The Canadian Naval Chronicle 1939-1945

Sidney Allinson is a Victoria-based communications consultant, Canadian
news correspondent for Britain’s The Army Quarterly and Defence, and
the author of Military Archives: International Directory of Military
Publications and The Bantams: The Untold St

It is one thing to solemnly know that over 1300 members of the Royal
Canadian Navy (RCN) lost their lives during World War II. Their
sacrifices take on new meaning, however, when one learns exactly how
they and their ships met their ends. The authors of this book, both
retired naval officers of long experience, have done a masterful job of
compiling a record of the wartime successes and losses of the RCN.

Each chapter follows the fortunes of an individual RCN vessel, starting
with a rundown of its class, builder, action, crew complement, and
casualties. A photograph and a list of related reading are included in
each chapter. There is much here to satisfy most naval buffs—from the
origins of ships’ names, to records of service life, to cameos of crew
members. There’s also glory mixed with tragedy, as the authors recount
not only Canadian naval losses but also stories of enemy warship defeats
that were mainly attri-butable to RCN ships. For their accounts, the
authors draw upon the recollections of many veteran participants of the
actions as well as official records. The tables of statistics provide
the first complete listing of Merchant Navy vessels lost.

This marvelous collection of stories about Canadian ships and sailors
fighting a bitter war at sea is recommended as a valuable reference.