Royal Canadian Navy History, 1968 - 2022
Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) (3) History and Heritage, 1968 - 2022
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) protects Canadian sovereignty and interests at sea, at home and abroad. Whether during times of conflict or peace, the RCN promotes global stability, enforces international law and helps protect both the Canadian and world economies.
Founded in 1910 as the Naval Service of Canada and given Royal Sanction in 1911, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was placed under the Department of National Defence in 1923, and amalgamated with the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Army to form the unified Canadian Forces in 1968, after which it was known as "Maritime Command" until 2011. On 16 August 2011, the government renamed Maritime Command the "Royal Canadian Navy."
Over the course of its history, the RCN has served in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, the First Gulf War, the Afghanistan War and numerous United Nations peacekeeping missions and NATO operations. True to its motto “Ready, Aye, Ready”, the sailors of the RCN stand always ready to defend Canada and proudly safeguard its interests and values whether at home or abroad.
The RCN is comprised of approximately 12,570 Regular Force and 4,111 Reserve sailors, and is supported by around 3,800 civilian employees. The RCN mission is to generate combat-capable, multipurpose maritime forces that support Canada’s efforts to participate in security operations anywhere in the world, as part of an integrated Canadian Armed Forces.
Maritime Forces Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is home to the sailors and ships of the Canadian Atlantic Fleet and the civilian employees who support them. Maritime Forces Pacific is located in Esquimalt, British Columbia. It is home to the Canadian Pacific Fleet, and its sailors, ships and civilian employees.
The historical photos found here are a random sampling of the men and women who have served that have been stored in the files of the Library and Archives Canada collection and in other RCN and maritime photo collections. The photos may have inaccurate identification and any corrections, amendments, or updates to the data presented here would be greatly appreciated.
Badge of the RCN, Azure, a fouled anchor or. Motto: PARATI VERO PARATI. This badge was approved in 2016.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Bonaventure being replenished at sea, by HMCS Provider, with a large compliment of Trackers and only two Sea Kings on the flight deck in 1968. A close look shows the span wire has also been hooked up to the ISL (Improved St. Laurent) DDH (Destroyer Helicopter) on Provider’s starboard side. This is a normal at sea occurrence, called a RAS, or replenishment at sea. In addition to fuel, the AOR could provide food, ammunition and, more importantly, beer! Noticeably missing from the DDH is the TACAN mast which was fitted on the hanger top behind the twin funnels. The ISLs served until the mid-90s and were replaced by the Halifax Class frigates.
(RCN Photo)
RCN Atlantic fleet with HMCS Bonaventure's aircraft in formation (3 Sea Kings and 9 Trackers) flying overhead in 1968.
(RCN Photo)
RCN formation, c1968.
(RCN Photo)
RCN formation, c1968.
(RCN Photo)
Visibly worn from her seven-month deployment to the Persian Gulf, which included 49 straight days at sea, HMCS Athabaskan returns to Halifax, April 1991.
(RCN Photo)
Through the late 1990s, the Halifax-class frigates operated as fully integrated elements of United States Navy (USN) carrier battle groups in the Persian Gulf region, such as Vancouver here with the USS John C. Stennis.
