HMCS Charlottetown (FFH 339)

HMCS Charlottetown at Cleveland in 2008
History
Canada
Name:	Charlottetown
Namesake:	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Builder:	Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd., Saint John
Laid down:	18 December 1993
Launched:	1 October 1994
Commissioned:	9 September 1995
Refit:	HCM/FELEX April 2013 – April 2014
Homeport:	CFB Halifax
Motto:	"All Challenges Squarely Met"
Honours and awards:	Atlantic, 1942; Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1942,1944,Arabian Sea
Status:	in active service
Badge:	A representation of Queen's Square in Charlottetown with the Coronation crown of Queen Charlotte in the centre and 4 other squares surrounding in black and white.
General characteristics
Class and type:	Halifax-class frigate
Displacement:	3,995 tonnes (light) 4,795 tonnes (operational) 5,032 tonnes (deep load)
Length:	134.2 m (440 ft)
Beam:	16.5 m (54 ft)
Draught:	7.1 m (23 ft)
Propulsion:	2 × LM2500 Gas turbines 1 × SEMT Pielstick Diesel engine
Speed:	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range:	9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km; 10,900 mi)
Complement:	225 (including air detachment)
Armament:	24 × Honeywell Mk 46 torpedoes 16 × Evolved Sea Sparrow SAM 8 × RGM-84 Harpoon SSM 1 × 57 mm Bofors Mk2 gun 1 × 20 mm Vulcan Phalanx CIWS 6 × .50 caliber machine guns
Aircraft carried:	1 × CH-124 Sea King

HMCS Charlottetown is a Halifax-class frigate that has served in the Royal Canadian Navy since 1995. Charlottetown is the tenth ship in her class which is based on the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project. She is the third vessel to carry the designation HMCS Charlottetown. Charlottetown, assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and homeported at CFB Halifax, serves on missions protecting Canada's sovereignty in the Atlantic Ocean and enforcing Canadian laws in its territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone. Charlottetown has also participated in several NATO missions, patrolling the Atlantic Ocean as part of Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT) and its successor Standing NATO Response Force Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1). Charlottetown has also been deployed on missions throughout the Atlantic and to the Indian Ocean, specifically the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea on anti-terrorism operations.

The Halifax-class frigate design, emerging from the Canadian Patrol Frigate Project, was ordered by the Canadian Forces in 1977 as a replacement for the aging St. Laurent, Restigouche, Mackenzie, and Annapolis classes of destroyer escorts, which were all tasked with anti-submarine warfare.Charlottetown was ordered in December 1987 as part of the second batch of frigates. To reflect the changing long term strategy of the Navy during the 1980s and 1990s, the Halifax-class frigates was designed as a general purpose warship with particular focus on anti-submarine capabilities.