Wedding photo of Stu and Mary (nee-Balch) Graves while serving in HMCS MALPEQUE, with his Best Man and Helen Balch, Maid of Honour. Notice the white tapes sewn into the grooms jumper. Roger Litwiller Collection, courtesy of Bill Widger. (RTL-BW_001)
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 […]
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 […]
Ice Castles at Sea
In January 1943, HMCS WASAGA returns to Halifax, heavily covered in ice. Roger Litwiller Collection, courtesy Ross Milligan, RCNVR. (RTL-REM072)
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 […]
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 […]
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 CLAYOQUOT -A Christmas Eve Tragedy
HMCS CLAYOQUOT -Bangor class minesweeper, was torpedoed and sunk by U806 two miles from the Sambro Light vessel off Halifax on 24 December 1944, killing eight of her crew of eighty-four sailors. At the time of CLAYOQUOT’s sinking she had been assigned to Halifax as an escort. However, on 23 December she was ordered to […]