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 […]
Mariner’s Park Museum, PEC -Talk
Join Roger at the Mariners Park Museum in Prince Edward County for a talk on the Royal Canadian Navy ships named for the Bay of Quinte Region on 16 July 2017 at 11 am. Roger will focus on HMCS HALLOWELL, a frigate named for Prince Edward County, served extensively during WWII and later in the […]
HMCS TRENTONIAN -Portsmouth
HMCS TRENTONIAN landed wounded from the cablelayer HMTS MONARCH in Portsmouth on 13 June 1944. The two ships had been fired on by USS PLUNKETT during the night, with deadly consequences, Â The crew of TRENTONIANÂ gather around the gangway after the wounded have been moved ashore. There will be no shore leave and this will be […]
Loss of RCN MTB 463
HMC Motor Torpedo Boat 463, sank after striking a mine in the English Channel on 8 July 1944. The “G” type Motor Torpedo Boat carried a ship’s company of seventeen RCN sailors, five were wounded, fortunately none were killed. Photos courtesy of the Naval Museum of Manitoba.
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 […]
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 […]
First and last photos of HMCS TRENTONIAN
These two photos of HMCS TRENTONIAN tell an amazing story. They are the first and last photos of this historic Battle of Atlantic corvette. The first picture of TRENTONIAN was taken just before her commissioning on 1 December 1943, the Flower class corvette was newly built at Kingston, Ontario. She is finishing her acceptance trials […]
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 […]
Drifting Barges
HMCS TRENTONIAN takes in tow these two drifting fuel barges while in the English Channel on 5 August 1944. The drifting barges posed a serious collision threat to navigation. What should have been a simple evolution became extremely dangerous as TRENTONIAN and the barges drifted into a mine field. Fortunately the corvette and barges were […]