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The Second World War
War in the Pacific and South East Asia  - The Royal Canadian Navy and the Pacific Coast

The Royal Canadian Navy was active in operations along the Pacific coast from 1939 to 1945, patrolling British Columbia waters and helping to support the Allied war effort. West coast shipyards built ships for the navy and the merchant navy.

HMCS Kokanee
HMCS Kokanee

HMCS Kokanee was one of many ships built in Canada's Pacific shipyards for both the Royal Canadian Navy and the merchant navy.

Built at Yarrows Ltd., Esquimalt, Kokanee was launched in November 1943, commissioned on 6 June 1944, and spent the rest of the war training and on escort duty in the Atlantic. Frigates had to be built on the ocean coast or along the St. Lawrence because, unlike the smaller Flower class corvettes, they were too large to fit through the canals linking the Great Lakes and its shipyards with the sea.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 20020045-2718





Bangor Entering Esquimalt
HMCS Armentières, Esquimalt
Firefighting Practice at Esquimalt
HMCS Vancouver Alongside, Esquimalt
HMCS Kokanee
HMCS St. Catharines entering Esquimalt Harbour
The Naval Chapel
Fishermen's Reserve Vessel Z-126 Under Way in Heavy Weather
Confiscated Japanese Canadian Fishing Boats
R.B. Michelin, Fishermen's Reserve
HMCS Prince Robert Refitted as an Armed Merchant Cruiser
German Prisioners Leaving HMCS Prince Robert
Tropical Service Dress, German Merchant Navy
Prisoner of War Work Jacket
Japanese Shell Fragment
HMCS Prince Robert Alongside Pier # 1
Soviet Dirk
Soviet Merchant Ship