The Royal Canadian Navy held the official naming ceremony of the future HMCS Robert Hampton Gray on Saturday, August 9, the sixth and final ship in the series of Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) of the Harry DeWolf class. The event took place at the Halifax shipyard, with the participation of military authorities, government officials, diplomatic representatives, and descendants of Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray.
The ship’s sponsor, Jane Underwood —a descendant of Gray— performed the traditional naval christening by breaking a bottle of sparkling wine against the bow, an act considered a symbol of good fortune for the vessel and its crew.
Lieutenant Robert Hampton Gray was a Canadian pilot of the Naval Volunteer Reserve who served in the British Fleet Air Arm during World War II. He took part in operations in the Pacific and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his attack on the Japanese destroyer HIJMS Amakusa in 1945, being the only member of the Royal Canadian Navy to receive this distinction during the conflict.
The Harry DeWolf class, developed under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, is designed for surveillance and patrol operations in Arctic and oceanic waters. With a displacement of over 6,000 tons, a length of 103.6 meters, and a beam of 19 meters, the ships have Polar Class 5 certification, allowing them to operate in icy waters. They are equipped with a BAE Mk 38 25mm gun, two .50 caliber Browning M2 machine guns, and feature a flight deck and hangar for medium helicopters such as the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant, and Bell CH-146 Griffon.
So far, the Royal Canadian Navy has incorporated five units of this class: Harry DeWolf, Margaret Brooke, Max Bernays, William Hall, and Frédérick Rolette, the latter delivered in August 2024 to continue with sea trials before entering service.
The Robert Hampton Gray was launched on December 9, 2024, two months ahead of schedule, in a construction effort involving 2,400 Canadian shipyard workers. With its incorporation, the Navy completes the series of six Arctic patrol ships, while the Halifax shipyard continues building two variants for the Canadian Coast Guard and has started construction of 15 River-class destroyers.
*Images obtained from Irving Shipbuilding
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