The
1960s
The State of the RCN in 1963
Part 3: Role and Purpose of the RCN
Presentation given to the House of Commons on July 9th, 1963 by Vide-Admiral H.S. Rayner, Chief of Naval Staff.
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How Important is the sea to Canada?
Our shores are washed by three oceans and our coast lines total 19,100 miles. This, together with our large overseas trade, makes the sea tremendously important to us.
In
this connection I would like to quote from a pre-Confederation speech
given by Thomas D’Arcy McGee in a New Brunswick town, in 1864:
“I rejoice, moreover, that we men of insular origin are about to recover one of our lost senses —the sense that coin prehends the sea—that we are not about to subside into a character so foreign to all our antecedents, that of a mere inland people. The union of the provinces restores us to the ocean, takes us back to the Atlantic, and launches us once more on the modern Mediterranean, the true central sea of the western world.”
Our geographical and political situation has inspired and encouraged a reasonably steady growth of the Navy over the years since it was first established in 1910, more or less keeping step with the expansion of the country.
I have been asked by all sorts of people from members of Parliament to Boy Scouts, what is the purpose of the Navy?
We define the purpose of the RCN—
“To ensure that Canada in co-operation with allied and friendly nations will have unrestricted use of the seas in peace and war.”
Please note the words “in co-operation with allied and friendly nations”.
The Role of the RCN
SOME
FORM of collective security is essential for Canada. In thinking
of the part or role that the Navy has to play we assume that, in
time of emergency, in addition to operating with the Air Force and
the Army, the RCN will also operate in conjunction with allied navies.
In principle and in practice, this has already been well established
by the setting up of integrated RCN-RCAF Maritime Commands at Halifax
and Esquimalt and by frequent exercises with NATO maritime forces.
It has been agreed that the role of the RCN is to support Canada’s
external policy and de
fence policy through the provision of versatile naval forces.
These forces must have the capability to:
(a) defend Canada’s interests against attack from the sea;
(b) meet Canada’s commitments to collective security arrangements; e.g. to NATO and to Canada-US defence arrangements. We have agreed to provide to the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic, known as SACLANT, on an alert, one A, S carrier and 29 A/S escorts, and to the CAN-US region of NATO—14 A/S escorts and 10 minesweepers, for a total NATO commitment of one A1 S carrier, 43 A/S escorts and 10 minesweepers. In view of the magnitude of the submarine threat it is clear that a strong integrated NATO A/S force is very definitely part of the overall deterrent;
(c) contribute to other external undertakings, e.g. to UN operations (Korea and Suez);
(d) support the Canadian Army in actions arising out of (b) and (c); and
(e) contribute to the maintenance of Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.
Operational Tasks of the RCN
ARISING from the role, the tasks of the RCN have been listed as:
(a) to defend sea lines of communication through control, escort and convoy of shipping;
(b) to detect, locate and destroy enemy submarines;
(c) to contribute to early warning of attack launched from over, on or under the sea;
(d) to patrol the coastal areas and approaches to Canadian waters;
(e) to keep Canadian ports, anchorages and approaches free of mines;
(f) to provide logistic support for the fleet both afloat and ashore;
(g) to transport, land and support Canadian Army contingents as required;
(h) to provide mobile command and base facilities for external undertakings;
(i) to carry out and support operations in the Arctic.
In addition, the RCN must be ready to:
(a) assist in survival operations—this is an additional task of the 21 Naval Divisions which are established across Canada;
(b) assist in maritime search and rescue operations.
Overall Mission
The principal threat to sea communications is the submarine and, as you know, the RCN has specialized in anti-submarine warfare ever since the advent of NATO.
Most of the foregoing tasks are wartime tasks. The principal employment of the fleet in peacetime is to prepare to carry out its mission in war or in an emergency. In line with Canada’s increasing interests on virtually all continents, there arises the necessity for the Navy to be familiar with differing conditions around the world. This is mandatory if our ships are to be ready to undertake operational tasks, in any part of the world, including Army support operations. It is also clearly desirable that, in conjunction with sea training, the ships should be available, during visits to foreign ports, to assist the Department of External Affairs and the Department of Trade and Commerce in projecting abroad a sincere and well-rounded image of Canada. In this connection, the following are some of the visits carried out by Canadian ships from the East Coast during 1962; Kingston, Jamaica and Trinidad for Independence Day celebrations; Accra, Ghana, and Lagos, Nigeria, for Canadian trade fairs; Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Wilhelmshaven and Dublin. In the same year ships from the West Coast visited Singapore, Rangoon, Colombo, Trincomalee (Ceylon), Port Swettenham (Malaya), Bangkok, Hong Kong and Yokosuka (Japan) in conjunction with a Commonwealth naval exercise in the Indian Ocean.
Opportunities
are welcomed to fit in visits to foreign countries with training
cruises and exercises. We carry out most of our international exercises
with NATO forces, but we also exercise with the United States Navy
and the Royal Navy and also with other Commonwealth forces. Advantage
was taken during the recent visit of French fleet units to exercise
with the French ships off Nova Scotia in the middle of June.
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