Canadian Forces Maritime Command: Encyclopedia II - Canadian Forces Maritime Command - History

Canadian Forces Maritime Command - History

For history before 1968, see Royal Canadian Navy.

MARCOM was formed on 1 February 1968 following the amalgamation of the three branches of the Canadian military--the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army, and the Royal Canadian Air Force. This was the first time a nation with a modernised military had combined sea, land, and air branches into a unified-command structure. The move also saw the fleet air arm of the Royal Canadian Navy transfer to the Canadian Forces Air Command (AIRCOM).

Canadian Forces Maritime Command - Re-structure

Following re-organisation, MARCOM undertook several changes to its force structure. The sole remaining aircraft carrier, HMCS Bonaventure, was nearing the end of its service life, being a World War II-era vessel. In the early 1970s, it was decided to pay Bonaventure off and not find a replacement, instead focusing on the traditional blue-water navy.

The fleet was enhanced in 1972 with the addition of the four new Iroquois-class destroyers, also known as the Tribal class. By the mid-1970s, the navy was looking at a new class of frigate-helicopter (FH) vessels to replace the aging St. Laurent, Restigouche, Mackenzie, and Annapolis classes. This design evolved into the Canadian Patrol Frigate (CPF), which was promised by the government in the early 1980s during a period of increased military spending. By the late 1980s, with construction of the first six vessels underway (by now called the Halifax-class frigates), construction of six further vessels was announced. Nine of the twelve CPF vessels were built at Saint John, New Brunswick, and the remaining three were built at Lauzon, Quebec.

The mid-1980s saw the announcement of the Tribal Update and Modernization Program (TRUMP), which saw the four early-1970s Tribal destroyers updated into area-defence destroyers. The update saw these vessels become the first non-US ships to carry the Standard Arm anti-aircraft missile.

Canadian Forces Maritime Command - Submarines

The 1987 military review highlighted Canada's abysmal capabilities of enforcing sovereignty on its Arctic coast. It was therefore announced that MARCOM would receive a fleet of 10-12 nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) suitable for operating for extended periods under the Arctic ice. The proposed SSN fleet would force any nation, friend or foe, to possibly think twice before using Canada's territorial seas in the Arctic for operating nuclear submarines. During 1987-1988, MARCOM examined several British and French SSN designs. The planned procurement, however, was cancelled in 1988-1989 during a time of increased defence cuts.

In 1998, the Canadian government made a deal with the United Kingdom to acquire four mothballed, but state-of-the-art Upholder-class diesel-electric submarines that were made surplus by the Royal Navy's decision to operate only nuclear-powered submarines such as the Trafalgar-class boats. The Upholders were considered too valuable and technologically advanced by the Royal and US navies to allow them to fall into the hands of a non-allied nation. Therefore Canada was encouraged through significant discounts to acquire the Upholders. The four submarines were eventually purchased after much foot-dragging by the federal government for $750 million CAD.

The transaction was supposed to have included some reciprocal rights for British forces to continue using CFB Suffield for armoured-unit training and CFB Goose Bay for low-level flight training, while Canada received four well-built and very lightly used high-technology submarines to replace the 1960s-era Oberon class. (It was later revealed that there were no reciprocal rights. It was a plain lease-to-buy arrangement.) After a costly update program which took longer than expected, along with several public and highly embarrassing equipment failures, the Upholders are being successfully reactivated following a decade of mothballing and are now being integrated into the Canadian navy as the Victoria class. Technical problems still seem to plague the fleet however. Part of this deal will see MARPAC receive its first submarine in four decades and returning an active submarine presence to Canada's west coast.

The four submarines and their former Royal Navy names:

• HMCS Victoria, formerly HMS Unseen
• HMCS Windsor, formerly HMS Unicorn
• HMCS Corner Brook, formerly HMS Ursula
• HMCS Chicoutimi, formerly HMS Upholder

NOTE: A naval investigation was conducted into a fatal fire aboard HMCS Chicoutimi which killed a sailor and injured several others during its maiden voyage from Faslane Naval Base, Scotland to Halifax in October 2004. The investigation focused on two hatches that were left open during repairs, thus allowing seawater inside while the submarine was on the surface in a period of rough weather, as well as faulty insulation for wires and a panel near the commanding officer's cabin. The wires were insulated using an older water-resistance specification than the other Victoria-class boats, because it was older than the other three. The other three Victoria-class boats were placed on restricted duty for several weeks following the fire and during the period of investigation.

The investigation found that a series of unexpected circumstances led to the tragedy. No blame was placed on the commanding officer, as it was decided he was reasonable in allowing both hatches to be left open for the repairs. Running with both hatches open was common on the Oberon-class boats. Recommendations include improved water-resistant insulation for electrical wires, improved firefighting training, and a change of operational procedures that will no longer allow a submarine to operate on the surface with both hatches open. The widow of the officer killed, in writing, accepted the findings of the investigation.

Canadian Forces Maritime Command - Action post-1968

MARCOM provides vessels for Standing Naval Force Atlantic and for exercises off Norway in support of Canada's defence obligations for northern Scandinavia under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), patrols the north Atlantic and Pacific oceans in support of Canadian sovereignty, and is tasked by NATO with anti-submarine patrols for the northwest Atlantic.

In August-September 1990, MARCOM hurriedly modernized and deployed the Restigouche-class destroyer escort HMCS Terra Nova, the Iroquois-class destroyer HMCS Athabaskan, and the supply ship HMCS Protecteur to the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Shield and later Operation Desert Storm, where these vessels were involved in escort duties of various coalition naval forces and non-combatants.

During the mid to late 1990s, MARCOM provided vessels for a NATO task force patrolling the Adriatic Sea off the former Yugoslavia. As part of Operation Apollo, Canada's military contribution to the international campaign against terrorism, several MARCOM vessels have been patrolling in the Arabian Sea in recent years.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki