Peter Haydon

As members of Canada's Navy wait patiently to hear if the government will take up the British offer of four Upholder-class submarines, one cannot help but wonder how many of them are aware of the two earlier attempts to get U-class submarines for the RCN.

The story of Canada's many post-war submarine acquisition programs actually begins in 1942 when the Naval Staff in Ottawa first considered creating an RCN submarine service to provide target services for the fleet. At the time, the plan was to build six submarines without torpedo tubes or any other fighting equipment. This idea was stillborn. But in May 1943, the Naval Staff came with an idea for training a few officers and men for duty in training submarines only. This idea was also abandoned because "it was considered that service in training submarines only would have a derogatory effect on the personnel, as they would not be fully qualified submariners." Then, in November 1943, the idea of an RCN submarine branch came up again and discussions were held with the Admiralty on the feasibility of using midget submarines to provide target services. This concept was also short-lived; the cost of setting up and maintaining that capability could not be justified.

The RN and RCN later established a North American anti- submarine school initially using older British submarines as targets, operating out of HMCS Cornwallis and from the RN base in Bermuda. Even though the U-boat campaign was officially claimed to be over after mid-1943, ASW training continued at a high level. The reason was twofold: Germany still had a large number of submarines many of which operated along the Eastern Seaboard. And there was still war to be won in the Pacific.

As early as December 1944 the need for antisubmarine training for the Pacific theatre was discussed in Ottawa and London. In December 1944 the Naval Staff in Ottawa were told that three training submarines would be required to support the Pacific war. But this was increased later and five U-class submarines came to North America and were based at Digby and Bermuda. At one stage, at least three officers including the Commanding Officer of HMS/M Unseen, LCdr J.A. Cross, were Canadian.

The two much older L-class submarines (L-26 and L-27) were then no longer needed, and in January 1945, the Naval Staff suggested they be turned over to crown assets for disposal. The staff in Halifax, though, had its own disposal plan; they wanted to sink the submarines and use them as "bottomed" targets: one off Halifax and the other in the Bay of Fundy. Admiralty eventually give its blessing to the disposal plan and agreed that the two old L-class could be sunk as targets, but in the end only one was sunk off Halifax.

After the German surrender in May 1945, the operational focus quickly shifted to the Pacific and the RCN made plans to transfer a large part of its fleet to the West Coast. The estimate was that the war could easily last another two years. Although the submarine threat was different to that posed by the German U-boats, the need for training was just as great. Although some ASW training could still be done using the RN submarines working out of Digby and Bermuda, there was an additional requirement for local training on the West Coast. Naval Headquarters got the Commanding Officer Pacific Coast ask US Navy if they could provide some ASW training for the RCN. The Americans obliged. This was fortunate because the RN later said they could not provide a training submarine in the Pacific until October 1945. However, plans for the fleet deployment to the Pacific included extensive antisubmarine training in Bermuda. To meet this requirement, Admiralty agreed to make two of the U-class training submarines available: Unruffled and United. The First Lieutenant of United was an Canadian, Lieutenant F.K. Fowler.

When the Japanese capitulated in August 1945, the RCN's plans for greater involvement in the Pacific War quickly came to an end. But that was not the end of Canadian ASW training requirements, the RCN fully intended to keep its newly gained fleet proficient and available for any contingency. But some changes had to be made to the wartime structure. One of these was to return four of the U-class training submarines (United, Upright, Unseen, and Unruffled) to Britain for disposal rather than keep them in Halifax.

Because the RCN wanted to continue ASW training using one submarine for "working-up" RCN ships and to provide individual training, the RN agreed Una would be made available and not return to Britain. Even though the RCN planned to use Una for three months to meet immediate training needs, the pressure of demobilization and the enormous disruption this caused played havoc with training schedules. By October 1945, it was clear that there was little point in trying to conduct any meaningful training until the next year. So, with no requirement for Una that year, it was agreed that she return to Britain.

Una went home on 9 November 1945. But that was not the end of the RCN's immediate post-war submarine activities. Nor was it the end of submarine duty for many of Canada's wartime submariners. Not only would some of them be needed to operate the ex-German U-boat, U-190, which Canada used until 1947, a few would later return to Britain as part of a complicated deal that saw RN submarines back in Halifax to do the anti-submarine training for the RCN with an off-set of RCN personnel serving in the Royal Navy.

Nor was that the end of the Canadian relationship with the RN U-class submarines. In 1952, when the RN was facing its own financial problems, it wanted to be rid of the training commitment to Canada. One of the outcomes was a proposal that the RCN take over two U-class and provide their own anti- submarine training support.

For quite a while this plan was taken seriously, even to the point of seeking Cabinet approval to man the two submarines. But it was not to be. The U-class were not really suitable and the RN came up with a much better offer -- put a three submarine squadron permanently in Halifax. After a great deal of negotiation this happened, and in the summer of 1955 the Royal Navy Sixth Submarine Squadron was formed in Halifax, remaining there until 1966 when the Canadian Navy finally acquired its own submarines on the East Coast. Now, almost half a century later, it seems as if U-class submarines will return to Halifax.

© Copyright NOAC 1998