The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) made a contribution second only to that of the Royal Navy in the winning of the Battle of the Atlantic. Moreover, it did so despite starting with a very small force at the beginning of the war and struggling with the problems of rapid expansion in personnel and ships.

At the beginning of the war Canada began building a force of 64 corvettes and these small ships were to be the RCN's mainstay from 1941 until the end of 1943. Unfortunately, their design and equipment were not of the highest standard and they were often manned by inadequately trained and inexperienced crews. Despite immense efforts, these factors hindered the RCN's operational efficiency until mid-1943.

The RCN undertook convoy duties and control of merchant shipping movements in the western Atlantic and Naval Headquarters in Ottawa co-operated successfully in the intelligence war against the U-boat. The assumption of responsibility for the escort of slow convoys towards the end of 1941 did not help the struggling RCN as these ships were the most vulnerable and suffered the heaviest losses. Further pressure came when the USA entered the war as RCN ships had to cover for those US Navy vessels which were rapidly transferred to the Pacific.

Deficient in ship numbers and modern equipment, RCN performance continued to suffer throughout 1942. At the end of the year, therefore, its ships were withdrawn from the Atlantic for a period of modernisation and re-training. They returned to the ocean in late March and early April to act as close escorts during the climax of the Battle. As its strength began to increase significantly, the RCN came to such prominence that, by spring 1944, it had sole responsibility for the entire North Atlantic convoy route.

1939 - 1942
1943 - 1945

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