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Dear Alice and friends my blog is overdue but I want to tell you about my visit to the Canadian naval Museum at the Naval Dockyard in Esquimalt,
The museum is located inside the Naval Base off Admirals Road in Esquimalt. It tells the story of Canada's navy.
On Tuesday February 27,2024 I was taken to the museum by Paul Seguna, CD, Lieutenant Commander RCN (Ret'd) who is a guide at the museum. The museum is housed in a building built by the British in the 19th century as a hospital.
Canada's navy was formed in 1910, before which we depended on Britain for naval defence.
Pictured below is our first ship which was obtained from England:
His Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Rainbow was an Apollo-class cruiser that was commissioned into Britain's Royal Navy in 1893. In 1910, Britain sold the vessel to Canada, where it became one of the first two warships of the newly formed Naval Service of Canada.
During World War One ( Aug,1914 - Nov. 1918). The navy was active but relied on England to take part in big sea battles such as the Battle of Jutland in 1916,
When war broke out on September 10,1939 against Germany Canada's navy was small. The RCN expanded substantially during the Second World War, with the larger vessels transferred or purchased from the US and British navies (many through the Destroyers for Bases Agreement), and the smaller vessels such as corvettes and frigates constructed in Canada.
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By the end of the conflict Canada had the fourth-largest navy in the world, behind the United States, the United Kingdom and the USSR, but had only two ships larger than destroyers, the light cruisers, HMCS Uganda and HMCS Ontario.[25] Although it showed its inexperience at times during the early part of the war, a navy made up of men from all across the country, including many who had never before seen a large body of water, proved capable of exceeding the expectations of its allies. By the end of the Battle of the Atlantic, the RCN was the primary navy in the northwest sector of the Atlantic Ocean and, under the command of Rear-Admiral Murray, was responsible for the safe escort of innumerable convoys and the destruction of many U-boats—an anti-submarine capability that the RCN would build upon in post-war years. The Northwest Atlantic Theatre was the only theatre not under command of either a Briton or American during the entire war.
At the end of the Battle of the Atlantic, Canadian ships (either alone or in conjunction with other ships and planes) sank a total of 27 U-boats, and either sank or captured 42 Axis surface ships.[26] But the real victory was not so much in the statistics of battle, as in the successful completion of 25,343 merchant ship crossings, carrying 181,643,180 tons of cargo and a significant proportion of the Canadian and US forces for the eventual victory in Europe.[26]
Canada lost 24 ships in five different theatres: first was Fraser, sunk in a collision while evacuating refugees from France in 1940; Athabaskan, Regina, Alberni and Trentonian were lost in 1944 during Operation Neptune and cross-Channel escort duty; Louisburg and Weyburn sank in the Mediterranean Sea during the North African invasions of Operation Torch; eight ships were sunk protecting Canadian coastal waters Bras d'Or, Chedabucto, Clayoquot and Esquimalt (minesweepers), Otter and Raccoon (armed yachts), and Charlottetown and Shawinigan (corvettes); and nine ships were lost on Atlantic escort duty Margaree, Levis, Windflower, Spikenard, Ottawa, St. Croix, Valleyfield, Skeena and Guysborough (on loan to the RCN from the Royal Navy). Altogether the RCN lost 1,797 seamen, and 95 became prisoners of war.[27]
As the end of the war against Germany approached, attention focused on Japan. At the end of 1944, some RCN ships were deployed with the British Pacific Fleet, joining the many Canadian personnel already serving with the Royal Navy in the Pacific War. Ottawa was also laying plans to expand the RCN's capabilities beyond its anti-submarine orientation. The war in the Pacific was expected to culminate with a massive invasion of Japan itself, and this would need a different navy than that required in the Atlantic.
The museum tells the story of the battle of the Atlantic. Here are a few pictures from the museum.
Women play an important part in Canada's navy. During WWII, my Mother was a signals officer serving in the British and American Air Forces.
The depth charge was an important weapon against German submarines known as U Boats.
Esquimalt Naval Base
It was a great day out, learning about Canada's Naval history. Paul and I would like to take a group from the church so speak to me if you are interested.
Don't forget we rely on our Navy to keep us safe.
I leave you today with words from the naval hymn -
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidst the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep:
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
Jim Dallimore
Ed. Note: Thank you Jim for this educational blog and for sharing your love of all things naval.
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