H.M.C.Ships HURON, PROTECTEUR, CALGARY and two other FFH's 'Pacific Rendezvous'

1. Remembrance Program H.M.C.Ships HURON, PROTECTEUR, CALGARY and two other FFH's 'Pacific Rendezvous'

2. Introduction • The Canadian Navy was established in 1910 and has contributed to every military conflict Canada has participated in. • This is a reminder of the wartime experiences of Canadian Naval Personnel and Merchant Seamen. • Discover how the Navy has grown, what the accomplishments have been and how we have come to remember it in the present day. Captain Walker in HMS Starling leading a U-boat attack WWII

3. Remembrance Day • Originally called Armistice Day. • Armistice Day was the anniversary of the day that WWI had ended, was chosen to be the National Day of Remembrance. HMCS SNOWBERRY Ship's CompanySpring 1944 - Halifax, NS - Jetty 5 The Halifax Memorial • War ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. • Thousands of Canadians were wounded or killed. • Soldiers, sailors and airmen who returned believed that those who had died should not be forgotten.

4. Canada Creates a Navy HMCS Niobe • Germany and Britain were competing for Naval Power. • Canada was relying on Britain’s Navy. • In 1905, the first all-big gun ship called the HMS Dreadnought is invented. • People worried about the Dreadnoughts. • People thought that Canada should have its own navy by 1909. • Germany had more Dreadnoughts than Britain by this time and was thought to be a threat to the entire British Empire. • Sir Wilfred Laurier passed The Naval Act on May 4th, 1910 to create the Canadian Navy.

5. The Canadian Navy and World War One • Britain declared war on Germany on August 4th, 1914. This meant Canada was at war too. • Canada’s Navy only had two cruisers: HMCS Niobe on the East Coast and HMCS Rainbow on the West Coast. HMCS Rainbow Officers of the HMCS Rainbow 1910 Photo by S. Thompson, Vancouver Copy courtesy MARCOM MuseumDonated by Michael Curry

6. U-Boat Warfare: WWI • The German U-Boats were very effective. • The U-Boats began sinking merchant ships in October 1914. • Neutral ships were respected but would have to take their chances. • In May, the Cunard luxury liner Lusitania sailed from New York and was sunk by a single torpedo. Control Room of a U-Boat WWI Kptlt. Walther Schwieger (1885 - 1917) : The Man that sank the Luisitania

7. Submarine Warfare gets Worse • By the summer of 1915, nearly 100 ships were sunk per month. • Britain tried to combat U-Boats by using mines, decoy ships called Q ships and ramming them. • When Germany went to unrestricted warfare, in 3 months over 800 ships were sunk. • To combat the sinkings, ships began sailing in convoys. • Losses dropped immediately and convoys were quickly organized for all inbound ships. • Halifax and Sydney became the assembly ports for many convoys. • The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) escorted them eastbound. • The Royal Navy served as ocean escorts, and destroyers and aircraft met them in the United Kingdom. • These convoys successfully held off the U-boats.

8. SM U 135 – a WWI submarine The Most Successful U-Boat Commander : Kptlt. Arnauld de la Perriere. The Crew of SM U C 67: 29 November 1918: The War is Over!

9. The Early Naval Air Service • 1913, the Royal Naval Air Service had non-rigid airships and 52 short seaplanes. • When war broke out Sopwith Camels were built. • Their job was reconnaissance and gunfire spotting. • The potential for fighting against submarines was seen, but no one had any type of anti-submarine weapon.

10. 6 December, 1917 was a huge disaster. The SS Mont Blanc of France steamed into Halifax harbour to anchor and wait for the next convoy. She collided with the Norweigian ship SS IMO going through the entrance to the harbour. The SS Mont Blanc had an explosive cargo. In her hold were 2,700 tons of guncotton, picric acid, and TNT among other things. The crew of the Mont Blanc abandoned ship and she drifted, blazing, out of control, down the harbour.. HMS Niobe raised the alarm. 20 minutes after the collision, the SS Mont Blanc exploded. It was the biggest man-made explosion until the atomic bomb landed in Hiroshima. This catastrophe not only hurt the people of Halifax, but it crippled the naval, shipping and transport operations at a crucial time. The Halifax Explosion

11. Map of the Harbour The Aftermath of the Explosion Survivors of the Explosion

12. The End of World War One • World War I continued for nearly another year. • It ended November 11th, 1918. • The Royal Canadian Navy had some 9,600 all ranks, over 100 ships, and a fledgling Naval Air Service. • A National Merchant Marine was emerging. • Modern shipbuilding had begun.

13. The Impact of World War Two Corvettes • World War II would see major developments in Canada’s Navy. • The Royal Canadian Navy was the first into action and was one of Canada’s greatest contributions to the war effort. • We began the war with only 1819 men and approximately 13 vessels. • By the end of WWII, Canada had the 3rd largest navy in the world.   HMCS Barrie and HMCS Nanaimo (above)

14. The Early Days of World War Two Rescued Merchant Seaman on HMCS Arvida SS Athenia • Canada declared war on Sunday, September 10th, 1939. • Newfoundland was already at war as a British Colony. • When the SSAthenia was sunk on September 3rd, 1939 by U-30, convoys were ordered. • Again, Halifax became an important port for assembling convoys. • U-boats were more efficient than during World War I. • In the first six months shipping losses reached 700,000 tons – over 20 ships per month (an “average” ship was 5,000 tons). • Both independent ships and convoys suffered heavy losses.

15. The Battle of the Atlantic • The Battle of the Atlantic lasted from 1939 - 1945. • Convoys went from Halifax to the UK. A larger armed escort was needed as sinkings were high. • The escort force was mainly RN and RCN ships, based in Newfoundland, under Canadian Command. • Aircraft were used against U-boats but at first, did not have the range to cover the central Atlantic Ocean. • This was called the “Black Pit” and U-boats caused huge losses here. Kptlt. Kretschmer after patrol on U-99, the 2nd most successful U-boat.

16. North America’s coast was a target for U-Boats for attacks. From January to July 1942, nearly 400 ships were sunk for only 7 U-boats. The Gulf of St. Lawrence was at risk. May 11-12th, 2 large freighters were torpedoed 8 miles off the Gaspé Peninsula. The RCN organized convoys and closed the gulf to overseas shipping. By early October, 7 U-boats had sunk 2 naval escorts and 19 merchant vessels in the gulf and river. On Oct.14, the old ferry Caribou was sunk just forty miles away from Newfoundland. Torpedoes off Canadian Shores Flying Officer Bélanger (right) and crew made 3 near-miss attacks on U-517 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Anti-submarine grenade launched by the corvette HMCS Pictou during submarine attack

17. An Increase of Strength • By Autumn, 1942 Germany had nearly 300 submarines available. • They were concentrating their efforts on the Battle of the Atlantic. • Canada’s navy also grew. • By 1942 the RCN had 16,000 members serving in 188 warships. • Women were recruited into the “Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service” or ‘Wrens”. HMCS Brantford covered with ice, February1944 The Torpedoed SS Fort Camsum

18. Women in the Navy • The WRCNS branch was created to release men for service at sea. • They were trained for over 40 specialist ratings (jobs). • Wrens went to the main naval schools. • The navy eventually recruited 6500 women. • Originally. They only wanted 20 women. • By war’s end 244 service women had won decorations. • 1000 Wrens were posted abroad in places such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Newfoundland Drill

19. HMCS Athabaskan • Many ships were lost, including the HMCSAthabaskan. • She was one of Canada’s Tribal-class warships. • She sank on the night of April 29th, 1944. • Of the 261 crew members, 128 and the Captain were lost. • 86 survived the Prisoner of War camps. • 47 were returned to England. • HMCS Athabaskan was the only Canadian ship sunk in a surface battle. 

20. Canadian sailors fought in every element of the war at sea – in battleships, cruisers, fleet destroyers, motor torpedo boats, landing craft, carriers and naval aircraft, minesweepers, and submarines • Many sailors were “on loan” to the Royal Navy. • The majority served in Canadian ships. • 75% served in escorts of the Battle of the Atlantic. HMCS Esquimalt before she was sunk by U 190 who later surrendered in Canadian waters.

21. The Canadian Achievement • Ship designs improved. • There was better air support by the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) • The “Black Pit” was slowly closed. • During the last months before D-Day, the RCN assumed responsibility for all North Atlantic escort. • 25,343 merchant ship voyages were made from North America to British ports under RCN escort. Supermarine Spitfire XV Aka SeaFires • These ships delivered approximately 164,783,921tonnes of cargo to the United Kingdom , which helped win the war.

22. The last Canadian killed during World War II was Lieutenant Robert Hampton “Hammy” Gray. • He belonged to the RCNVR (Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve). • He flew as a fighter pilot from HMS Formidable. • He won a VC as he led a strike against the heavily defended base at Onagawa Bay. • He destroyed the Ocean Escort Amakusu before crashing into the sea with his plane on fire. The Last Canadian Naval Sacrifice

23. By the end of WWII, the RCN was the 3rd largest Navy. • It had 373 fighting ships and over 100,000 members including 6,500 women in the WRCNS. • We also had the wartime world’s fourth largest Merchant Navy. The End of World War Two A VLR Liberator escorts convoy •   Canadian ships were almost all built in Canadian shipyards. • 2,000+ RCN were killed by all causes in all theatres of war. • Most were killed in the Battle of the Atlantic. • 752 members of the RCAF died in maritime operations. • The Book of Remembrance for the Merchant Navy lists by name nearly 1,600 Canadians and Newfoundlanders.

24. The Navy and the Korean Conflict • The Canadian Navy continued to work towards peace after the end of World War II. • June 25th 1950, North Korean tanks and troops burst across the border into South Korea. • This became the first UN action. • The Canadian Navy was the first in action again. • They helped provide supplies and men for the UN, as well as support land battles. HMCS Sioux in ice off Korean Coast HMCS Cayuga

25. The End of The Korean Conflict •  Truce talks began on 10 July 1951 at Kaesong. • This continued on and off for another 2 years. • Fighting ended with an armistice 27 July 1953. • In Jan. 1954 the Canadian army force was cut. • The three naval destroyers worked steadily on. Sioux stayed until September, 1955. • 8 of the RCN’s eleven destroyers completed 21 tours of duty – Cayuga, Athabaskan, Sioux and Crusader from the Pacific Commandand Haida, Huron, Iroquois and Nootka from the Atlantic. • Over 2500 officers and men served in Korea at least once, 3 Canadians were killed and 2 severely wounded. Memorial

26. The Navy, NATO and the Cold War Canadian Submarines Objibwa, Onondaga and Okanagan

27. The Post War Roles of the Navy • 1964, HMCS Bonaventure carried Canada’s contingent for the UN peacekeeping force to Cypress. • The Navy also took part in Peace Support Operations (such as in Korea –1953-55, Vietnam 1954 and 1973, Central America – 1989-1994 and Cambodia 1991-93). • They helped with disaster relief and gave humanitarian assistance • Examples are the Red River Floods in Manitoba, earthquake relief in Chile in 1960, hurricane reconstruction in Florida in 1993, and the Swissair crash recovery in 1998. • The Navy participates in a variety of training exercises and patrols (such as in the Arctic, fisheries patrols, and drug inceptions).

28. HMCS Bonaventure: 1964 Sikorsky’s flew from the Aircraft Carrier after 1967

29. The Gulf War To Modern Day HMCS Fredericton with HMCS Preserver HMCS Ville de Quebec – Halifax Class Patrol Frigate • The Canadian Navy played a large role during the Gulf War 1990. • The Canadian task group commander was put in charge of joint naval operations. • The Navy assisted during the Bosnian conflict of 1993-1995, the Kosovo campaign of 1999 and with the US Drug Enforcement Agency in counter-narcotics operations in the Gulf of Mexico. • At the outset of the 21st century, Canada had in its service arguably the best balanced and most capable navy in its history”.

30. HMCS Ottawa, HMCS Preserver, HMCS Iroquois and HMCS Toronto HMCS Algonquin leaving Esquimalt for the Arabian Sea

31. Remember them on Remembrance Day 19141918 19391945 IN HONOUR OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE NAVY, ARMY AND MERCHANT NAVY OF CANADA WHOSE NAMES ARE INSCRIBED HERE THEIR GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN BUT THEIR MEMORY SHALL ENDURE.