Quarterdeck of R.C.N. frigate in rough seas off Halifax, N.S., January 1944 Photo : National Defence

The Canadian Armed Forces: The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN)

By war's end, the Royal Canadian Navy had grown into one of the world's great navies -- 100,000 men and women and 365 warships. Just six years earlier, it had been tiny, with only 3500 permanent and part-time ('reserve') members and six modern destroyers and four minesweepers. The growth was rapid and enormous, and with it came huge problems in training people and readying ships for sea, some of which led to tragic losses of men and ships.

The Canadian navy's main work, using small, versatile Canadian-built antisubmarine warships known as corvettes, was as an escort force for the merchant ships whose Atlantic Ocean cargoes were vital to Britain's survival. This force played a decisive part in defeating the German submarines (U-boats) from deep in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Arctic Circle and the Mediterranean Sea. The RCN contributed mightily to other major operations, such as the landing of Allied armies on the coast of German-occupied France on 6 June 1944. ( See D-Day and the Normandy Campaign) One major Canadian warship also saw action in the bitterly-fought battles against Japan in the Pacific. The RCN lost 24 ships, mostly in the Atlantic, during the war.

Related Newspaper Articles

English Articles

• From Stokehole To Bridge Every Man Jack Canadian
  The Toronto Daily Star, 18/11/1939
   
• Royal Canadian Navy Rises from Insignificant Status to Position of Vast Power
  The Hamilton Spectator, 28/08/1940
   
• Outstanding Sea Successes Balance Canada's Reverses
  The Hamilton Spectator, 19/02/1942
   
• Prairie Sons Make Naval History
  The Globe And Mail, 27/03/1943
   
• Joins Navy, Six Days Later Goes To Sea, Hunting Subs
  The Hamilton Spectator, 21/04/1943
   
• Canada Navy Escorted 25,343 Merchant Ships To Britain During War
  The Globe And Mail, 08/06/1945
   

French Articles

• La marine canadienne
  Le Devoir, 18/05/1940
   
• "La marine de guerre du Canada comptera 213 unités, bientôt - L'effort de guerre du Canada"
  Le Devoir, 30/07/1940
   
• Le Canada reçoit six destroyers des États-Unis
  Le Devoir, 20/09/1940
   
• La part de plus en plus importante que joue le Canada dans la guerre navale
  Le Devoir, 06/02/1941
   
• La marine canadienne
  Le Devoir, 31/03/1941
   
• Le commodore Victor-G. Brodeur
  Le Devoir, 15/04/1941
   
• "La marine canadienne - 27,000 hommes et 300 navires"
  Le Devoir, 06/11/1941
   
• "Perte d'une troisième corvette canadienne"
  Le Devoir, 20/02/1942
   
• Notre marine de guerre
  Le Devoir, 08/05/1942
   
• La femme dans l'armée. Le corps féminin de la marine royale canadienne
  Le Devoir, 10/06/1942
   
• L'amiral Nelles réclame plus de vaisseaux d'escorte
  Le Devoir, 25/01/1943
   
• Exploit accompli en Méditerranée par une corvette canadienne
  Le Devoir, 01/02/1943
   
• En action dans la marine
  Le Devoir, 03/02/1943
   
• "Ration d'urgence des hommes de la Marine: douze tablettes, douze biscuits, chocolat, eau"
  Le Devoir, 04/02/1943
   
• "Nos côtes seront mieux défendues, assure le ministre de la Marine"
  Le Devoir, 04/03/1943
   
• Navires canadiens à l'honneur
  Le Devoir, 06/07/1944
   
• Éloge de nos jeunes commandos
  Le Devoir, 15/08/1944
   
• Notre marine patrouille à elle seule tout l'Altantique-nord
  Le Devoir, 06/09/1944
   
• La marine canadienne dans le pacifique
  Le Devoir, 04/04/1945
   
• Destroyers canadiens de retour au Canada
  Le Devoir, 05/06/1945