Free Republic

A music video poking fun at officers sparked a country-wide search within the Royal Canadian Navy for the culprit who made the parody as well as threats to sailors that even watching the spoof would result in punishment. The video emerged on YouTube in February 2020 after news reports that the second-in-command of HMCS Calgary was relieved of his duties after disabling the smoke and heat detectors in the warship’s wardroom so he could smoke. The disabling of those safety systems took place less than two weeks after a fire broke out in the engine room of HMCS Calgary, causing...

The Royal Canadian Navy is looking to buy 180,000 pairs of grey, lightweight underwear with “good moisture management.”In an online notice published Friday on the government’s public works website, the Navy outlined its undergarment needs and asked for industry input on how it can develop and buy “temperate drawers” that comply with its rigorous standards.

Canada has selected the Type 702 off-the-shelf design from Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) for its Joint Support Ship (JSS) project. The Canadian DND announced the decision in early June and new design images for the JSS were released by TKMS on 10 June. The company said that it would ‘prepare the design package which Canada will provide to Vancouver Shipyards to review in preparation for actual production’. Vancouver Shipyards was chosen by the DND in 2010 to build the two JSS as part of its National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy that will ensure Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) ships are built in...

The Canadian Coast Guard is also designing a new polar-class icebreaker, the CCGS John G. Diefenbaker, to replace its existing heavy icebreaker, the Louis S. St-Laurent (pictured), which is due to be retired in 2017.The Harper government is going to have to decide whether resupplying Canada’s navy or Arctic sovereignty is more important thanks to a looming collision at a Vancouver shipyard. The Royal Canadian Navy is designing new joint support ships to replace its 50-year-old resupply vessels, which were supposed to have been retired in 2012 and have become environmentally unsound and prohibitively expensive to maintain. The Canadian Coast...

Setback leaves Royal Canadian Navy with just one fully operational subCBC News has learned there is more trouble for Canada's fleet of used British submarines. The Royal Canadian Navy has confirmed that HMCS Windsor – fresh from a $209 million refit – is unable to perform as expected because of a broken mission-critical diesel generator. "We have restricted her in range of operations and her endurance," Captain Luc Cassivi, director of Canada's submarine force told CBC in an interview. That means that the Windsor will only be able to operate in Canadian coastal waters until the diesel generator – a...

Her Majesty’s Canadian Submarine (HMCS) Windsor returned to sea yesterday at Halifax, N.S., officially marking the completion of a deep maintenance cycle known as an Extended Docking Work Period. “HMCS Windsor’s return to sea is a key milestone and her crew now embarks on another challenging journey as they focus on operations at sea,” said The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence. “I commend the outstanding efforts of Windsor’s crew, our Fleet Maintenance Facilities and of industry that have brought us to this point.” “Over the next few months, Windsor will conduct additional crew training and trials on her...

After more than 25 years of trying to replace the country’s fleet of Sea King maritime helicopters, the Canadian Forces have watched another deadline come and go. Sikorsky International Operations Inc. was supposed to deliver the first of 28 state-of-the-art CH-148 Cyclones in June, after the Harper government agreed in late 2008 to extend the deadline on the $5.7-billion contract by 43 months. In the latest in a string of missteps in military procurements, Sikorsky is pushing back on the delivery, with still no official date being offered for the completion of the contract. “Sikorsky has yet to start delivering...

HMCS Windsor, one of Canada's trouble-plagued submarines, will go into the water this week after undergoing five years of costly repairs. The Department of National Defence hopes to have the submarine in the water on Wednesday, Defence Minister Peter MacKay told reporters at a news conference in Halifax on Tuesday, making it the second submarine to begin sea trials this year after an extensive refit program. Windsor has been in drydock since 2007. A refit was supposed to take two years, but it dragged on and costs skyrocketed. In 2010 alone, the navy spent $45 million repairing the boat when...

The Royal Canadian Navy says one of its troubled submarines has finally managed to fire torpedoes in a test exercise. The navy said HMCS Victoria, its only active submarine, fired the torpedoes in waters off Nanoose Bay, B.C., this week. "As the submarine fleet achieves steady state it will be ready to act decisively at sea in defence of Canada, when and where needed, Capt. Luc Cassivi, director of the Canadian Submarine Force, said in a news release. "These trials represent a major milestone for the Victoria-class submarine program as Victoria is the first submarine in the fleet to fire...

ABOARD HMCS TORONTO and TORONTO - An apparent breakdown in communications between federal emergency officials and the crew of Canadian navy ships en route to help victims of Hurricane Katrina left sailors scrambling to buy $1-million in relief supplies in Halifax stores rather than dipping into stockpiles of emergency gear. Navy supply officers went on a shopping spree for everything from chainsaws to diaper cream in the four days before a Canadian task force sailed for the disaster area this week. Navy personnel told the National Post that repeated calls to Public Security and Emergency Preparedness Canada went unanswered over...

Navy sends two to sea Iroquois, Fredericton off to Arabian Sea CREDIT: FILE HMCS Iroquois is shown last year. Two Halifax-based warships will soon sail for the Middle East. HMCS Iroquois will be ready to sail for the Arabian Sea in about 10 days. HMCS Fredericton will go once it can get a helicopter crew together. “Fredericton, basically, is ready,” said Lt.-Cmdr. Denise LaViolette of navy public affairs. The frigate was supposed to leave port this coming Monday. But now National Defence is giving Iroquois, a destroyer, priority, and it will get the Sea King meant originally meant for Fredericton....