NATO's Arctic Guardian
A Royal Canadian Navy CH-124 prepares to land on HMCS Assiniboine. Photo Credit.
Since the dawn of the Cold War, the Royal Canadian Navy has specialized in anti-submarine warfare. This specialty is a result of Canadian experience in World War II, in which Canadian naval forces played a crucial role defending North Atlantic shipping and coastlines against attack by German submarines and surface raiders. By the end of the war, the Royal Canadian Navy was the third largest in the world, behind the United States Navy and Royal Navy, although demobilization significantly decreased its size. With less ships, manpower, and money available to defend the North Atlantic, Canada was forced to develop innovative solutions. Following successful tests in the mid-1950s, helicopters were added to the arsenal of tools available to RCN destroyers and frigates. These capabilities were further enhanced with adoption of the Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King and the beartrap hauldown device, allowing helicopters to be safely recovered in even the most extreme weather conditions and sea states. Beartrap technology was eventually adopted by the USN, Royal Navy, and other fleets throughout the 1960s, significantly improving the ability of smaller vessels to operate as ASW platforms.
HMCS Bonaventure in the early 1960s. Grumman Trackers and a Sikorsky Sea
King are visible on the deck park. Photo Credit.
While improvements in helicopter operations allowed the RCN to operate aircraft from vessels as small as the 2,260 ton
St. Laurent class helicopter destroyers, the centerpiece of the Atlantic Fleet were two modernized Majestic class light aircraft carriers: HMCS
Magnificent and HMCS
Bonaventure. During the 1950s they operated McDonnell F2H-3 Banshees, Grumman CS2F Trackers, and Sikorsky HO4S helicopters in their carrier air group. In 1963 the Banshees were replaced with Folland Sea Mosquito IIs and the HO4S helicopters were replaced with new Sea Kings. RCN Sea Mosquito II pilots were greatly respected within NATO for operating high performance fighters off such short aircraft carriers, taking great pride in their nickname "crazy Canucks".
HMCS Inuit in the mid-1980s. Photo Credit.
As proud as the Canadians were of their surface fleet, the true stars of the 1960s RCN were the six
Inuit class nuclear attack submarines:
Inuit,
Anishinaabe,
Blackfoot,
Cree,
Dene, and
Onondaga. The
Inuit class submarine was a Canadian developed and produced derivative of the Royal Navy's
Valiant class, featuring a strengthened hull and other improvements for operations in Arctic conditions. Canadian interest in submarines began in the late 1950s, when an attempt was made to purchase
Barbel class submarines from the United States. Unfortunately, the submarine had gone out of production as the USN began its transition to a nuclear navy. Feelers were sent out to the United Kingdom on the possibility of acquiring British submarines, and the Valiant class was recommended. While more expensive than the diesel-electric
Oberon class, the design was recommended for procurement during Pearson's first post-election defense whitepaper due to its unlimited endurance, extremely useful for operations in the Arctic. Furthermore, the United Kingdom was willing to allow local production of significant components of the submarines, while Vice Admiral Hyman G. Rickover was vehemently opposed to exporting any American nuclear reactors or knowledge. Rickover was also opposed to the rafting technology of the
Valiant and
Inuit class submarines, in which the machinery was placed atop a large raft to provide improved noise abatement, giving the British and Canadian submarines reduced noise signatures compared to American submarines. With the Parliament of Canada's vote in favor of the
Inuit class, Canada became only the fourth nation to order a nuclear submarine.
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All that's left for Canada is the space program.
Links of Interest:
Beartrap (hauldown device)
A Brief History of Canadian Submarines
RN Submarines: Engineering History
Folland Gnat Derivatives