HMCS Columbia (DDE 260)
Encyclopedia
HMCS Columbia (DDE 260) was a that served in the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

 and later the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

 from 1959-1974.

Columbia was the seventh and final ship in her class and is the second Canadian naval unit to carry the name .

Columbia was laid down on 11 June 1952 at Burrard Dry Dock Ltd.
Burrard Dry Dock
Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia . Together with the neighboring North Van Ship Repair yard and the Yarrows Ltd...

, North Vancouver
North Vancouver, British Columbia
There are two municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, that use the name North Vancouver. These are:*The City of North Vancouver...

 and launched on 1 November 1956. She was commissioned into the RCN on 7 November 1959 carrying the pennant number
Pennant number
In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...

 260.

Columbia was not selected for the Improved Restigouche (IRE) or Destroyer Life Extension (DELEX) projects and was instead decommissioned from active service in the CF on 18 February 1974. She was placed in Category C reserve and was converted into a dockside engineering training platform at CFB Esquimalt
CFB Esquimalt
Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt is Canada's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters....

; her propellers were replaced with no-thrust wheels for this purpose.

Columbia was removed from reserve status in 1988 and sunk as an artificial reef off British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

in 1996.
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