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KuvahMagh wrote:
Ahh... the difference between the Canadian Navy and the American... in the American Navy you have no alcohol, in the Canadian Navy a ship will leave Territorial Waters and sit in the middle of a storm for 48 hours to get Duty Free Beer from the Bar.

Yep. And when CFS Bermuda was open they used to go down for two weeks and paint the ship. Which involved alot of beer.

That makes sense - I find that at least 5 cases are involved when I paint my little 22' walkaround.

Ahh... the difference between the Canadian Navy and the American... in the American Navy you have no alcohol, in the Canadian Navy a ship will leave Territorial Waters and sit in the middle of a storm for 48 hours to get Duty Free Beer from the Bar.

Canada has a navy?

ChakatBlackstar wrote:

Ahh... the difference between the Canadian Navy and the American... in the American Navy you have no alcohol, in the Canadian Navy a ship will leave Territorial Waters and sit in the middle of a storm for 48 hours to get Duty Free Beer from the Bar.

Canada has a navy?

I think I told this story already, but the way I found out Canada had a navy was that when I would play Star Trek Bridge Commander online, my username was USS Athabaskan. It just so happened to turn out that there is a Canadian naval ship of the same name, and all the Canucks in game always assumed I was one of their countrymen as a result.

Canada has a navy?

It was at one point the 3rd largest in the world.

I think I told this story already, but the way I found out Canada had a navy was that when I would play Star Trek Bridge Commander online, my username was USS Athabaskan. It just so happened to turn out that there is a Canadian naval ship of the same name, and all the Canucks in game always assumed I was one of their countrymen as a result.

The HMCS Athabaskin, for those who are so ill informed about the world around them, I'm saying this to the Americans here, was the only Canadian Naval Vessel lost to Surface Fire in WW2 and as far as I can remember the history of the Canadian Navy.

KuvahMagh wrote:

Canada has a navy?

It was at one point the 3rd largest in the world.

You're kidding right? When was this?

Sometime before WWI, if memory serves.

ChakatBlackstar wrote:
You're kidding right? When was this?

End of WWII. Mostly smallboys though, two cruisers and a light carrier where the only capital ships. Canada made an enormous contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic.

Cpl Kendall wrote:End of WWII. Mostly smallboys though, two cruisers and a light carrier where the only capital ships. Canada made an enormous contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic.

IIRC correctly the RCN was mostly home-built Flowers, to a modified design that made them a lot more effective than the original specs.

IIRC correctly the RCN was mostly home-built Flowers, to a modified design that made them a lot more effective than the original specs.

Pretty much, supplemented by a large number of Frigates and a few Destroyers. Considering the Population at the time and the commitments to the Army/Air Force Canada put out a large purpose built Navy. Those who slander the smaller ships should remember that we were protecting convoys from U-Boats, not fighting Japanese Carriers...

Historically my favourite ships are HMS Tiger, the QEs, the Illustrious class carriers, and the Flower class corvettes. The Flowers were slow, undergunned, and lousy seaboats, but they were cheap, and they got the job done. They bore the brunt of the most important battle of the war, during the dark days of the "Happy Time", and they were able to hold on until more capable ships were available.

Personally I'm a fan of the Age of Sail circa the Napoleonic Wars.

I honestly can't imagine living on a Flower, having been aboard one it is amazing that they were able to survive in the North Atlantic.

I'm not a huge fan of Super Carriers, they are nice but they are damned expensive, not only to operate but also protect. I think the Soviet idea of an Aircraft Carrier is probably a more logical one, large ship loaded with missiles with a few planes for anti-submarine/surface combat/defence thus not needing a huge force to protect it.

I also like the idea behind the Visby and Skjold Class Corvette/Patrol Ships.

KuvahMagh wrote:Personally I'm a fan of the Age of Sail circa the Napoleonic Wars.

Ditto

I honestly can't imagine living on a Flower, having been aboard one it is amazing that they were able to survive in the North Atlantic.

I wouldn't want to live on one, but they and their crew deserve the respect and gratitude of two continents for their role in the Battle of the Atlantic.

I'm not a huge fan of Super Carriers, they are nice but they are damned expensive, not only to operate but also protect. I think the Soviet idea of an Aircraft Carrier is probably a more logical one, large ship loaded with missiles with a few planes for anti-submarine/surface combat/defence thus not needing a huge force to protect it.

It's been the nature of naval warfare since HMS Dreadnought that the heaviest warships have been vulnerable to much lighter ones by virtue of concetrating on their "heavy" role. While they require plenty of escorts to shield them against threats they aren't capable of dealing with themselves, they're capable of packing a punch far beyond the range or yield of a battlecarrier like the Kiev.

I wouldn't want to live on one, but they and their crew deserve the respect and gratitude of two continents for their role in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Most definitely, being a Sea Cadet and talking with the Veterans was an amazing experience, not to mention the Battle of the Atlantic Ceremony every year, its an experience every time they sound the bell I tell ya.

While they require plenty of escorts to shield them against threats they aren't capable of dealing with themselves, they're capable of packing a punch far beyond the range or yield of a battlecarrier like the Kiev.

I was actually referring to the Admiral Kuznetsov but the same could be said of the Kiev. The thing is though that they weren't designed or intended to be used in the same way as NATO nations tend to use them.

Jabber Swarky wrote:Hmm.

This is another one of those shows where camera crews follow the presenter around while they try and blend into the base, right? And the actual Soldiers/Fishermen/Lizardmen get annoyed when they have a lens stuck in their face all the time?

I know someone in the Navy and I talked to him about this the other day. He said the Navy checked the film to make sure nothing classified got out, but other than that they put in NO input as to content or presentation. They wanted it to be as real and actual as possible. He also said that he knew a couple of the Navy crew and they said there was never a problem with the film crew.