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Second World War Naval Topics
Enemy Merchantmen Taken In Prize by Ships of the Royal Canadian NavyThe list of enemy merchantmen taken in prize by ships of the Royal Canadian Navy during the First and Second World War.
The Vancouver Volunteer Yacht Patrol
The Vancouver Volunteer Yacht Patrol was created in the early days of the war to provide services to the Royal Canadian Navy which they were, at the time, unable to provide for themselves. This unit operated in the greater Vancouver area and consisted of yachtsmen employing their own power cruisers. A number of the members went on to wartime service after its dissolution.
The Ships of the Bedwell Bay Ship Boneyard
Contributor Christopher Cole has assembled an inventory of the surplus vessels that once resided in the vessel "boneyard" in Bedwell Bay. These vessels were held in strategic reserve or were simply awaiting disposition as surplus to government requirements. It took several years to clear them out.
Vessels Owned or Operated by the Canadian Army
During the Second World War the Canadian Army operated a small fleet of ships to support their activities on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Here is a link to that list of vessels.
The Bay of Islands/Cornerbrook (Newfoundland) Patrol Force
During the Second World War, eight officers were appointed as honorary members of the RCNVR and acted as an active reserve unit on the coast of Newfoundland.
Second World War Veteran HMS Cailiff Still Afloat In Norway
Svein Ludvigsen, reports that the Norwegian trawler Borgenes is due to be scrapped in the near future at Kristiansund, Norway. HMS Cailiff (as she was originally known) was built as one of sixteen Western–Isles Class Anti–Submarine Trawler for the Royal Navy. She was one of eight loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy as escorts for coastal convoys.
Merchant Ships Used as Fighter Carriers in World War TwoFraser McKee presents a complete listing of all of the Auxiliary Aircraft Carriers that served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
German U–Boat Commanding Officers Who Died by ‘Other Means’Fraser McKee presents a complete listing of all the German navy U–Boat commanding officers who died by ‘other means’ during the Second World War.
Canadian & Newfoundland Merchantmen Lost during the Second World War Due to Enemy ActionsFraser McKee presents a complete listing of all the Canadian & Newfoundland Merchantmen Lost during the Second World War Due to Enemy Actions
RCN Ships Present Off the Normandy Beaches on June 6/7/1944 (D–Day Landings)Fraser McKee presents a complete listing of all the RCN Ships Present Off the Normandy Beaches on June 6/7/1944 (D-day Landings)
Vancouver’s Fleet of Former US Navy APc Vessels
Contributor George Duddy has revised and updated his extensive list of Canadian vessels that were formerly serving in the US Navy. Following the war, the US Navy disposed of the small coastal transports. Eleven of these were eventually registered in Vancouver as Canadian vessels.
British Naval and Reserve Organizations
Some Canadians chose to serve in Royal Navy organizations – and other were related to those who served. This is an overview of the diversity of organizations that made up the Royal Navy’s reserve.
Site News: November 2, 2024
The vessel database has been updated and is now holding 94,538 vessel histories (with 16,140 images and 13,887 records of ship wrecks and marine disasters). The mariner and naval biography database has also been updated and now contains 58,599 entries (with 3989 images). Vessel records are currently being reviewed and updated with more than 35,000 processed so far this year.
Thanks to contributor Mike Rydqvist McCammon for the hundreds of photos he has contributed to illustrate British Columbia's floating heritage.
My very special thanks to our volunteer IT adviser, John Eyre, who (since 2021) has modernized, simplified and improved the update process for the databases into semi–automated processes. His participation has been vital to keeping the Nauticapedia available to our netizens.
Also my special thanks to my volunteer content accuracy checker, John Spivey of Irvine CA USA, who continues (almost every day) to proof read thousands of Nauticapedia vessel histories and provided input to improve more than 14,000 entries. His attention to detail has been a huge unexpected bonus in improving and updating the vessel detail content.