Exceptional photo of St. John`s Harbour in Newfoundland in 1943. With the war, activity in the port reflects the huge importance of this harbour to the war effort. Crowded with merchant ships and escorts, two minesweepers are in the foreground and several corvettes are secured astern. On the opposite side of the narrow harbour are […]
Canada’s Navy Honours the Sacrifice of our Sailors Past
By: Roger Litwiller -Canadian Naval Author and Historian Recently the Royal Canadian Navy unveiled two of Canada’s warships painted in a multi-coloured camouflage scheme. Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship REGINA (2nd), a Halifax class frigate and HMCS MONCTON (2nd), Kingston class maritime defence vessel, have been given the “new” paint scheme. The purpose of this remarkable […]
HMCS PROTECTEUR
HMCS OTTAWA has joined HMCS PROTECTEUR’s fuel line and the two ships maintain an exact course and speed as fuel is pumped to the destroyer in February 1982 in the Caribbean. Roger Litwiller Collection, courtesy Roger Litwiller. (RTL-RTL300416025)
A. B. O’Brian -Biography of a Ship’s Mascot
During the Second World War many Royal Canadian Navy ships had mascots. They ranged in a variety of dogs and cats, one ship was rumoured to have a pet pig. For many of the young sailors, away from home these fury shipmates brought a sense of normalcy, a sense of home to them. You might […]
Friendly Fire Incident -Normandy
A wounded sailor from the cableship HMTS Monarch is transferred to HMCS TRENTONIAN after the two allied ships came under friendly fire from USS PLUNKETT off the Normandy coast on the night of 12-13 June 1944. See HMCS TRENTONIAN: A Victim Of Friendly Fire Photo credit SBA A. Singleton courtesy of Bruce Keir, RCNVR, Stoker, HMCS […]
The Canadian Maple Leaf -A RCN Tradition Honouring Our Sailors Past
If you look at any ship in the Royal Canadian Navy today, you will see a bright red Maple Leaf proudly displayed on the funnel or helicopter hangar. This has become a unique tradition in the RCN and can be traced back to 1918 when several RCN Drifters (CD Class) used for minesweeping had placed […]
The Sacrifice of SS Beaverford “The Heroic Saga of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Ship with Teeth.”
Many will know the celebrated legacy of the Royal Navy’s armed merchant cruiser HMS JERVIS BAY and her final moments as she battled the German pocket battleship ADMIRAL SCHEER protecting her North Atlantic convoy, HX-84 on 5 November 1940. The battle for the convoy did not end with the loss of JERVIS BAY. The Canadian […]
Guest Speaker -Toronto Branch of the Naval Association of Canada
I am honoured to be invited as the Guest Speaker by the Toronto Branch of the Naval Association of Canada for their annual TRAFALGAR Day – NIOBE Luncheon. My talk will be “Voices of our Sailors Past -Stories from the Survivors of HMCS TRENTONIAN.” This is a collection of stories and recollections from the men that […]
Avenger Aboard HMS PUNCHER
An Avenger is secured to the flight deck of HMS PUNCHER during a ferry operation of aircraft from Norfolk Virginia in September 1944. Eventually ending in Glasgow, the Canadian manned aircraft carrier transported 40 aircraft including, 18 Corsairs, Hellcats, Avengers, and one Helldiver. Roger Litwiller Collection, courtesy Howard Abbott, RCNVR. (RTL-HA051)
HMCS SACKVILLE -Modernizing a WWII Corvette
In 2018, HMCS SACKVILLE entered the submarine maintenance shed at Fleet Maintenance Facility, CAPE SCOTT at HMC Dockyard in Halifax for badly needed repairs to her hull. This might not seem to be exciting on the surface, but when you realize SACKVILLE is a Second World War veteran of the Battle of the Atlantic and […]