The Royal Canadian Navy itself played a critical role in defending the food and war materiel on its way to Britain. The Nazi U- Boat’s were sent out …show more content…
The British called Canada for help to ensure safety of the supply ships. British troops without the war materiel and food would certainly spell out victory for Germany. The Canadian Navy jumped in when Britain cried for help by finding ways to defend the merchant vessels crossing the Atlantic. The Royal Canadian Navy then decided to protect their supplies by creating corvettes that were specifically designed to sink U- boats. Although these corvettes were fragile in the rough Atlantic waters, they were easy to be built, inexpensive and conveniently, could be built in any shipyard in Canada . The RCN quickly built a fleet of 400 corvettes called the Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF) . The RCN was also very committed and dedicated to anything that came into their way. When the winter time came, ice would build up upon the ship’s deck which threatened to …show more content…
While corvettes that already existed or had undergone damage were repaired and enhanced. The advanced corvettes were then put out into battle. A major enhancement to the corvettes was the improved radar systems which were installed. These radars helped sailors detect U- Boats to avoid ambush or any attack to the merchant vessels. Other navy establishments that were created were aircraft carriers. The Royal Canadian Air Force became involved with their aircraft. The RCAF Aircrafts were also equipped with the enhanced radars, depth charges and machine guns to support and protect convoys against submarines. Aircraft assisted on helping protect, attack and locate Nazi U- Boats and report it back to the navy’s headquarters. Aircraft was very useful to fly beside convoys for support to spot enemy ships and force them to surface. The Canso Amphibian, which was the Canadian version of the Catalina, was also replaced by Liberator Aircraft, to become faster and fly a greater distance near the North Atlantic . To avoid a high number of causalities, the sailors also received upgraded training such as being told to stay close to one another. This method also sustained the lives of the many sailors who were aboard. These improvements were major reasons why the supplies arrived safely and greatly affected the battle’s