Today, Canadians from coast to coast to coast will commemorate the 77th anniversary of the end of action in the Battle of the Atlantic and the sacrifices of the thousands of Canadians who fought valiantly from 1939-1945 during the longest campaign of the Second World War.

“The Battle of the Atlantic – cold, wet, dangerous. Fought with courage, dedication and honour. Our world today – who they were then, and who we are now is forever connected by their sacrifice.”

Vice-Admiral Craig Baines, Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy

• The Battle of the Atlantic began on September 3, 1939, with the sinking of the SS Athenia by German submarine U-30. Allied forces fought for control of the North Atlantic Ocean to supply the war effort from 1939 to 1945, making this the longest campaign of the Second World War.

• The RCN grew from a mere 6 destroyers & 3,500 personnel in 1939, to 373 fighting ships and more than 100,000 sailors by War’s end – one of the largest navies in the world.

• Our sailors and airmen sank or shared in the destruction of some 50 U-boats while they escorted some 25 thousand merchant ships during the war to deliver more than 165 million tonnes of life & war-sustaining cargo to Europe in a merchant navy that became the world’s fourth largest.

• These accomplishments were fueled by an impressive shipbuilding effort that saw more than 400 merchant ships built in Canadian shipyards that also churned-out 281 destroyers/corvettes & frigates, 206 minesweepers, over 250 tugs and over 3,000 landing craft.

• In 1943, Rear-Admiral Leonard Murray was put in charge of the Allied Air and Naval forces in the Northwest Atlantic; the only Canadian to command an Allied theatre of conflict in either World War.

• Throughout the Battle of the Atlantic, 24 Canadian of the 175 Allied warships were lost. 2,600 merchant ships including 62 Canadian vessels also met the same fate

• The human cost: more than 2,700 RCN/RCAF and 1,600 Canadian Merchant Navy personnel died.

• Just weeks before the end of hostilities, HMCS Esquimalt was sunk and 44 died in the Halifax approaches, in April 1945. 

• Almost 7,000 women served their country in a wide variety of crucial roles during the War.

Associated links

• Royal Canadian Navy
• The History of the Battle of the Atlantic
• Veterans Affairs Canada. The Battle of the Atlantic

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