Explore History

The Early Cold War
Rebuilding and Transformation

The Canadian navy's main Cold War mission was anti-submarine warfare, as it had been in the two world wars. It sought to build a force of ships, personnel, and facilities to fulfill this mission, as well as to pursue other national objectives like sovereignty protection.




Desktop Radar Model

This is a motorized desktop model of the AN/SPS-12 naval radar fitted to Canadian destroyers built in the 1950s and 1960s.

Post-war naval vessels often carried several different types of radar for specific functions. The AN/SPS-12 was designed to detect aircraft, while other radars were intended to detect ships or to aim guns and other weapons. The RCA Victor Company in Montreal, Quebec, manufactured the full-size equipment and also made this model, with an antenna that rotates when the switch on the base is turned on.

Model Antenna, Naval AN/SPS 12 Radar
CWM 19800840-001