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The Second World War
The Merchant Navy  - The Merchant Navy

Between 1939 and 1945, Canadian and Allied merchant ships and their crews transported personnel, munitions, weapons, and food across the world's oceans as part of the Allied war effort. Enemy action sank some 70 Canadian and Newfoundland merchant vessels. Over 1,600 Canadians and Newfoundlanders, including eight women, were killed.

Examination Officer Boarding Merchant Ship
Examination Officer Boarding Merchant Ship

In this painting, an officer of the Royal Canadian Navy's examination service (right, climbing ladder) boards a merchant ship to verify its documents and inspect its cargo.

Traffic control and ship inspection were critical duties at busy wartime ports crowded with merchant ships. After the devastating Halifax Explosion of December 1917, involving the collision of a heavily-loaded munitions ship with another vessel, examination officers paid particular attention to explosives.

Examination Officer Boarding Merchant Ship
Painted by Donald C. Mackay
Beaverbrook Collection of War Art
CWM 19710261-4218





SS Maisonneuve Park Model
Oil Tanker in Convoy
Airing Out Tanks
Convoy at Sea
St. John's Harbour, Newfoundland, March 1945
Hospital Ship - Lady Nelson
An Explosive Cargo
Merchant Ship Leaving at Night
SS Victoria Park under Construction
The Dry Dock at Saint John, N.B.
The Merchant Service Is Silent Too!
I was a victim of Careless Talk
Examination Officer Boarding Merchant Ship
Merchant Navy Anti-Aircraft Gunnery Certificate
Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship Service Dress Jumper
Lewis Machine-Gun
Holman Projector Canister and Grenade
Canadian Pacific Cap Badge and Cap Band
Merchant Navy Sweetheart Brooch
SS Lake Pennask