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The Second World War
The Merchant Navy  - Serving with the Merchant Navy

During the Second World War, Canadian and Allied merchant mariners faced the constant hard work of operating and maintaining their ships, the threat of enemy attack, and the dangers of accidents and storms.

Burning Oil Tanker
Burning Oil Tanker

An unidentified oil tanker burns after being torpedoed by a German U-Boat (submarine) on the Atlantic Ocean.

Massive flames (centre) rise from the ship, while a cloud of dark smoke fills the sky. Tankers carried a range of petroleum products essential to the Allied war effort, including lubricants and fuels for sea, land, and air equipment. This made them valuable ships, but also prime targets for the enemy. Flammable cargoes virtually guaranteed that torpedoed tankers would burst into flame, leaving their crews little chance of survival.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19900279-001_16





Merchant Navy War Service Badge, Somer Oscar James
Painting a Life Raft, SS Temagami Park
Engine Room, SS Kelowna Park (CAN)
Shaft Tunnel, SS Kelowna Park (CAN)
Merchant Navy Uniform, Clovis Ira Bordeleau
Balaclava, Clovis Ira Bordeleau
Christmas Card, SS Lady Rodney
Identity Bracelet, Robert Bush
Torpedoed, North Atlantic
Burning Oil Tanker
Torpedo Damage, SS Samtucky
Torpedo Damage, MS Kronprinsen
Storm Damage, SS Joel R. Poinsett
MV Nipiwan Park
Memorial Cross, Third Engineer Alfred Henry Perry, SS Fort Longueuil
Rescuing Survivors
HMCS Longueuil Rescues Survivors
Port of New York Identity Card, Ernest Shackleton
Ordinary Seaman Somer Oscar James
Telegram, Percy Kelly, SS Lady Hawkins
Chief Officer Percy Kelly