The Royal Canadian Navy, Canadas Most Influential Division in WW2

"The real heroes of the Battle of the Atlantic were the seamen who pushed themselves to
the limit through one dangerous passage to another." Clarence Mitchell, seamen. The Royal
Canadian Navy, formed on May 1910, was one of the many divisions of the Canadian Armed
Forces and played a leading role for the Allies during World War II. Out of all the divisions of
the military, the Royal Canadian Navy was the most influential division of the military, proven
by all the hard battles they had fought, the helping hand they gave to its country and other allies,
and the advanced technology they held as the war proceeded.
To begin, the Royal Canadian Navy contributed heavily towards major battles. Their
most notable and successful battle was the Battle of the Atlantic. A notable act in the battle was
when Canada collaborated with Britain to execute an excellent war plan. Canadian warships
would stay behind and protect British vessels, while Britains navy would use aggressive tactics
to destroy U-boats. The collaborative plan was successful as it reduced the number of Allied
Merchant ships losses to less than 300 in 1943, quarter of the statistic from the year before.
Speaking of ships, German U-boats were notorious for being expensive, efficient and deadly,
striking huge fear to the Allied forces. The RCN (Royal Canadian Navy) proved that U-boats
weren't as tough as everyone thought as their hunter groups sank more than 8 U-boats in half a
year. The Canadian Navy had also contributed towards other battles as well. They played a
significant role to the Normandy Landings, as Canadian ships patrolled the English Channel and
cleared minesweepers for Allied troops to cross ashore towards land. Their anti-aircraft cruisers
and landing ships would play minor roles in battles such as the Aleutian Islands, Italy, and
Greece, exporting Allied troops or taking down Axis aircrafts. As a result for all of their

tremendous efforts, the Allies gave Canada control of the entire Northwest Atlantic Ocean,
ranging from Nova Scotia to the Arctic Circle. The RCN had proven to be an effective team with
its major contributions towards the Battle of the Atlantic and other big battles.
On top of being the most dominant Canadian division in battle, the Canadian Navy were
also great teammates, helping other Canadian divisions and other Allied military. When the war
began, the Canadian Navys main role in World War II was escort duty. Hundreds of Allied
convoys would gather at a port such as Halifax or Sydney and Canadian warships would help
escort them so the convoys would arrive at their destination safely. The Canadian Navy also
helped out with the Britishs supplies issue. During the peak of Hitlers reign, Britain had trouble
obtaining supplies as most countries in Europe were occupied by Germany and German U-boats
surrounded most British supply lines. The Merchant Navy, a non-militant division of the RCN,
tried to resolve this problem as they sent merchant vessels to over 25 000 voyages across the
Atlantic Ocean; delivering food, supplies and reinforcements to Britain. As well as helping
Britain with supplies, the Canadian Merchant Navy also helped Britain with evacuation. Britain
was not safe because the Axis would occasionally bomb British cities, killing thousands in
seconds. For their safety, the British government had decided to evacuate their citizens, with
6,000 of them being sent to Canada on Canadian ships. The RCN had proven to a great ally as
their Merchant Navy division helped the British with evacuation and supplies and their militant
counterparts helped defend Allied convoys.
To top it all off, the Royal Canadian Navy were the most technological advanced
Canadian division, using their inventions to make their lives more efficient. An example of an
invention that helped the RCN was Sonar technology. Sound Navigation And Ranging or
SONAR, was mass produced by Allied forces and detected objects by transmitting sound waves

underwater. The Canadian Navy would use this invention to detect German U-boats earlier and
fire before they would be able to do the same, which resulted in reduced Allied ship lost. The
Canadian Navy had also performed more efficient when the Enigma Machine was decrypted.
The Enigma Machine was a German-invented machine and was used to encrypt German
communication so no outsiders would be able to hear in. The machine was eventually decrypted
secretly by British computer scientist Alan Turing as he shared the secrets of the Enigma
Machine with the Allies including the RCN. Now being able to listen to German communication
lines, the RCN would always be prepared for the next German U-boat attack or would make
more strategically and effective plans when planning. The Allies made great inventions that were
effective, but the Axis were the complete opposite. Germany inventors created the acoustic
torpedo, a homing missile that targeted objects based on their characteristics of sound. The RCN
easily countered this invention by inventing their anti-homing missile system, the CAT (CounterAcoustic Torpedo). The CAT would generate huge amounts of noise, misleading the torpedoes
into a circular pattern until the missile would run out of gas and sink. With all of the new
technology that the Canadian Navy possessed, Canada had managed to become one of the more
powerful countries in World War II.
The Royal Canadian Navy is the most influential division with its major contributions to
battles, their ability to give a huge helping hand and their superior technology. As the RCN is
influential, we all should remember the 2002 Canadian seamen that sacrificed their lives for the
Allied forces to win World War II. Looking at these death numbers, the Royal Canadian Navy in
todays time should look back at the past and learn from their mistakes to make a better future.

Works Cited
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