Another series of images designed to demonstrate Canadian progress on the war fronts.
Firstly, the Navy has been quite busy having pushed through the bloody winter of 1941.
(Naval ratings aboard an unidentified Town-class destroyer (one of the older four-stackers transferred to the RCN from the US Navy) unloading a torpedo from its launch tube. March 1941)
Seven older US destroyers were transferred to the RCN (known as four-stackers because of their distinctive four funnels). They were labelled the Town-class in RCN service, and were accepted at a time when the RCN was desperate for more ships. They were generally unsuited to hunting submarines, with bad seakeeping qualities, limited maneuverability, and equipment that was somewhat out of date. That being said, the Navy was taking whatever it could and wasn’t about to turn down seven ships that were just south of the border.
The rapid expansion of the navy has produced a large number of teething issues as training establishments struggle to handle an influx of new recruits. Officers who might wish to serve at sea get parked behind desks as they are needed for administrative duties on land. The influx of Corvettes and four stackers has produced an ironic situation wherein the navy has too many ships and not enough men to crew them.
(H.M.C.S St. Laurent at sea, Summer 1941.)
(Ratings are trained in the operation of a range finder at the RCN training school, H.M.C.S Cornwallis)
The Army continues to train in England, and the end of the Winter brings fears that the Germans may attempt an invasion. With that being said, the strategic situation was more stable than before, and it became obvious to the Canadian soldiers that perpetual training exercises across England were the new norm. In the meantime, numbers continued to steadily increase.
(Canadian soldiers from the Royal Westminster Regiment on a training exercise near Frensham Common, England. April 16th, 1941.
