HMCS Magnificent Transporting Army Vehicles

This photograph shows the Canadian aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent carrying Canadian army vehicles to a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Egypt.

Magnificent transported 240 vehicles, four aircraft, and 400 tons of equipment as part of Canada's contribution to the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF). Created in the wake of a 1956 French, British, and Israeli attack on Egypt, which was attempting to seize control of the Suez Canal, UNEF was the result of Canadian Lester B. Pearson's suggestion that an impartial multi-national force might allow the British and French to withdraw while also supervising a ceasefire between Egyptians and Israelis.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19920085-1005