The Royal Navy was responsible for all of British North America, until Canadian Confederation in 1867. After Confederation the Royal Navy increasingly shared naval responsibilities with Canada but retained sole responsibility for other British colonies in North America, until they joined Canada. In 1910, the Department of the Naval Service was created to consolidate all naval services in Canada, receiving royal assent in 1911 to become the Royal Canadian Navy. Within a few years many of the non-military naval services and vessels integrated under the RCN were returned to their original departments.[1] The list of ships of the Royal Canadian Navy contains the surface warships, submarines and auxiliary vessels in service from 1910 up to the early 1990s. This includes all commissioned, non-commissioned, loaned or hired ships in service within the RCN.[2] Ships in this list also include Royal Navy vessels with RCN crews, such as TR-series minesweepers of the First World War, and aircraft carriers of the Second World War.
Ensign of Canadian government ships from 1865 to 1911
The Canadian navy was created in 1910 as the Department of the Naval Service. The Naval Service integrated other marine arms of the government of Canada with which it had a common professional background and the objective of security in the Canadian maritime environment and national sovereignty. In addition to a combat capability, the naval service included the Fisheries Protection, Hydrographic Survey, tidal observation and wireless telegraph branches. Each branch, including the quasi-military Fisheries Protection, contributed their fleet of ships to the new Naval Service. The service thereby commanded a number of Canadian Government Ships (CGS) ships in addition to the two purchased Royal Navy warships. Initially, eight fisheries cruisers (under the command of Rear Admiral Charles Kingsmill), were brought into the Department of the Naval Service, including CGS Vigilant, the first modern warship built in the country.[3][1][2][fn 1]
With the outbreak of the First World War government and commercial vessels were pressed into naval service. Great Britain and Canada planned to significantly expand the RCN but decided that Canadian men could enlist the Royal Navy or the RCN with many choosing the former. Following the demobilization after the war, the RCN undertook many of the civilian responsibilities of the Department of Transport.[4]
Cruisers
HMCS Vigilant, the first purpose-built warship in Canada
The Department of the Naval Service was replaced in 1922 by the Department of National Defence. The Fisheries Protection, Hydrographic Survey, tidal observation and wireless telegraph branches, along with many ships, were transferred to other government departments and delisted by the RCN.[3] In 1931, the RCN commissioned HMCS Saguenay and HMCS Skeena, the first ships specifically built for the service.[18][19] While a large "Fisherman's Reserve" was formed in 1938, at the outbreak of the Second World War, the RCN had been reduced to six River-class destroyers, five minesweepers, two small training vessels bases at Halifax and Victoria, 145 officers and 1,674 seamen.[20][21][22][23] The RCN expanded rapidly during the Second World War, with vessels transferred or purchased from the Royal Navy and US Navy and the construction of many vessels in Canada, such as corvettes and frigates. The RCN ended the war with a fleet of approximately 950 ships, the third-largest navy in the world and an operational reach extending into the Atlantic, Pacific, Caribbean and Mediterranean.[24][25] Due to the terms of the Lend Lease agreements between the United States and the United Kingdom, a few of the US built vessels that were crewed by the RCN remained under the "HMS" designation of the Royal Navy (RN); the two "HMS" aircraft carriers were mixed crews, as the RCN crewed the ship, while the air crews were provided by the RN's Fleet Air Arm.[26]
Aircraft carriers
Nabob returning home after being torpedoed in August 1944
*(US Navy Wickes and Clemson-class vessels commissioned into the Royal Navy as Town class, and later loaned to the RCN. Some also commissioned into the RCN.)
Frigates
Frigate HMCS Swansea rescuing survivors of its second U-Boat kill. 1944
*(Canadian Fairmiles were not commissioned. They were not named, until sold off, or assigned as tenders to various bases post-war. Ships loaned to Free French Navy (FFN) served under Canadian command.)
(The symbol FY in the pennant number denotes fishing vessels of the Fisherman's Reserve which comprised a large portion of the auxiliary fleet throughout the Second World War.[43])
Tugboats
Ex-HMCS Glenada remains a working tug 73 years after launch.
The national flag served as the naval ensign from 1965 to 2013
As the Second World War drew to a close the RCN stopped its rapid expansion and dramatically reduced its military expenditures. This resulted in a significant reduction in personnel and ships by 1947. A planned transfer of two light aircraft carriers from the Royal Navy, HMCS Warrior and HMCS Magnificent was slowed, and Warrior eventually returned. With the emergence of the Cold War and the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, followed by the outbreak of the Korean War, the Canadian government increased military spending. The RCN recommissioned and modified Second World War ships held in reserve, launched new classes of ships, and upgraded its aviation capabilities. In 1968, the RCN was amalgamated with the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Army to form the unified Canadian Forces. All personnel, ships, and aircraft became part of Maritime Command (MARCOM), as an element of the Canadian Armed Forces.[44]
HMCS Bonaventure underway in 1961Destroyer escort HMCS Nipigon on NATO exercises in 1985
^Data for force level, ship names and commissions are found in various sources, including Gilbert 1952, The Navy List all years, Blatherwick 1992, Gimlet and Hadley 2010
Dittmar, F. J.; College, J. J. (1972). British Warships, 1914–1919. London: Alan. ISBN978-0-71100-380-4.
Douglas, W. A. B.; Sarty, R.; Whitby, M. (2004). No Higher Purpose: The Official Operational History of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War, 1939–1943. Vol. II. Part I. St. Catharines: Vanwell. ISBN978-1-55125-061-8.
Douglas, W. A. B. (2007). A Blue Water Navy: The Official Operational History of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War, 1943–1945. Vol. II. Part 2. St. Catharines: Vanwell. ISBN978-1-55125-069-4.
Gimblett, Richard H., ed. (2009). The Naval Service of Canada 1910–2010: The Centennial Story. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN978-1-4597-1322-2.
Gimblett, Richard H.; Hadley, Michael L., eds. (2010). Citizen Sailors: Chronicles of Canada's Naval Reserve. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN978-1-55488-867-2.
Johnston, William; Rawling, William G. P.; Gimblett, Richard H.; MacFarlane, John (2010). The Seabound Coast: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Navy, 1867–1939. Vol. I. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN978-1-55488-908-2.
Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002 (3rd ed.). St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell. ISBN1-55125-072-1.
Milner, Marc (2010). Canada's Navy: The First Century (2nd ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN978-0-8020-9604-3.
Tucker, Gilbert (1952). The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History: Activities on Shore During the Second World War. Vol. II. King's Printer, Ottawa. OCLC256309361.
The Canadian Navy List 1914 to 1945, Ottawa: Canada: Department of National Defence, OCLC47257749
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