By: Roger Litwiller -Canadian Naval Author and Historian Recently the Royal Canadian Navy unveiled two of Canada’s warships painted in a multi-coloured camouflage scheme. Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship REGINA (2nd), a Halifax class frigate and HMCS MONCTON (2nd), Kingston class maritime defence vessel, have been given the “new” paint scheme. The purpose of this remarkable […]
Operation Neptune -The Naval Operations for DDay
When we speak of the Normandy Invasion or D-Day as it is more commonly called, photos of soldiers hitting the beaches are usually the first images we think of. The hard fought assault on five beaches to gain a foot hold on Fortress Europe on the morning of 6 June 1944. Very little is discussed […]
A. B. O’Brian -Biography of a Ship’s Mascot
During the Second World War many Royal Canadian Navy ships had mascots. They ranged in a variety of dogs and cats, one ship was rumoured to have a pet pig. For many of the young sailors, away from home these fury shipmates brought a sense of normalcy, a sense of home to them. You might […]
Friendly Fire Incident -Normandy
A wounded sailor from the cableship HMTS Monarch is transferred to HMCS TRENTONIAN after the two allied ships came under friendly fire from USS PLUNKETT off the Normandy coast on the night of 12-13 June 1944. See HMCS TRENTONIAN: A Victim Of Friendly Fire Photo credit SBA A. Singleton courtesy of Bruce Keir, RCNVR, Stoker, HMCS […]
The Canadian Maple Leaf -A RCN Tradition Honouring Our Sailors Past
If you look at any ship in the Royal Canadian Navy today, you will see a bright red Maple Leaf proudly displayed on the funnel or helicopter hangar. This has become a unique tradition in the RCN and can be traced back to 1918 when several RCN Drifters (CD Class) used for minesweeping had placed […]
Guest Speaker -Toronto Branch of the Naval Association of Canada
I am honoured to be invited as the Guest Speaker by the Toronto Branch of the Naval Association of Canada for their annual TRAFALGAR Day – NIOBE Luncheon. My talk will be “Voices of our Sailors Past -Stories from the Survivors of HMCS TRENTONIAN.” This is a collection of stories and recollections from the men that […]
Canadian & Newfoundland Merchant Navy Losses “Battle Of Atlantic in WWII
Canadian & Newfoundland Merchant Navy Losses “Battle Of Atlantic in WWII 1939 to 1945 By: Roger Litwiller © 1939 26 August 1939 -Admiralty signals FUNNEL to Commonwealth & British navies. Commonwealth merchant ships placed under naval control. 3 September 1939 -England & France declare war on Germany. Within two hours U30 torpedoes & sinks SS Athenia sailing from the […]
Royal Canadian Navy -Victory’s/Losses Battle of Atlantic in World War II
RCN Victory’s/Losses Battle Of Atlantic in WWII 1939 to 1945 By: Roger Litwiller © 1939 26 August 1939 -Admiralty signals FUNNEL to Commonwealth & British navies. Commonwealth merchant ships placed under naval control. 31 August 1939 -HMCShips FRASER & ST. LAURENT ordered “With Dispatch” from Esquimalt to Halifax. Arrive in time to escort first convoy WWII from […]
Canada and the Battle Of Atlantic
During the Second World War a fierce and decisive battle was fought on the world’s oceans and seas. Collectively it has become known as the Battle Of Atlantic. Winning this battle would determine the outcome of the war. The momentous responsibility of winning or losing WWII fell on Canada. The Second World War would have […]
PHOENIX 194 Under Control
The tow line was successfully reconnected to Phoenix 194 and the tug started towing the concrete caisson towards Normandy with HMCS TRENTONIAN escorting. The Caisson had proved to be a difficult tow and the line had broken several times. eventually towing through a gale force storm the line broke a final time and the caisson […]