Canada's Naval History

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Birth Of the Navy

First World War

Between the Wars

Second World War

Early Cold War

Later Cold War
- - From RCN to Maritime Command
  - A Changing Fleet

Navy Today
- - The Gulf War
  - Continuing Commitments

The Navy Today
Continuing Commitments

Beginning in the 1990s, long-standing efforts to renew the ships and equipment of Canada's navy began to produce results, with new vessels entering service. At the same time, the navy continued to fulfill national commitments to alliance operations and, following terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001, to "the war on terror".

Artifact Record

Colin Peek Standing in Front of the Sea-King Helicopter in His Gear

Doug Bradford's vivid watercolour shows a Sea King helicopter on the deck of the patrol frigate HMCS Calgary.

The Sea King's rotors (upper left) are folded so it can be stowed in its hangar, while part of the "bear trap" mechanism that allows landings in rough weather can be seen below it. Entering service with the Royal Canadian Navy in 1963, the Sea King helicopter remains in service today, although it is slated to be replaced by a new shipboard helicopter.

Colin Peek Standing in Front of the Sea-King Helicopter in His Gear
Painted by Doug Bradford in 2004
CWM 20070020-009