A 100 Years of Canadian Naval History
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Canada's 100 year history is a heroic narrative of ordinary men and women who placed duty before self in the service of their country at sea. The creation of a Canadian navy reflected a practical need to protect Canada's domestic waters, fisheries and off-shore interests; to help in the defence of the British Empire; and as a proponent of peace throughout the global community. The Canadian International Military Tattoo is proud to provide this retrospective in our ongoing pursuit of Connecting Canadians to Their Military.
Formative Years
Despite a small population, the Dominion of Canada faced and found ways to conquer the demands that nationhood presented following Confederation. One of those challenges was the protection of Canada's large, mostly unguarded coastlines. The country's thriving fishing industry depended on access to the Grand Banks and other bountiful parts of the oceans. Robust interests in foreign trade also relied on the free movement of goods across the seas. Only a sovereign Canadian navy could guarantee that access. In addition, Canada’s attachment to Great Britain remained strong in the dawning years of the 20th century and with that bond came new responsibilities as part of the British Empire and Commonwealth.
The Canadian Navy was born when, after much debate, the Canadian Parliament passed the Naval Service Act, which came into effect on May 4, 1910. Officially known as the Naval Service Act of Canada, the new entity created a permanent volunteer force, which included a reserve. The Act also provided for the establishment of a naval college and in 1911 the Royal Naval College of Canada was established at Halifax, Nova Scotia but was later moved to Esquimalt, BC as a result of the 1917 Halifax explosion (watch a film about the Halifax explosion on FactualTV). The Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve was set up in 1913.
In its early years, Canada’s navy featured a single cruiser patrolling the waters of the west and east coast. The British cruiser HMCS Rainbow was the first ship commissioned into the Canadian Navy when it sailed into Esquimalt, B.C. on November 7, 1910. Her duties included fishery patrols and training. On Trafalgar Day, October 21, 1910, the second ship to join the Canadian Navy, the HMCS Niobe sailed into Halifax. (Canada’s Navy has operated five cruisers since 1910. In addition to the HMCS Rainbow and HMCS Niobe there were HMCS Aurora, HMCS Quebec (Uganda) and HMCS Ontario, the last cruiser in service which was paid off in October 1958.)
The Naval Service of Canada became the Royal Canadian Navy on January 30, 1911, although permission to use the Royal prefix was not granted by King George V until six months later.
Rebuilding and Innovation
Growth of the Navy was limited over the next several years due to political differences in Parliament, however, two submarines were commissioned into the RCN on August 7, 1914, as the First World War loomed. CC1 and CC2 Canadian C class subs, purchased by the premier of British Columbia from a shipyard in Washington, were later sold to the federal government and commissioned into wartime service. Sailors at this time were free to join either the British or Canadian navies – with many recruits choosing the former – and by the end of 1914 the RCN had about 3,600 recruits.
The Statute of Westminster of 1931 gave Canada autonomy with the right of discretion in matters of war and peace—a power Canada did not have in 1914. However, when the survival of the mother country was at risk, there was no question that Canada would support Britain.
The first warships built for the RCN were the HMCS Saguenay and the HMCS Skeena. Both were built in Britain by John I. Thornycroft & Company of Southampton and were commissioned in 1931. After this modest beginning, the Royal Canadian Navy expanded by leaps and bounds during the Second World War.
A determined German marine offensive had a stranglehold on the shipping lanes of the North Atlantic, essentially halting the flow of men and supplies to Britain and a beleaguered Soviet Union. The RNC's commitment to keeping vital sea lanes open by providing safe escort to merchant convoys through the North Atlantic plus its duties hunting down and destroying enemy U-Boats played a crucial role in winning the Battle of the Atlantic. Canada's first convoy sailed from Halifax on September 16, 1939, escorted by the Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Laurent and by mid-1942, the RCN was soon carrying out the lion's share of escort duty, while also providing protection to allied task forces as they landed in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.
Canada, a nation of only 11.5 million people, boosted its fledgling navy with a massive ship-building program that saw aircraft carriers, destroyers and cruisers launched from her ports at an astounding pace to meet the increased demand. The ship-building program was so successful that by the end of the War in 1945, she boasted the third largest allied navy behind only the United States and Britain. Beginning the war with just13 vessels (6 of which were destroyers) and 3,500 personnel, Canada ended the war with 373 fighting ships and over 110,000 volunteer members, including 6,500 women who served in the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Services. Approximately 2,000 members of the RCN died during the war and 24 RCN vessels were sunk. The RN and RCN were also responsible for finding new methods of Radio Directional Finding (RDF) that accurately located wolf packs using U-boat radio transmissions. As a result of these technological innovations, RCN escorts were able to hold their own against the formidable German submarines. Canadian aircraft and ships, alone or in consort with other ships or aircraft, sank 50 U-boats.
There is little doubt that Canada's maritime contribution enabled the Allies to muster sufficient forces and materiel to invade France on June 6, 1944 thus gaining a place in the annals of history for all time.
At one minute past midnight on 28 May 1945, all of Canada's ships at sea turned on their running lights to signal the end of the Battle of the Atlantic.
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Atlantic Patrol – Watch film on video links page. National Film Board of Canada, 1940; Narrated by Lorne Green, 10 minutes. |
Excerpt from a sailor's diary Frank Curry of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) wrote these words in his diary aboard a corvette in 1941, during the Battle of the Atlantic that would become known as the longest battle in history. |
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The World In Action—Corvette Port Arthur– Watch film on video links page. National Film Board of Canada, 1943 – Click for photo |
Other Operations
Overseas following the tragedy of Dieppe in August 1942, Canada’s troops distinguished themselves in Sicily (1943), Italy (1943 to 1945) and the campaign in Normandy (1944) and throughout the campaign to liberate northwest Europe until the allied victory of May 1945.
- Landing craft enroute to Dieppe, France during Operation Jubilee, August 19, 1942.
- Personnel landing craft draw away from a motor torpedo boat to start their run-in to the beaches during the raid on Dieppe.
- D-Day, Juno Beach – Personnel of Royal Canadian Navy Beach Commando "W" landing on Mike Beach, Juno sector of the Normandy beachhead.
- The anti-aircraft cruiser HMCS Prince Robert represented Canada at Japanese surrender.
Post World War Years
RCN ships deployed with the British Pacific Fleet in 1944 to serve along side the Royal Navy in the Pacific War. Canada's naval forces also served during the Cold War years resuming expansion plans with the formation of NATO. Her navy saw action in Korea by performing shore bombardment and train destruction missions during that conflict. (HMCS Sioux in icefield during patrol off Korean coast, February 1952.) The RNC innovation in ship design – begun in the 1950s due to a growing Soviet submarine threat – resulted in a new class of anti-sub destroyer escorts designed for rough ocean conditions.
Further upgrades to Canada's destroyer helicopter vessels in the early 1960s were made in order to accommodate the new Sea King anti-sub copters. Canada's navy was the first in the world to utilize ship-borne helicopters on small surface ships such as destroyers and frigates while operating on the rough waters of the North Atlantic and Pacific through such innovations as the Bear Trap, a cable-assisted winch which could haul an operating helicopter to the ship's deck in any conditions.
These innovations, including pioneering ship-borne sonar systems, resulted in expanded NATO anti-sub missions. The construction of new vessels led to the retirement of the WWII-era vessels. Carriers such as HMCS Magnificent were moved to vehicle transport detail in response to Canada's peacekeeping mission during the 1956 Suez Crisis (later replaced by the more modern HMCS Bonaventure). The RNC also conducted experiments with the fastest warship ever built, the 60-knot maximum speed hydrofoil HMCS Bras d'Or.
The last commissioned vessel launched in a traditional way for the Canadian Navy was the Kingston Class HMCS Summerside launched on August 26,1998 from the Halifax Shipyards Ltd., Nova Scotia.
Unification of the Services
In 1968, the Canadian Navy was merged with Canada’s army and air force to form the Canadian Armed Forces, later the Canadian Forces; The maritime component was named Maritime Command replacing the title Royal Canadian Navy.
Canada's Continuing Mission
Canada's history of naval service has extended through two World Wars, the Korean conflict, Cold War duties, through to a continuing contribution to global security by participation in NATO missions and peace-keeping services.
Ships presently serving in Canada's naval service include HMCS Montréal (Photo: Sgt Dennis Power), HMCS Algonquin, HMCS Protecteur and HMCS St-Johns (Photo: MCpl Michel Durand), HMCS Halifax shown here in Hamiton Harbour.
Watch the following clips of recent missions on the video links page.
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CNN reports from NATO mission in Arabian Sea Wilf Dinnick reports for CNN, August 7, 2006 |
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CF Combat Camera NATO Brilliant Mariner September 13, 2006 |
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HMCS Winnipeg Impedes a Pirate Attack CBCNews, David Common reporting, June 5, 2009 |
Epilogue
In an imperfect world still plagued with inequalities and brutish regimes, Canadian service men and women still serve with distinction in the pursuit of peace.
| “Whoever may take over the reins of power will have to have a navy, as every nation with a seashore must have and has had in the past.” Sir Wilfred Laurier, November 10, 1910. |
That prophetic vision of Laurier's led to the founding of a naval service whose exceptional contributions would ultimately ensure the security of Canada, defend the interests of her allies and be instrumental in ridding the world of a repressive dictator.
We are proud to honour the sacrifices of all who have served our country.
(Header Images: Background - HMCS Rainbow sailing into Esquimalt, B. C. November 7, 1910; Snapshot left – Commanding Officer of HMCS Winnipeg, Commander Craig Baines and Lieutenant Navy Nicole Robichaud a Maritime Surface and Sub-Surface Officer (MARS) watch the approach maneuvers while entering the port of Karachi, Pakistan.
Photographer: WO Carole Morissette; Snapshot right – HMCS Kapuskasing, of the ALGERINE class, is shown here refueling by the Astern method. This method was slow, but greatly helped to increase the range of the convoy escorts. Photo Courtesy of Corvus Publishing Group / Canada's Navy.)
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