Petty Office 2nd Class Dymond. On board the HMCS Regina (FFH 334)carries a C7 which fires 5.56mm projectiles from a 30 round clip (Dymond also affectionately pets a covered 50 Cal machine gun with his left hand) - Moored at the Burrard Dry Dock Pier - North Vancouver BC - September 14, 2008.

HMCS REGINA is the fifth of twelve Halifax Class Frigates. Although conceived as an anti-submarine frigate, REGINA’s engineering and state of the art technology make her one of the most capable multipurpose platforms in the world. The twelve ships have been named after Canadian cities from across the country.

In August 1988, the first steel was cut for HMCS REGINA. REGINA was built by MIL/Davie Ltd. of Lauzon, Quebec. Lauzon is the same shipyard that built the first HMCS REGINA, K-234 in 1942. On 6 October 1988, the keel was laid and assembly of HMCS REGINA, 334 began. Over the next two years the ship took shape in the Lauzon shipyard, and REGINA was launched on 25 October 1991 bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia. On 2 March 1994 HMCS REGINA, 334, was accepted by the Navy.

Due to a high degree of automation, fewer personnel than previous ships of its size man REGINA. As a result, there is an increased level of habitability provided for the entire crew. Living areas are more comfortable and there are more mess decks, which allows for a smaller number of sailors in each mess. The largest mess deck in REGINA accommodates twenty-one sailors as compared to fifty-four in the older St-Laurent Class of ships. Separate dining, recreational facilities and closed circuit television entertainment provide outstanding shipboard living conditions.

The HMCS Regina made it's way into Burrard inlet on Friday, September 12th to the Burrard Dry Dock Pier for a little R&R and to take on supplies - The vessel doesn't stop much into Vancouver these days as the moorage rates at the other large piers (Ballantyne Pier, and Cruise Ship Terminal Pier) are a bit more than the navy's tight budget will allow, but the Burrard Dry Dock Pier doesn't have much in the way of facilities to handle the Regina and everything has to be manually loaded.

I was fortunate enough to be allowed on board with a tour guide Lt. Rob Nicolson. We started the tour, quietly creping through the Helicopter Deck Hanger where several officers were writing for navigational exams and along to the port side deck to view the Zodiac rescue boats and the Sea Sparrow short range anti-air tubes. None of the missiles were visible, just the tubes.

Next we went to the bow to the folksail deck where the Bofors 57mm Mk2 anti-air and anti-surface quietly rests. The Regina calls Esquimalt on Vancouver Island it's home but travels north through Alaska (weather permitting) and down the eastern coast of Canada and USA (but not so frequently). The Regina is often involved with our American Navy friends in joint Naval exercises that include target practice and force coordination.

Lt. Nicolson explained the recycling system for garbage and bilge water. Plastics are melted down into hockey puck sized nuggets then stored. Bilge water is sucked into tanks to be pumped out into waste water treatment facilities. Foodstuff and compost also has special tanks where bacteria is added to break down the food waste. Metal of course is saved, crushed and recycled. All in all, the Regina is a very Eco-friendly unit - my hat goes off and I salute you all.

After the Bow on top deck, we wandered through the Communication and Navigational Helm area on the bridge. The ship takes a lot of energy to maintain equilibrium in the water, for air circulation and essentials such as rudder control. Each section of the ship above and below decks has thick, color coded power cables standing by to by pass any area that may be damaged by battle. Lt. Nicolson also stressed that daily and weekly exercises keep the ship's crew on their toes in order to handle such emergency situations. They have everything down to a fine art, even docking procedures are controlled by special starboard or port side controls linked directly to navigation. I noticed a mannequin in uniform stuffed behind an above deck ladder "That's Oscar, the Man overboard dummy. The duty officer times the operation of retrieving a man overboard with a stop watch. If the operation takes more than 6 minutes to retrieve him, the whole process is started again until the rescue is done properly and efficiently." Says Lt. Nicolson with a smile.

Below deck I was ushered along wide hallways where rescue stations and fire stations are located. Special emphasis is made with regards to the ship's crew being in shape. In every available corner there are stationary bikes or tread mills - "Space is at a premium, but we believe in keeping our personnel in shape," says Lt. Nicolson when queried about the exercise equipment. With a second breath he told me that the firemen are specially trained for below deck fires to be dealt with argon gas (which suffocates a fire when flooded into an isolated compartment - a good place to wear an air mask because the gas is poisonous when it reacts with a fire) and chemical extinguishers for the fires that are related to helicopters and aircraft fuels.

"They can be nasty," says Nicolson, "within a three minutes a room can be fully involved with the fire feeding off the paint from the deck and bulkhead walls. That's whey there are so many fire stations aboard the ship. The first minute of the fire is critical." Lt. Nicolson says seriously, "there are 54 hydrant stations aboard this ship!"

Back up stairs to the top deck to look at the Chaff Rockets that are used to confuse any in-coming missile so the missile may be safely exploded away from the ship. Then the flag deck where the colors of the day are flown from the main mast - the black and white triangle shaped flag means the Captain is away from the ship. The others are home port flags and duty watch flags.

As my visit aboard the HMCS Regina came to a close at the place where our tour started, (the Helicopter Deck Hanger) Lt Nicolson pointed to a large, raised square deck plate with the words "No Step." This is where the 'Bear Trap' resides. A cable is dropped from a landing helicopter flying above the Regina's deck and hooked into the Bear Trap. The Bear Trap hauls in the cable, effectively pulling the helicopter safely to the flight deck. This is especially handy during choppy seas when landing on a moving deck is dangerous.

That's it. Lt. Nicolson and I exchanged pleasantries and i headed off ship along the gangway to Burrard Drydock pier with a compact flash card full of great images of the FFH 334 - HMCS Regina.

Commanding Officer/Cdr Haydn C. Edmundson

SHIP'S COLORS: Purple and Gold

SPECIFICATIONS:

CREW: 225 Officers and Sailors

DIMENSIONS:

Displacement 4750 tons

Length 134.1 m (440ft)

Beam 16.4 m (53ft)

Draught 4.9 m (23ft)

ENGINEERING:

Speed 29+ knots (33 mph)

Range 4600nm @ 17 knots (@19.5 mph)

Propulsion 2 GE LM 2500 Gas Turbines

1 Pielstick Model PA6 20 cylinder cruise diesel

Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG)

Screws 2 reversible controllable pitch propellers (CRPP)

Electrical Power 4 Motoren-Werke Mannheim (MWM) AG generators

producing a total of 3400 kw of power

WEAPONS:

Anti-Submarine Mk 46 Homing Torpedoes

Gun 1 Bofors 57mm Mk2 anti-air and anti-surface

Close In Weapon System (CIWS) 1 20mm Vulcan Phalanx

6-50 cal. Machine-guns

Missiles 8 Harpoon medium range anti-surface

16 Sea Sparrow short range anti-air

AIRCRAFT: 1 CH 124 Sea King