The 1960s
The State of the RCN in 1963

Part 6: Aircraft in the RCN

Presentation given to the House of Commons on July 9th, 1963 by Vide-Admiral H.S. Rayner, Chief of Naval Staff.

Part 1 Introduction Part 2 Threats Part 3 Role and Purpose of the RCN Part 4 The RCN Today Part 5 Submarines Part 6 Aircraft Part 7 Afloat Logistic Support Part 8 Future Vessels Part 9 Organization and Budget Part 10 Conclusion

TO COMPLETE the picture of RCN A/S vehicles I we should now look at carrier aircraft, and Figure 10 shows a CS2F or Tracker.

We have 72 of these modern fixed-wing A/S aircraft, up to 18 of which are carried in the Boiiaventure. The remainder are shore-based, where some are employed for advanced operational training, and others are available as back up for the carrier. The Trackers carry submarine detection equipment and anti-submarine torpedoes.

Figure 11 shows the HSS-2 helicopter using its dunking sonar. Dunking or dipping sonar is the name given to the helicopter’s submarine detection device. It is similar in principle to the variable depth sonar which I described earlier.

The HSS-2 is the latest A S helicopter, and was designed in the United States specifically for A/S operations. It is an all-weather helicopter and in addition to its dunking sonar for the detection of submarines it carries anti-submarine torpedoes for the attack.

Six of these helicopters will be carried in the Bonaventure and one will be carried on each of the converted St. Laurent class destroyer escorts. Three CHSS-2s have recently been supplied to the RCN.

Figure 10: A Tracker aircraft (CS2F) as borne in HMCS BONAVENTURE. (DNS-23997) (Click image for a larger version)

 

Figure 11:The HSS-2, latest A/S helicopter, which is being acquired by the RCN. (CN-6572-R) (Click image for a larger version)

 

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