PACIFIC BUILT, ATLANTIC BOUND

Separated from the U-boat threat by 5,000 kilometers of land, British Columbia’s shipyards mobilized to become the Allies' vital lifeline. While the Atlantic burned, the Pacific forged the steel to extinguish it. This timeline traces the odyssey of the West Coast war effort—from the rivets driven in North Vancouver and Esquimalt to the desperate convoy battles of the North Atlantic.

Pre-1939

Moribund Industry Mobilizes

Before 1939, Canada's shipbuilding industry had been moribund for nearly two decades [1-4]. The total labour force in 1939 was only about 3,796 employees [5]. The industry's revival began with the urgent demand for ships to support the Allied lifeline across the Atlantic [6].
Image Source: Unemployed Parade Through Vancouver, 1935

Unemployed Parade Through Vancouver, 1935

Relief camp men and their supporters parade up Hastings Street to cheer men occupying the top floor of the Public Library and City Museum (now Carnegie Centre), 1935.

3 September 1939

The Longest Battle Commences

The Battle of the Atlantic began on the opening day of the Second World War On September 3 1939, just hours after Britain entered into a state of war [1, 2]. The sinking of the British liner Athenia, destined for Canada, by a German submarine west of Ireland marked the commencement of the longest battle of the war, The first Allied casualties, and the first criminal act of war.
Image Source: RCI Radio Canada International

“The Athenia took several hours to sink, and hundreds of passengers were rescued by nearby ships rushing to her aid. Tragically, 98 passengers and 19 crew were killed. Several were killed by the torpedo explosion, but more died during confusion and errors in the rescue.”

1940 – 1942

BC Mobilizes as "Unsinkable Arsenal"

The cargo ship program "unleashed a wave of private investment" in British Columbia [11]. BC provided a secure industrial base for uninterrupted production due to its mild climate and geographic isolation from the U-boat threat [12, 13].
Image Source: MONOVA Museum & Archives of North Vancouver

Before World War II, few vessels of significant size had been built during the Depression years were built in Canada, but 6 yards in BC were deemed capable of constructing the 10,000-ton merchant vessels needed for the War Effort. Burrard Dry Dock Company and North Van Ship Repairs, produced close to half of Canada’s total output of 354 vessels, and the vast majority of the 255 built in British Columbia.

Mid-1942

The Crisis of the "Black Pit"

U-boat attacks reached their peak effectiveness in the mid-Atlantic air gap, known as the "Black Pit," where Allied aircraft could not reach. Allied losses mounted to critical levels, threatening the entire war effort and making the rapid production of Canadian corvettes and cargo ships a matter of survival[ 9, 16].
Image Source: WIKIPEDIA The Free Encyclopedia

The Mid-Atlantic gap is a geographical term applied to an undefended area of the Atlantic Ocean during the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. The region was beyond the reach of land-based RAF Coastal Command anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. This resulted in many merchant shipping losses to U-boats. The gap was eventually closed in May 1943. The Mid-Atlantic gap was an area outside the cover by land-based aircraft; those limits are shown with black arcs (map shows the gap in 1941). Blue dots show destroyed ships of the Allies.

Oct 14, 1942

Terror in the St. Lawrence

The war came to Canada's doorstep when the ferry SS Caribou was sunk by a U-boat in the St. Lawrence, resulting in the loss of 136 men, women, and children [11]. This tragedy galvanized the home front.
Image Source: TRIDENT The Newspaper of Maritime Forces Atlantic Since 1966

May 1943

"Black May": The Turning of the Tide

May 1943 also had the greatest monthly losses suffered by U-boats up to that time, with 34 being destroyed.[3] On 24 May 1943, Admiral Dönitz, shocked at the defeat suffered by the U-boats, ordered a temporary halt to the U-boat campaign; most were withdrawn from operational service. The U-boats were unable to return in significant numbers until autumn and never regained the advantage.[10]
Image Source: WIKIPEDIA The Free Encyclopedia

Late 1943

Arsenal Reaches Peak Capacity

The high point for shipyard business and employment in British Columbia occurred in late July 1943 [12]. Nationally, Canada contributed to escorting nearly half of all Atlantic convoys [13] and produced 122 Flower-class corvettes [14].
Image Source: BRITISH COLUMBIA - An Untold History

Canada's new engagement in the war meant a greater need for munitions, aircraft, and other heavy military equipment. Much of the manufacturing of these goods took place in B.C. — a single shipyard in North Vancouver produced nearly half of all cargo ships transporting raw goods and supplies to the front lines in Europe and Asia. The high demand for labour made the province a destination for those seeking industrial work. At one point, as many as 30,000 people — men and women — were employed in B.C.'s shipyards.

Feb 24, 1944

HMCS Waskesiu Sinks U-257

The River-class frigate HMCS Waskesiu (K330), the first frigate completed on the West Coast, sank U-257 in the Atlantic [15]. This victory validated the capability of West Coast shipyards to build sophisticated anti-submarine vessels needed to counter advanced U-boats.
Image Source: For Posterity's Sake - A Royal Canadian Navy Historical Project

The first frigate completed on the west coast, WASKESIU was commissioned at Victoria on 16 Jun 1943, and late in Oct 1943 left for Londonderry to serve chiefly in U.K. waters. She served as escort for convoys in Gibraltar, Sierra Leone and North Russia. She was present on D-Day. She was paid off into reserve on 29 Jan 1946. She was sold to the Indian government in 1947 for conversion to a pilot vessel, and re-named Hooghly in 1950.

June 6, 1944

D-Day / Operation Neptune

Canadian forces played an extensive role in the naval phase of the Normandy landings [8]. The Battle of the Atlantic battle honour was earned by vessels like the HMCS Alberni during this critical period [7].
Image Source: WIKIPEDIA The Free Encyclopedia

HMCS Alberni was a Flower-class corvette(Flower-class corvettes were warships designed for anti-submarine warfare) that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during WWII. The ship was constructed by Yarrows Ltd. in Esquimalt, British Columbia, and was commissioned in February 1941. She took part in the key convoy battle of Convoy SC 42. In 1944, Alberni was among the Canadian naval vessels assigned to Operation Neptune, the naval component of the invasion of Normandy and escorted support ships to and from the United Kingdom on D-day.

Aug 21, 1944

HMCS Alberni Sunk

On 21 August 1944, while performing an anti-submarine patrol east of the D-day landing site, Alberni was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-480. The ship sank quickly and 59 sailors were killed, with the remaining crew being rescued by Royal Navy motor torpedo boats. A maritime museum in Courtenay, British Columbia now honours the name of the ship and its dead. [7]
Image Source: CFB ESQUIMALT - Naval Military Museum

On 20 August, after a boiler cleaning, the ship left Southampton to relieve the corvette HMCS DRUMHELLER on patrol duty to the eastward of the swept channel where it divided in mid-channel for the British and American beach heads. At 0943Z on the 21st, ALBERNI was rocked by a shattering explosion. In less than ten seconds, she was awash from the funnel aft, listing to port and sinking fast by the stern. In another twenty seconds, she was gone. What had been confidently steaming on the surface moments before had completely vanished. With the exception of those on watch, the crew had all been in the mess decks. The inrush of water as the ship went down trapped them. Many were without life belts and could stay afloat only by clinging to some bit of flotsam. For forty-five minutes, they struggled to stay afloat. HMS Motor Torpedo Boats Numbers 469 and 470 appeared. The welcome rescuers fished them out of the water and landed them at Portsmouth. None were severely injured. Four officers and 55 men went down with ALBERNI. Three officers, including the Commanding Officer, and 28 men survived. Post-war German publications state that she was sunk by U-480 (Oberleutnant Hans-Joachim Förster) with an acoustic torpedo. U-480 was sunk with all hands on 24 February 1945 by HMS Duckworth and HMS Rowley.

May 8, 1945

V-E Day and Conclusion

V-E Day marked the end of the Second World War in Europe and the conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic [1, 2]. By 1945, the RCN had grown to nearly 400 fighting ships [10], many of which were built in Canadian yards.
Image Source: MONOVA - Museum & Archives of North Vancouver

Canada’s Naval Coming of Age: By V-E Day, the RCN had grown into a massive force of nearly 400 vessels. This indigenous fleet, built in Canadian yards, secured the seas and marked the successful conclusion of the longest battle of the war.

South Yard, Burrard Dry Dock Built on the south side of Burrard Inlet, Burrard Dry Dock’s south yard operated from 1941 to 1946. It concentrated on building hulls. Once launched, these were then sent to the north yard to be fitted out and finished. Like its sister yard, it had four berths. Visible in this photo are racks of steel plate ready for use and the rail tracks that brought in supplies. The steel supply was a major concern for Canadian shipbuilders. By March 1942, Wartime Merchant Shipping, the Crown corporation that organized the national production of merchant ships, needed 15,000 to 20,000 tons (13,605-18,140 t) of steel plate per month. (Each cargo ship required 10,000 pieces of steel.) Canadian manufacturers increased their output to avoid reliance on U.S. sources. The south yard closed down after the war, since there were insufficient contracts for Burrard Dry Dock to keep it going.

Sources Used

[1-4] James Pritchard, A Bridge of Ships: Canadian Shipbuilding during the Second World War (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2011).
[5] John M. MacFarlane, “Yarrow Shipbuilders,” Nauticapedia, 2002, https://www.nauticapedia.ca/Articles/Articles_Yarrows.php.
[6] Marc Montgomery, “September 3, 1939: The Horror Begins; Loss of SS Athenia,” Radio Canada International, September 3, 2014, https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2014/09/03/september-3-1939-the-maelstrom-begins-loss-of-ss-athenia/.
[7] “HMCS Alberni – Wikipedia,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Alberni
[8] Veterans Affairs Canada, “Chronology of the Second World War,” Veteran Affairs Canada, Government of Canada
[9] Roger Sarty, “The Royal Canadian Navy and the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939–1945,” Canadian War Museum
[10] Imperial War Museums, “The Battle of the Atlantic Explained,” Imperial War Museums
[11] CPO1 (Ret’d) Pat Devenish, “The Sinking of SS Caribou,” Trident Newspaper, November 2, 2020
[12] Jan Drent, “Labour and the Unions in a Wartime Essential Industry: Shipyard Workers in BC, 1939-1945,” The Northern Mariner / Le Marin du Nord 6, no. 4 (October 1996): 47–64.
[13] Naval Museum of Manitoba, “Battle of the Atlantic,” Naval Museum of Manitoba
[14] “Corvettes (K) Built in WWII,” last updated July 9, 2011
[15] HMCS Waskesiu. Wikipedia.
[16] Government of Canada, “The Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945”