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The Later Cold War
A Changing Fleet

Canada's navy changed and shrank in the latter part of the Cold War, but continued to face threats and meet alliance obligations. Despite the addition of some newer vessels, by the late 1970s it faced "rust-out" due to the gradual deterioration of ships and equipment.

Baltic Patrol
Baltic Patrol

In this Canadian Forces publicity photograph from the mid-1970s, three Canadian warships pose for the camera on the sunlit Baltic Sea.

Canada's navy has often operated in conjunction with its counterparts from other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries. HMCS Margaree (left), HMCS Athabaskan (centre), and HMCS Ottawa (right) are on patrol as part of a NATO presence in the Baltic Sea. Bounded during the Cold War by member countries from NATO and the opposing Warsaw Pact, as well as neutral Sweden and Finland, the Baltic Sea was of tremendous strategic importance.

Print
CWM 19770548-041





HMCS Iroquois, Artist's Concept
HMCS Athabaskan
Model, HMCS Bras d'Or
HMCS Bras d'Or
HMCS Ojibwa
HMCS Ojibwa Model
Uniform, Lieutenant Commander Edward Ross Murray
Model, HMCS Assiniboine
HMCS Gatineau
HMCS Gatineau
Model, HMCS Nipigon
Naval Chaff Launcher
The Watch Below – Engine Room – HMCS Yukon
Hands to Supper – Galley and Steamline – HMCS Yukon
FN C1D Rifle
Diving Knife
Soviet Naval Aircraft
Soviet Aircraft Carrier and Bombers
HMCS Huron and HMCS Kootenay, 1990
Baltic Patrol