On 7 December 1941, HMCS WINDFLOWER was lost in collision with the freighter SS Zypenburg off St. John’s, NF. Â Twenty-three of the RCN corvette’s ship’s company were killed in the incident. At the time, WINDFLOWER was part of the mid-ocean escort for SC 58, a convoy of forty-nine merchant ships that had left Sidney, NS. […]
Loss of MTB 460
HMC MTB 460, struck a mine in the English Channel on 2 July 1944, of her ship’s company of 17 RCN sailors, 11 were killed. MTB 460 was a “G “type Motor Torpedo Boat assigned to the 29th Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla. Photos courtesy the Naval Museum of Manitoba.
HMCS ESQUIMALT
HMCS ESQUIMALT, Bangor class minesweeper, was torpedoed by U190 off Halifax on 16 April 1945. Forty-four sailors of her ship’s company of seventy-one were killed when she was lost. Late in the day of 15 April, ESQUIMALT left Halifax to perform and anti-submarine sweep of the approaches to the harbour in advance of a convoy […]
How I became an “Accidental Archivist!”
I have always had an interest in history, especially the stories and history of our Royal Canadian Navy. But never in my dreams did I ever think I would be gathering a large collection of historical photos from veterans of the RCN. This unexpected journey began in 1997, as commanding officer of a cadet corps […]
HMCS OTTER
HMCS OTTER -Animal class armed yacht, was lost on 26 March 1941 from an on board fire and sank, off Halifax. Â At the time of the tragedy, she had a ship’s company of forty-one, nineteen sailors were killed. OTTER was one of fourteen large private yachts acquired by the Royal Canadian Navy to act as […]
HMCS GUYSBOROUGH
HMCS GUYSBOROUGH -Bangor class minesweeper, was sunk by two torpedoes fired by U-878 in the Bay of Biscay on 17 March 1945. Of the ninety-two sailors in her ship’s company , fifty-one were killed. GUYSBOROUGH was returning to the UK after a refit at Lunenburg, NS, sailing alone the minesweeper was off the coast of […]
RCN History Sealed with a Kiss!
This week the Canadian frigate, HMCS WINNIPEG returned to Esquimalt after a historic eight month deployment. During this time the ship and the 250 men and women of her ships’ company participated in two operations, Op CARRIBBE and Op REASURANCE. She also participated in three exercises, Ex TRIDENT JUNCTURE, Ex JOINT WARRIOR and Ex NORTHERN […]
HMCS TRENTONIAN -The Last Corvette Lost in the Battle of the Atlantic.
On 22 February 1945, HMCS TRENTONIAN, Flower class corvette became the last corvette to be lost in the Battle of the Atlantic. TRENTONIAN departed on 21 February as sole escort for convoy BTC-76, consisting of ten ships from Milford Haven to the Thames, then on to Antwerp. Â The next morning BTC-76 had entered the English […]
29th Canadian Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla Destroyed by Fire
On 14 February 1945 the 29th Canadian Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla was destroyed by fire when 100 Octane fuel leaked into the protected basin at Ostende, Belgium where many RCN and RN torpedo boats were preparing for patrols that night.  The flash fire ignited many of the wooden hull boats, detonating depth charges and torpedoes on […]
HMCS SPIKENARD
HMCS SPIKENARD, Flower class corvette, was torpedoed and sunk by U-136 in the mid North Atlantic, during the night of 10 February 1942, while escorting convoy SC-67. Â Of her crew of sixty-five RCN sailors, fifty-seven were killed. SC-67 departed from Sydney, NS on 2 February 1942 with twenty-two merchant ships. Â The convoy had an all […]