Canada in World War Two: A Staunch Ally

Canada in World War Two: A staunch ally

Matthew Patz 100312935

11 Nov 2014

HIST 1114

Mr. Abbott

        At the outbreak of World War Two, Canada joined the war on 10 September 1939 in support of Britain.  Although differently now than from World War One, Canada was not automatically included in the war.  After deliberating in parliament for several days, Canada declared war on Germany one week after Britain and France did in order demonstrate that they were acting independently as an autonomous nation.  Although memories of World War One still haunted many, Canadians stepped up and fought with unwavering determination.  Throughout the war, each facet of Canada’s military demonstrated significant contributions to the war effort.  The Royal Canadian Air Force trained aircrew through the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The Royal Canadian Navy played a key role in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Canadian Army stood out amongst the Allies during D-day and Normandy Campaign. During the Early stages of the war, Canadians fought with limited equipment, low personnel and at times poor planning leading to high casualty rates. As the war progressed, recruitment increased as did acquisition of equipment and learning from previous mistakes.  Despite the setbacks, Canada remained loyal and committed and played a significant military role in the overall success of the Allied forces.

        The Royal Canadian Air Force played a major role in training aircrew for the war.  The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was a joint effort between Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada.          

        The BCATP initially produced only pilots, air observers, and wireless operator-air         gunners. But as the war went on and new and larger aircraft came into service, the         training changed as well.  By the wrap-up of the plan, eight air crew categories were         being produced: pilot, navigator, navigator B (with bombing training), navigator W         (with wireless training), air bomber, wireless operator-air gunner, and flight         engineer. In all, 131, 553 graduated, more than 50,000 of whom where pilots.         Canadians accounted for 55 percent of the graduates.^[1] 

The RCAF quickly transformed from a meager, underequipped group into a major force capable of astounding destruction.  Despite this, however powerful it was, the war came with a price. “In all, a quarter of a million Canadians served in the RCAF and RAF, with 94,000 going overseas. Of these, 17,101 failed to return…But the RCAF deaths were almost exactly equal to army battle fatalities in the European theatre.”^[2] As the number of trained pilots in the RCAF increased and as they gained experience fighting in battle, they became a significant member of the overall allied fighting force. “By the end of the war, the RCAF had forty-eight squadrons overseas flying bombers, fighters, transports, and U-boat hunters.”^[3] 

        The RCAF bomber crews – like the fighter pilots, transport crews, and ground crews         – had done dangerous and difficult wartime jobs with increasing professionalism         and         skill.  The believed that they had played a major part in the war’s outcome, and their         commanders thought the same.^[4] 

The young men who put their lives on the line in order to defend Britain and Canada did so with determination and a strong sense of pride. They remained loyal and committed even in the face of such destruction.

        The Canadian home front provided many of the raw materials, food and arms required by Britain and the Allied forces. The vessels used to ship these vital goods across the Atlantic Ocean became the target of German submarines.  For this reason, the Royal Canadian Navy was tasked with protecting the ships as they made their journey across the North Atlantic.  In the early days of the Battle of the Atlantic, this task proved to be daunting. The crews were young and largely inexperienced using outdated equipment, which led to high casualty rates.

        Canada had virtually no navy to send anywhere – a mere six destroyers and a handful         of minesweepers. Even that was fortunate; in the grim days of the         Depression the fate of         the Royal Canadian Navy had been seriously in doubt. Canada, from the first, assumed a         share of the Battle of the Atlantic and set out to build up a large front-line navy, mostly         from her own shipyards. By the end of the war Canada had a navy of almost 100,000                 personnel and 400 ships.^[5] 

German U-boats sank merchant and navy vessels at an alarming rate.  As the crews gained experience and as the navy increased in size they also improved their tactics, which increased their chances for a successful voyage to Britain. They developed a strategy of traveling as a convoy of many vessels surrounded by navy ships as protection.

        The oceans at once became bare and empty; for long periods of time the U-boats,         operating individually, would see nothing at all; and then, suddenly, up would loom a         great convoy of ships, thirty or fifty or more of them, surrounded by an escort of war         ships of all types. The solitary U-boat…would then attack, thrusting again and again         and persisting, if the commander had strong nerves, for several days and nights until         the physical exhaustion of both commander and crew called a halt. The lone U-boat         might well sink one or two of the ships, or even several, but that was but a poor         percentage of the whole. The convoy would steam on. In most cases no other         German U-boat would catch sight of it and it would reach Britain, bringing rich cargo         and foodstuffs and raw materials safely into port.^[6]