 1943, while accompanying convoy KMS.10 from Britain to Algeria, she assisted HMCS Shediac in destroying U-87. In August, 1943, St. Croix was allocated to support group EG-9 for an offensive against U-boats crossing the Bay of Biscay, but the group was diverted to the assistance of a series of convoys beset by U-boats in the Atlantic. While thus engaged, with convoy ON-202, St. Croix was torpedoed and sunk, by U-305 on September 20, south of Iceland. Five officers and 76 men were rescued by HMS Itchen, but only one of these survived the loss of the Itchen two days later. HMCS St. Croix (2nd), Restigouche class destroyer escort, was built by Marine Industries Ltd., Sorel and was commissioned on October 4, 1958. She was to spend all her active service life on the west coast. Transferred to the east coast, she was placed in category "C" reserve on November 15, 1974, to serve as a stationary training ship. In 1991 she was towed to Virginia for breaking up.

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HMCS St. Croix Gunshield Art
Circa 1941

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William Fisher Lone Survivor of HMCS St. Croix
20 September 1943
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada