HMCS IROQUOIS passing the stern of HMCS SACKVILLE on 6 July 2012 in Halifax harbour. Roger Litwiller Collection, courtesy Roger Litwiller. (RTL64617)
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 […]
HMCS IROQUOIS Exploits After VE Day
Great detail has been recorded of the Royal Canadian Navy’s ships during the Second World War, including the Battle of the Atlantic, Operations in the Arctic, Mediterranean and many other ocean battlefronts. Sadly very little has been written about what happened to our ships after VE Day? Recently I have received a large collection of […]
Best of 2017 -An RCN Photo Collection
This past year has been very interesting. I have had several opportunities to visit and record our Canadian Sailors at work, on current taskings, preparing for deployment and building our future Navy. Below are some of my favourite photos from 2017, Canada’s 150th Anniversary! All the photos are available to view in my Flickr Album, 2017 […]
Throwing Away Canadian History, ex-HMCS ATHABASKAN to go to Breakers!
With a simple internet post, another piece of Canadian history is about to be thrown away and the legacy of an entire era will be relegated into oblivion. This week on 2 November 2017, the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada posted for tender, “Disposal of former ATHABASKAN (W8482-182411/A).” On the surface it […]
Ships For Victory -Can Canada Build Ships Today
This past week marked an incredible milestone in Canadian shipbuilding history. On 20 September 1943, twelve Canadian built ships were launched simultaneously from shipyards across the nation! During WWII, Canadian industry, mobilized to building for Victory. One of the largest and most important projects was a National Shipbuilding Program. Early in the war the enemy […]
MV Asterix -Why Not HMCS ASTERIX?
I have received several questions on social media, why is Asterix, MV and not HMCS or CNAV? First, lets look at what these abbreviations mean. MV stands for Motor Vessel and is a designation for any merchant ship owned by a civilian company with a motor/engine. Pretty simple. SS stands for Steam Ship and SV stands […]
RCN Could Chase Subs Underwater!
We could take the fight to the enemy, no matter where he tried to hide. Our ships could hunt and kill enemy submarines underwater! At least that is what we told the American sailors making fun of our HMCS OTTAWA. It was a wonderful warm Caribbean night at the US Naval Base, Roosevelt Roads in […]