Canada's Naval History

The Second World War
The Merchant Navy - The Merchant Navy

Between 1939 and 1945, Canadian and Allied merchant ships and their crews transported personnel, munitions, weapons, and food across the world's oceans as part of the Allied war effort. Enemy action sank some 70 Canadian and Newfoundland merchant vessels. Over 1,600 Canadians and Newfoundlanders, including eight women, were killed.

Oil Tanker in Convoy

This photograph, taken on a remarkably calm ocean, provides a close-up view of an oil tanker, with other ships in the background.

Some wartime merchant ships had specialized designs to enable them to carry cargoes more safely and efficiently. Most of an oil tanker's hull is taken up with tanks for transporting petroleum products, ranging from crude oil to highly refined aviation fuel. Allied forces required a constant supply of fuel and lubricants carried by tankers like this one in order to keep operating equipment at sea, on land, and in the air.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19930128-043