HMCS FRASER, River class destroyer, was lost in collision with the Royal Navy cruiser, HMS CALCUTTA on 26 June 1940 off the French Coast. Of her ship’s company of 172 sailors, sixty were killed. On 21 June, Fraser was ordered to France with her sister HMCS RESTIGOUCHE and HMS CALCUTTA to evacuate British and Allied soldiers […]
HMCS ATHABASKAN (I)
On 29 April 1944, HMCShips HAIDA & ATHABASKAN attack with guns, German destroyer’s T24 & T27 in a blazing night action off the French Coast. Scoring several direct hits, HAIDA drove the heavily damaged T27 onto the rocky French coast. T24 was damaged and separated from T27 escaped, but not before firing torpedoes. HMCS ATHABASKAN was […]
HMCS WEYBURN
HMCS WEYBURN, Flower class corvette, struck a mine laid by U-118 on 22 February 1943 off the Strait of Gibraltar. Of her crew of seventy-seven, nine were killed, including one Royal Navy rating. WEYBURN had been assigned with seventeen RCN corvettes to assist in the invasion of North Africa, Operation TORCH. Â She had just left […]
Royal Canadian Navy Pennant Numbers World War II
Destroyers, Frigates, Corvettes, Convoy Escorts, Minesweepers and Armed Yachts. Click on camera icon for photo of ship. Contact me to add your photos litwillerroger@gmail.com F Ships Name Type Class Remarks F56 PRINCE ROBERT Anti-Aircraft Ship Prince Ex-CNR passenger ship Prince Robert, taken over by RCN as an Armed Merchant Cruiser F70 PRINCE HENRY Landing Ship […]
HMCS IROQUOIS -Halifax
HMCS IROQUOIS alongside at the RCN Dockyard in Halifax on 7 July 2012. HMCS TORONTO is in the foreground. Roger Litwiller Collection, courtesy Roger Litwiller. (RTL74904)
OS Roger Litwiller -HMCS OTTAWA (III)
Today I was going through my old pictures from when I was in HMCS OTTAWA (III) and found this. Classed as an Ordinary Seaman in OTTAWA, in reality I was an eighteen year old Sea Cadet on a three month  OJT, (On the Job Training). What an incredible experience!  I joined OTTAWA in Halifax on 2 […]
HMCS MARGAREE
HMCS MARGAREE -River class destroyer, was lost in collision with M/V Port Fairy on the North Atlantic on 22 October 1940. At the time of her loss she had 176 sailors in her ship’s company, 142 were killed with thirty-two survivors. MARGAREE had commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy only a few weeks earlier on […]
HMCS SKEENA
HMCS SKEENA -River class destroyer, grounded and lost during a gale in Reykjavik, Iceland on 25 October 1944. Of the destroyers ship’s company of 181, fifteen sailors were killed. SKEENA had been on patrol south of Iceland in a full gale with HMCShips QU’APPELLE and ST. LAURENT when the escort group was ordered to return […]
HMCS ST. CROIX
HMCS ST. CROIX, Town class destroyer was transferred to the RCN from the USN under the Lend/Lease agreement with the Royal Navy on 30 April 1040. Â Originally constructed in 1919 as USS MCCOOK. She was assigned to the Mid-Ocean Escort Group C-9 and while escorting a convoy in mid-North Atlantic she was struck by two […]