The Township and CFB Esquimalt will commemorate the last RCN ship to be lost in the Second World War, His Majesty's Canadian Ship Esquimalt.
While on anti-submarine patrol in the approaches to Halifax Harbour on April 16, 1945, the vessel was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-190.
Only 27 of the minesweeper’s 71 crew survived.. According to the CFB Esquimalt Military Museum, the survivors endured six hours in the frigid water before rescue arrived.
The Second World War ended in Europe three weeks later.
It kind of marks the last major casualty that happened in World War II during the battle of the Atlantic for the Royal Canadian Navy. It was a tragic thing to happen, considering HMCS ESQUIMALT was so close to home where it got torpedoed." -- Canadian Fleet Pacific Commander, Commodore David Mazur
The ship went down within view of Halifax, five miles offshore. Navy officials say it reminds us that the Second World War didn't just happen "over there."
Of the 24 RCN ships lost during WWII, 11 went down in Canadian national waters some in the St. Lawrence River, a few hours drive from Quebec City.
The ceremony marking the 79th anniversary of the loss of HMCS ESQUIMALT happens at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Esquimalt Memorial Park.