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Canadian destroyer Iroquois sails up the Hudson River for Fleet Week (SLIDESHOW)

By Megan Carpentier
Thursday, May 24, 2012 13:00 EDT
Image by Megan Carpentier
 

The HMCS Iroquois sailed up the Hudson River and back against yesterday as part of New York’s annual Fleet Week, and Raw Story was along for the ride. Click below to view the slideshow, with facts about the Iroquois, the reasons for its participation and the other ships that participated in the parade.

  • The HMCS Iroquois is Canada's flagship on the East Coast, which means if the fleet went into battle, it is the ship from which the Admiral would direct the fleet's operations.
  • The Iroquois, a destroyer launched in 1970, can carry two Sea King helicopters and is staffed by 282 crew members. It is equipped to carry surface-to-air missiles, anti-sub torpedoes and one long-range and one short-range gun.
  • Though most crew comes aboard in a more standard fashion, Fleet Week guests were brought aboard using the Iroquois' rescue equipment.
  • CBC News correspondent David Common reported from aboard the Iroquois on May 23, 2012 because of the anniversary of the War of 1812. While American history considers it a war with the British, Canadians consider it a war between the U.S. and Canada.
  • The Iroquois Nation supported the British (and Canadians) in the War of 1812 in an effort to end America's western expansion and the increasing violence against Native peoples.
  • NYPD patrol boats accompanied the warships in Fleet Week as a precaution instituted in the wake of the 2000 bombing of the US Navy destroyer USS Cole.
  • The modern warships brought up the end of the parade: international tall ships led the parade in a nod to the bicentenntial of the War of 1812.
  • The Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest oil-importing port and the third-largest container port in the United States.
  • While France gifted the Statue of Liberty to the U.S. in 1886, military tensions between France and Britain precipitated hostilties between Britain and the U.S. in the War of 1812.
  • On September 11, 2001, 26 Canadians died in the attacks on the World Trade Center. The Freedom Tower, which is being built on the site, is still being completed.
  • The crew of the HMCS Iroquois stood at attention as the ship passed the former site of the World Trade Center.
  • Trailing the HMCS Iroquois in the parade was the USS Gonzalez, an Aegis destroyer that, like the Iroquois, particpates in NATO exercises.
  • La Belle Poule is a French training schooner first launched in 1932. She survived World War II in the British port of Portsmouth.
  • During the parade, deck officers on each ship stand at attention to salute one another as they pass.
  • A variety of tugboats, like the Megan McAllister, helped boats turn around at the George Washington Bridge and navigate into their shore berths.
  • The Empire State Building, seen in the distance, was the tallest building in New York from September 11, 2001 until April 30, 2012, when the in-progress Freedom Tower surpassed her.
     
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Megan Carpentier
Megan Carpentier
Megan Carpentier is the executive editor of Raw Story. She previously served as an associate editor at Talking Points Memo; the editor of news and politics at Air America; an editor at Jezebel.com; and an associate editor at Wonkette. Her published works include pieces for the Washington Post, the Washington Independent, Ms Magazine, RH Reality Check, the Women's Media Center, On the Issues, the New York Press, Bitch and Women's eNews.
 
 
 
 
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