HMS Shearwater was a Condor-class sloop launched in 1900. She served on the Pacific Station and in 1915 was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Shearwater, serving as a submarine depot ship until 1919. She was sold to the Western Shipping Company in May 1922 and renamed Vedas.
HMS Shearwater at Esquimalt circa 1908.
HMCS Shearwater c.1918
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.
HMCS Québec, formerly HMS Uganda, was one of many ships commissioned by the RCN in the Second World War. Expanding substantially during the war, the RCN had become the world's fifth-largest navy by 1945.
Four F2H-3 Banshee fly overhead HMCS Bonaventure. Bonaventure was the last aircraft carrier in service with the RCN.
HMCS Athabaskan departing Halifax for the Persian Gulf as part of the Coalition forces. Canada deployed three ships in support of Operation Desert Shield, and later Operation Desert Storm
CFB Halifax is the headquarters for RCN units from Maritime Forces Atlantic.
