HMCS Bonaventure was a Majestic-class aircraft carrier, the third and last aircraft carrier in service with Canada's navy. The aircraft carrier was initially ordered for construction by Britain's Royal Navy as HMS Powerful during the Second World War. Following the end of the war, construction on the ship was halted and it was not until 1952 that work began once again, this time to an altered design for the Royal Canadian Navy. The ship entered service in 1957 renamed Bonaventure and, until the vessel's decommissioning in 1970, was involved in major NATO fleet-at-sea patrols and naval exercises and participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis. During her career Bonaventure carried three hull identification numbers, RML 22, RRSM 22 and CVL 22. Following her decommissioning Bonaventure was sold for scrap and broken up in Taiwan.
The Grumman S-2 Tracker was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventional design — propeller-driven with twin radial engines, a high wing that could be folded for storage on aircraft carriers, and tricycle undercarriage. The type was exported to a number of navies around the world. Introduced in 1952, the Tracker and its E-1 Tracer derivative saw service in the U.S. Navy until the mid-1970s, and its C-1 Trader derivative until the mid-1980s, with a few aircraft remaining in service with other air arms into the 21st century. Argentina and Brazil are the last countries to still use the Tracker.
The McDonnell F2H Banshee is a single-seat carrier-based jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer McDonnell Aircraft. It was an early jet fighter operated by United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, as well as being the only jet-powered fighter to ever be deployed by the Royal Canadian Navy. The aircraft's name is derived from the banshee of Irish mythology.
The Royal Canadian Navy is the naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 Halifax-class frigates, 12 Kingston-class coastal defence vessels, 4 Victoria-class submarines, 4 Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessels, 8 Orca-class patrol vessels, and several auxiliary vessels. The RCN consists of 8,400 Regular Force and 4,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by 3,800 civilians. Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee is the commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and chief of the Naval Staff.
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces. Over the course of its history, the RCN has played a role in the First World War, contributed significantly to the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War, and was a part of NATO's force buildup during the Cold War. In 1968, the RCN was amalgamated with the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force to form what is today the unified Canadian Armed Forces. The naval force was known as Maritime Command until 2011, when the environmental command was renamed as the Royal Canadian Navy.
Shearwater Heliport, formerly known as Canadian Forces Base Shearwater and commonly referred to as CFB Shearwater and formerly named HMCS Shearwater, is a Canadian Forces facility located 4.5 nautical miles east southeast of Shearwater, Nova Scotia, on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Following a base rationalization program in the mid-1990s, the Canadian Forces closed CFB Shearwater as a separate Canadian Forces base and realigned the property's various facilities into CFB Halifax. These include:
The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw is a multi-purpose piston-engined helicopter that was used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom. United States Navy and United States Coast Guard models were designated HO4S, while those of the U.S. Marine Corps were designated HRS. In 1962, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Marine Corps versions were all redesignated as H-19s like their U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force counterparts.
The Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King is a twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed for shipboard use by Canadian naval forces, based on the US Navy's SH-3 Sea King. Most CH-124s were assembled in Quebec by United Aircraft of Canada. The CH-124 served with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Canadian Armed Forces from 1963 to 2018.
The Piasecki HUP Retriever or H-25 Army Mule, later UH-25, is a compact single radial engine, twin overlapping tandem rotor utility helicopter developed by the Piasecki Helicopter Corporation of Morton, Pennsylvania. Designed to a United States Navy specification, the helicopter was produced from 1949 to 1954, and was also used by the United States Army and foreign navies. The HUP/H-25 was the first helicopter to be produced with an autopilot and also the first to perform a loop.
The Beechcraft Model 18 is a 6- to 11-seat, twin-engined, low-wing, tailwheel light aircraft manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas. Continuously produced from 1937 to November 1969, over 9,000 were built, making it one of the world's most widely used light aircraft. Sold worldwide as a civilian executive, utility, cargo aircraft, and passenger airliner on tailwheels, nosewheels, skis, or floats, it was also used as a military aircraft.
The Royal Canadian Naval Air Service (RCNAS) was established in 1918 during the First World War in response to a Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) recommendation that defensive air patrols be established off Canada's Atlantic coast to protect shipping from German U-boats.
The St. Laurent-class destroyer was a class of destroyer escorts that served the Royal Canadian Navy and later the Canadian Forces from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s.
In the Canadian Armed Forces, Maritime Forces Pacific is responsible for the fleet training and operational readiness of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Pacific Ocean. It was once referred to as Canadian Pacific Station.
HMCS Star is a Canadian Forces Naval Reserve Division (NRD) located in Hamilton, Ontario. Dubbed a stone frigate, HMCS Star is a land-based naval establishment for training part-time sailors as well as functioning as a local recruitment centre for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). The second oldest of 24 naval reserve divisions located in major cities across Canada, Star was stood up on 15 March 1923 as the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) Hamilton Half Company and then on 1 November 1941 as HMCS Star.
423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron is a unit of the Canadian Forces under Royal Canadian Air Force. It currently operates the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone from CFB Shearwater in Nova Scotia, Canada.
The Shearwater Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located at CFB Shearwater in Shearwater, Nova Scotia. The museum acquires, conserves, organizes, researches and interprets to Canadian Forces personnel and the public at large for their study, education and enjoyment, artifacts and documents which exemplify the history of Canadian maritime military aviation.
870 Naval Air Squadron, also known as VF-870, was a squadron of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). It was formed when 803 Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy was renumbered to 870 NAS on 1 May 1951. It operated throughout the 1950s and early 1960s before disbanding on 7 September 1962. It was the first RCN squadron to operate jet aircraft.
