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Posted by Felix C on February 13, 2025, 11:41:27, in reply to "Re: US Army? "
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I thought we were discussing NAVIES, not ARMIES. So maybe you are correct in claiming US Army owned more ships and boats! Previous Message
During World War II, the U.S. Army operated about 127,800 watercraft of various types.[1] Those included large troop and cargo transport ships that were Army-owned hulls, vessels allocated by the War Shipping Administration, bareboat charters, and time charters. In addition to the transports, the Army fleet included specialized types. Those included vessels not related to transport such as mine warfare vessels, waterway or port maintenance ships, and other service craft. source wiki Previous Message
I have read Canada was third, after USA, and GB. If fourth, "Who's on third"? Previous Message
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), which started the war with only 13 vessels, had 450 ships in all, plus many smaller auxiliary units, when WWII ended. This 1945 figure breaks down as follows: 2 cruisers, 17 destroyers, 68 frigates, 112 corvettes, 67 minesweepers, 12 escort ships, 75 Fairmile motor launches, 9 motor torpedo boats, 12 armoured yachts and vessels of other types. This impressive fleet made the RCN the world’s fourth naval power.
from junobeach.org.
well some of those listed above are not ships, rather boats....reads as 290 seagoing warships if the armed yachts were all seagoing.
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MTBs/MGBx/MLs excluded? Previous Message
Before a new Enforcer is appointed.....
Throughout history ships & navies were designed with the express purpose of projecting a country far beyond its' geographical boundaries. Whether it be for economic or warlike reasons navies fulfilled the aims of their creators. Examples are legion so we need not go into specifics here.
In World War Two, the Royal Canadian Navy existed for two primary interrelated reasons: Convoy escort duty and anti submarine work. Hence the ships were built for those reasons- destroyers, frigates, corvettes with I think a solitary CVE thrown in for good measure. The RCN didn't need battleships, cruisers, aircraft carriers (CV, CVL) thus did not find their way into the mix. By the end of the war the RCN was third in terms of number of vessels and personnel. Not bad for a country of less than 14 million. After the war the anti-submarine role continued although not many U-Boats were to be found prowling the North Atlantic in the 1950s. Navies and ships constantly evolve to do the jobs the govt. determines will suffice for present/near future needs thus if destroyers, frigates and corvettes are what were needed then that's what was built. And that's what Canada did. And did a damn good job of it. Period.
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