North Atlantic Convoys: Canada’s Special Role

Abstract

The growth of the Royal Canadian Navy was the most remarkable success story of the Dominion maritime efforts in the Second World War. The Royal Canadian Navy had just six destroyers in 1939, but ended the war with 365 naval vessels, making it the third largest navy in the world. This was achieved because Canada overwhelmingly pursued one specific naval role during the war—escorting merchant shipping across the North Atlantic. This chapter explores how Canada adopted this role and subsequently managed the extraordinary growth of its navy. Johnston assesses Canada’s maritime performance, which was relatively poor prior to 1943. Nevertheless, Johnston contends that Canada’s contribution in the North Atlantic was simply irreplaceable, because of the materials it escorted to the UK.