Special Themes

The Navy: A Century in Art
The Navy's Wars

A long and distinguished combat record is central to the navy's history and traditions. An armed force in support of Canadian national interests, it continues to perform a wide variety of important roles, from war fighting and peace support operations, to disaster relief and search and rescue.




Canadian Tribal Destroyers in Action
Painted by Anthony (Tony) Law in 1946

Star-shells illuminate friend and foe alike as Canadian destroyers battle German warships in the Bay of Biscay.

As Allied forces gradually gained the upper hand in the Second World War battle of the Atlantic, they pushed the fight from the mid-Atlantic to European coastal waters. This painting, depicts the British cruiser HMS Bellona leading the Canadian destroyers Haida and Iroquois into a firefight on 6 August 1944.

Beaverbrook Collection of War Art
CWM 19710261-4057