Harold A. Skaarup

My name is Harold (Hal) Aage Skaarup, CD3, BFA, MA in War Studies. "Back in the day" as my generation likes to say, I served as a Canadian Army Paratrooper and Military Intelligence Officer. I have had the great good fortune in having a military career that gave me a chance to see some interesting parts of the world while on duty with NATO in Germany, with the UN in Cyprus, with SFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina, with NORAD in Colorado, with ISAF in Afghanistan and of course here at home and across Canada. During those 40 years with the Canadian Forces, I had the privilege of taking part in history making events and having interesting experiences with incredibly talented people from many different countries. As a result, I believe that I have a bit of insight into some of the military history that Canadian soldiers, sailors, airmen and women have made in the past, are making in the present and will make in the future, both here at home and overseas. I have written and researched a fair number of our military stories and recorded some of those experiences. If you have similar interests, you will find a good deal of it here, shared from my perspective. When I retired from the Army in August 2011 at 5 Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown, New Brunswick, I took an interest in the New Brunswick Military History Museum (NBMHM) on base. Now settled down at our home in Fredericton, I became a volunteer researcher and tour guide at the museum. I also currently serve on the Board of Directors of the York Sunbury Historical Society and am now one of their past Presidents. I volunteer with activities taking place at the Fredericton Region Museum (FRM), as well as the New Brunswick Aviation Museum (NBAM) in the Miramichi. Along the way, I was inducted into the group of Associate RCAF Historians and am one of the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association (CPVA) historians. I am also a member of the Canadian Aerospace Artists Association (CAAA) where we are in the process of building a book on Canadian Aviation artwork. Along the way, I have met many wonderful people and have listened to many of their stories, fielded questions from a myriad of visitors and continue to learn something new about our history every day. The aim, therefore, of these pages, is to share some of these stories with you. I have collected a fair amount of data that will be of interest to military historians and like-minded enthusiasts, but I am not the expert on all things military. What I do have is a wonderful collection of colleagues who do have some expertise in specific military subjects, and if I can't find an answer to your question, I may know someone I can refer you to, who can help.

Kaiserliche Marine Cruisers: SMS Irene, SMS Prinzess Wilhelm, SMS Kaiserin Augusta, SMS Victoria Louise, SMS Hertha, SMS Freya, SMS Vineta, SMS Hansa

Kaiserliche Marine Cruisers: SMS Irene, SMS Prinzess Wilhelm, SMS Kaiserin Augusta, SMS Victoria Louise, SMS Hertha, SMS Freya, SMS Vineta, SMS Hansa (Library of Congress Photo) The Imperial German Navy cruisers SMS Kaiserin Augusta (left) and SMS Seeadler in New York in 1893. The ships arrived on 26 April. Starting in the 1880s, the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial … Read more

Kaiserliche Marine Dreadnaught battleships: SMS König, SMS Grosser Kurfürst, SMS Markgraf, SMS Kronprinz.

Kaiserliche Marine Dreadnaught battleships: König class (1913): SMS König, SMS Grosser Kurfürst, SMS Markgraf, SMS Kronprinz. SMS König (British Naval Intelligence drawing) A recognition drawing of the German battleship König prepared by the Royal Navy’s Intelligence department that was distributed to the fleet in 1918. SMS König was the first of four König-class dreadnought battleships of the … Read more

Kaiserliche Marine Dreadnaught battleships: SMS Kaiser, SMS Friedrich der Grosse, SMS Kaiserin, SMS Prinzregent Luitpold, SMS König Albert.

Kaiserliche Marine Dreadnaught battleships: Kaiser class (1911): SMS Kaiser, SMS Friedrich der Grosse, SMS Kaiserin, SMS Prinzregent Luitpold, SMS König Albert. SMS Kaiser (Bundesarchiv, DVM 10 Bild-23-61-83 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, c1913) SMS Kaiser was the lead ship of the Kaiser class of dreadnought battleships of the Imperial German Navy. Kaiser was built by the Imperial … Read more

Kaiserliche Marine Dreadnaught battleships: Helgoland class (1909): SMS Helgoland, SMS Ostfriesland, SMS Thüringen, SMS Oldenburg.

Kaiserliche Marine Dreadnaught battleships: Helgoland class (1909): SMS Helgoland, SMS Ostfriesland, SMS Thüringen, SMS Oldenburg. SMS Helgoland (Bundesarchiv, DVM 10 Bild-23-61-09 / CC-BY-SA 3.0) SMS Helgoland, the lead ship of her class, was a dreadnought battleship of the German Imperial Navy. Helgoland’s design represented an incremental improvement over the preceding Nassau class, including an increase … Read more

Kaiserliche Marine dreadnaught battleships: Nassau class (1906): SMS Nassau, SMS Westfalen, SMS Rheinland, SMS Posen.

Kaiserliche Marine dreadnaught battleships: Nassau class (1906): SMS Nassau, SMS Westfalen, SMS Rheinland, SMS Posen. SMS Nassau (Arthur Renard, Kaiserliche Marine Photo, 1910 SMS Nassau was the first dreadnought battleship built for the Imperial German Navy. Nassau was laid down on 22 July 1907 at the Kaiserliche Werft in Wilhelmshaven, and launched less than a … Read more

Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) pre-dreadnaught battleships: SMS Deutschland, SMS Hannover, SMS Pommern, SMS Schlesien, SMS Schleswig-Holstein.

Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) pre-dreadnaught battleships: Deutschland class (1905): SMS Deutschland, SMS Hannover, SMS Pommern, SMS Schlesien, SMS Schleswig-Holstein. SMS Deutschland (Kaiserliche Marine Photo) SMS Deutschland (His Majesty’s Ship Germany)[a] was the first of five Deutschland-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). The ship was armed with a main battery … Read more

Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) pre-dreadnaught battleships: Kaiser Friedrich III class (1904): SMS Kaiser Friedrich III, SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II, SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, SMS Kaiser Barbarossa, SMS Kaiser Karl der Grosse

Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) pre-dreadnaught battleships: Kaiser Friedrich III class (1904): SMS Kaiser Friedrich III, SMS Kaiser Wilhelm II, SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, SMS Kaiser Barbarossa, SMS Kaiser Karl der Grosse SMS Kaiser Friedrich III (Arthur Renard Photo) SMS Kaiser Friedrich III (“His Majesty’s Ship Emperor Frederick III”) was the lead ship of … Read more

Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) pre-dreadnaught battleships: SMS Braunschweig, SMS Elsass, SMS Hessen, SMS Preussen, SMS Lothringen

Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) pre-dreadnaught battleships: Braunschweig class (1902): SMS Braunschweig, SMS Elsass, SMS Hessen, SMS Preussen, SMS Lothringen. SMS Braunschweig (Kaiserliche Marine Photo) SMS Braunschweig was the first of five pre-dreadnought battleships of the Braunschweig class built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). She was laid down in October 1901, launched in … Read more

Kaiserliche Marine dreadnaught battleships: SMS Bayern, SMS Baden, SMS Sachsen, SMS Württemberg.

Kaiserliche Marine dreadnaught Battleships: Bayern class: SMS Bayern, SMS Baden, SMS Sachsen, SMS Württemberg. SMS Bayern (Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R17811) SMS Bayern in the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, while being commissioned for sea trials in 1915. SMS Bayern was the lead ship of the Bayern class of dreadnought battleships in the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). The vessel … Read more

Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) pre-dreadnaught battleships: Wittelsbach class (1900): SMS Wittelsbach, SMS Wettin, SMS Zähringen, SMS Schwaben, SMS Mecklenburg.

Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) pre-dreadnaught battleships: Wittelsbach class (1900): SMS Wittelsbach, SMS Wettin, SMS Zähringen, SMS Schwaben, SMS Mecklenburg. Pre-dreadnaught battleships: Wittelsbach class (1900): SMS Wittelsbach (Kaiserliche Marine Photo, c1910) SMS Wittelsbach was the lead ship of the Wittelsbach class of pre-dreadnought battleships, built for the Imperial German Navy. She was the first capital … Read more