This tribute to a proud service surveys the history of the RoyalCanadian Navy from its inception in 1910 to its demise in 1968.Although established as a declaration of Canada's independence fromthe imperial fleet, the RCN was the child of the Royal Navy. Its firstships were RN cast-offs, and for the next forty years officers trainedin the British fleet -- their 'big ship time.' From thesemodest beginnings, the book deals with such related issues as theproblem of imperial defense, the development of a naval service with aCanadian identity, and the evolution of a Canadian naval engineeringcapacity.
Expanding dramatically during World War II, the RCN gave convoyprotection which proved crucial to the Allied victory at sea. Newdocumentation on Canada's role in the Battle of the Atlantichighlights such critical factors as: the contribution of radiointelligence to anti-submarine warfare against the deadly German'wolfpacks'; the wartime operational relationship of the RCN tothe Royal Navy and the United States Navy; and the heroic role ofCanadian sailors who served under fire.
Demobilization and the paying off of ships marked the postwardecline of the RCN. This decline was intensified by a series ofmutinies which demonstrated the need for a less rigid, more'democratic' relationship between officers and ratings. Despitethese difficulties, the RCN served effectively in coastal operationsduring the Korean War and in the establishment of Canada's presencein the Arctic.
The last chapter records the reaction of the RCN's seniorofficers to government policy during the Unification Crisis of the1960s and their unsuccessful attempts to maintain the independentidentity of the RCN. It is ironic that on the eve of achieving itsgreatest measure of autonomy the RCN was overwhelmed by the forces ofnationalism -- the same force which had acted as a catalyst in itsformation.
Originally presented in 1980 at a conference on the history of theRCN, the papers in this book range from the first-hand recollections ofex-RCN personnel to the examination of previously classified documentsfrom German and Allied archives. The RCN in Retrospect will serve tointroduce many to Canada's naval heritage and will provide valuablenew insights to all readers with an interest in naval history andlore.
List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
Preface and Acknowledgements
Introduction / James A. Boutilier
1. The Royal Navy's Legacy to the Royal Canadian Navy in thePacific, 1880-1914 / Barry M. Gough
2. L.P. Brodeur and the Origins of the Royal Canadian Navy /Nigel D. Brodeur
3. Commander E.A.E. Nixon and the Royal Naval College of Canada,1910-22 / P. Willet Brock
4. The Road to Washington: Canada and Empire Naval Defence, 1918-21/ Barry D. Hunt
5. The Royal Canadian Navy between the Wars, 1922-39 / HughFrancis Pullen
6. "Big Ship Time": The Formative Years of RCN OfficersServing in RN Capital Ships / Richard H. Leir
7. An Engineer's Outline of RCN History: Part I / J.H.W.Knox
8. Princes Three: Canada's Use of Armed Merchant Cruisers duringWorld War II / Fraser M. McKee
9. The Royal Canadian Navy's Quest for Autonomy in the NorthWest Atlantic / W.G.D. Lund
10. Royal Canadian Navy Participation in the Battle of the AtlanticCrisis of 1943 / Marc Milner
11. Operational Intelligence and the Battle of the Atlantic: TheRole of the Royal Navy's Submarine Tracking Room / PatrickBeesly
12. "The Most Thankless Task" Revisited: Convoys, Escorts,and Radio Intelligence in the Western Atlantic, 1941-43 / W.A.B.Douglas and Jurgen Rohwer
13. The Lower Deck and the Mainguy Report of 1949 / L.C.Audette
14. The Destroyers' War in Korea, 1952-53 / John Bovey
15. Canadian Naval Aviation, 1915-69 / Stuart Soward
16. HMCS Labrador and the Canadian Arctic / J.M.Leeming
17. The Impact of Public Policy on a Naval Reserve Division /Michael Hadley
18. An Engineer's Outline of RCN History: Part II / J.H.W.Knox
19. The Royal Canadian Navy and the Unification Crisis / A.Keith Cameron
Appendix: The Principal Vessels in the Marine and Fisheries Fleet in1906 Notes
Notes on Contributors
