NAC News – Edition 631 HMCS Caribou
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of August 22, 2025
NAC News 631 HMCS Caribou Quote: “VJ Day, or Victory over Japan Day, is commemorated on 15 August each year, and marks the date in 1945 when Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, ending the war. An estimated 71,000 soldiers from Britain and the Commonwealth died fighting in the war against Japan, including upwards of 12,000 prisoners of war held in Japanese captivity. The King’s message started by reflecting on the moment 80 years ago that his grandfather, King George VI, announced to the nation and Commonwealth that the war was over. “For the millions of families gathered around their wireless sets, and for their loved ones still serving far from home, it was the message a battle-weary world had long prayed for,” the King said. “On this day of profound remembrance, I speak to you in that same spirit of commemoration and celebration as we honour anew all those whose service and sacrifice saw the forces of liberty prevail.” King Charles III, BBC News, 15 August 2025 (Editor – Full article in Canada section)
Rod Hughes: Editor NAC News rhughes@shaw.ca (Comments welcome to help improve this service.) The content of this bulletin includes articles from entities not subject to the Official Languages Act. Consequently, these articles may be provided by the institution in only one official language, including the links, as we do not have the copyright to modify or translate them. Links to keep in touch with the NAC and RCN can be found at the bottom of this email. Contact NACcoordinator@navalassoc.ca if you wish someone to be added to the NAC News email distribution. (Influencer, or good candidates to become a NAC member – note, the first year’s NAC/Branch membership dues are waived)
NOTICES
26–27 September 2025 The Canadian Maritime Security Network (CMSN) will host a conference on the future Canadian Seapower 2025. Venue – University of Calgary. Today, Canada faces a more complex and dangerous security landscape than at any time since the Second World War. The country is at an inflection point, facing two great power competitors, a complicated ecosystem of malign non-state actors, persistent pressures eroding the rules based international order, and an uncertain partnership with the U.S. To register.
21–22 October 2025 ABCMI’s Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show at the Vancouver Convention Centre, this flagship event brings together leading companies from across Canada in the marine and defence sectors. See the website for our draft Programme and list of Exhibitors. Tickets are selling quickly; exhibit spaces are sold out.
UPDATED 4 November 2025 7.30 – 18.30 Ottawa time Deep Blue Forum 6th Annual Conference. Theme: The Future of the Submarine Enterprise – People Harnessing Technology, in a System of Systems. The National Arts Centre, 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa Super Early Bird Registration is Open! Contact The ticket discount code for NAC members is DB25_NAC Keynote Speaker, Paula Folkes – Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Defence and Marine Procurement
NEW 24 February 2026 ShipTech Forum 2026, The National Arts Centre, Ottawa. 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa, ON K1P 5W1
THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
Editor – follow on from last week. Collision of Chinese vessels in waters near China’s Huangyan Dao likely caused by avoiding hitting Philippine Coast Guard Ship: expert (Editor – have a chuckle, Chinese spin doctor at work!) and more Exclusive video evidence exposes repeated Philippine attempts to stage incidents near China’s Huangyan Dao (Editor – video selectively excludes the water cannon footage)
CANADA
Editor – The layout of NAC News has been adjusted to make it more compatible with all the various platforms it is viewed on. We hope the adjustments have been successful.
King says VJ Day heroes will ‘never be forgotten’ (Editor – King Charles’s 6:20 min video)
HMCS William Hall Departs for Operation NANOOK
Helsinki Shipyard Cuts Steel for Canada’s Next Polar Icebreaker with Remarks by Secretary Fuhr on Strengthening Canada’s Arctic Fleet & Allocution du secrétaire Fuhr sur le renforcement de la flotte du Canada dans l’Arctique
Canada is running out of runway for its F-35 review
CDAI: It Will Take More than a Pay Raise to Fix CAF Recruitment & Retention (Editor – 51:02 min podcast)
BluMetric Secures $3.8 Million WaterTech Contract to Modernize Royal Canadian Navy Vessels
An armchair tour of the Naval Museum of Halifax
Le gouvernement du Canada reconnaît la création de la force militaire permanente du Canada (1871-1883) comme événement historique national & Government of Canada recognizes the Creation of Canada’s Permanent Military Force (1871–1883) as a national historic event
5 Canadian soldiers suspended after Nazi salute video emerges while others Military member charged with terrorism warned of ‘another Waco’: court docs
CDR Special Naval Edition (Editor – packed with naval articles including a Feature Interview with VAdm Angus Topshee (NAC member))
NAC Naval Defence Procurement Reform A Review of the National Defence Standing Committee’s 2024 Report by NAC member Howie Smith. (Editor – NAC Naval Affairs Papers, Briefing Notes, Niobe Papers, and much more. Please share with anyone you think may benefit from the knowledge, after all, that’s what our naval affairs programme is all about – enlightening Canadians)
USA & AMERICA
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: August 18, 2025
Carrier Ford Leaves Mediterranean for North Sea, Carrier Lincoln Operating Off Alaska
Mission complete, US carrier transfers ammunition to sister ship
Hurricane Erin Threatens Atlantic Shipping Routes with Massive 16-Meter Waves thus UPDATED: Iwo Jima ARG Back in Norfolk to Avoid Hurricane Erin
Report: US Deploys Air And Naval Forces To Caribbean In Expanded Fight Against Drug Cartels huge commitment U.S. Deploys Warships Near Venezuela to Combat Drug Threats and US Deploying Amphibious Squadron to Caribbean
US Navy sailor convicted of spying for China
This Robot Submarine Is Changing Everything! (Editor – 17:33 min video)
Navy retiring last of storied cruisers. To San Diego veterans, they were ‘pinnacle of naval power’ with details The Ticonderoga Class Cruiser Dilemma (Editor – 3:03 min video
UNITAS 2025 To Be Held Across Multiple Locations Along the East Coast of United States
Raytheon inks SM-2 Block IIICU missile development contract (Editor – note RCN participation)
US Coast Guard commissions fast response cutter Earl Cunningham in Alaska
CIMSEC: Arsenal of Democracy: Myth or Model? Lessons for 21st-Century Industrial Mobilization Planning
CIMSEC: Bringing Command and Accountability Back to Surface Fleet Maintenance
CIMSEC: A System of Systems Analysis is Needed for Maritime Strike
The Warning Shots (Editor – 45 sec video)
Panama Canal celebrates 111th birthday with sustainability momentum
INDO-PACIFIC
Why has China sent research vessels to Scarborough Shoal after a collision?
China Deploys Armed Small Boats to Second Thomas Shoal
German foreign minister criticises ‘aggressive’ China ahead of trip to Japan
It’s international law: Why HMS Richmond has a responsibility to transit the Taiwan Strait (Editor – pragmatic summary in a 1:36 min video)
Navy: 12-hour Fire Aboard USS New Orleans Extinguished, 2 Sailors with Minor Injuries
Carriers small and large are here to stay
The Mariner’s Mirror: Seapower Past & Present 7: South China Sea (Editor – 38 min podcast)
If China’s tactic is blockading Taiwan, the US Navy needs lots of frigates. It’s not getting them
What The World Is About To Learn About China’s Extra-Large Underwater Drones
UK Excalibur Unmanned Submarine first sea trial strengthens AUKUS Maritime projection in the Pacific
Taiwan unveils ‘carrier killer’ missile plans in bid to deter mainland Chinese forces
New Zealand to spend $3bn upgrading helicopters and ‘embarrassing’ defence planes
China Challenges Trump’s US Shipbuilding Dream
Russia, China’s Annual Joint Pacific Patrol Underway
UNDERWATER INVASION? China’s Secret Submarine Fleet (Editor – 10:40 min sweeping documentary video)
Pakistan Navy’s third Hangor-class submarine launched in China
Japan Launching the World’s Most Expensive Seaplanes Ever Built (Editor – 16:16 min video)
Exercise Alon 25 Underway (Editor – “The Halifax Class frigate HMCS Ville de Québec embarked CH-148 Cyclone helicopter. Approximately 180 personnel.”)
Singapore and U.S. launch first modular attack vessel for Indo-Pacific security
After dillydallying, Thailand proceeds with Chinese-built submarine
India’s Naval Fighter stalemate threatens Atmanirbharta
Maldives Commissions Donated Turkish Doğan-Class Fast Attack Craft Enhancing Regional Naval Balance
EUROPE
Black Sea:
Crucial to ensure safety of shipping in Azov, Black Seas — presidential aide
Baltic:
Ukrainian man arrested in Italy over Nord Stream pipeline blasts
Back to the Baltic for Royal Navy’s patrol ships as they begin two-month security mission
General:
World’s largest aircraft carrier transits Strait of Dover
Russia’s upgraded nuclear battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov returns to sea for first time since 1997 but for perspective World’s Most Powerful Warship… or a $2.5 Billion Relic? | Admiral Nakhimov Returns (Editor – 10:11 min video)
HMS Tyne leads UK surveillance of Russian submarines in the English Channel (Editor – handy craft the River Class) The Royal Navy’s Hardest Working Warships Explained (Editor – 15:23 min video, existing proven design, could Canada could build these?)
Russia launches new Gorshkov-class frigate
Shadow fleet gas carriers make port calls at sanctioned Arctic terminals
British warship passes 3,000 days out of service
Why Queen Elizabeth Carriers Have Twin Islands? (Editor – 3:55 min video)
Disney’s New Cruise Ship Leaves Building Hall at Meyer Werft (Editor – 144,256 GT, 4,000 passengers)
MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
Israeli Navy missile boats strike Houthi power plant near Yemen capital
General:
Gulf Visit by USS Nimitz Prompts Iranian Deployment
Iranian Navy Conducts First Post-War Exercise
GLOBAL INTERESTS
Quantum science guides new way of navigating
French Navy joins Exercise Red Lion
More Than 40 Missing In Nigeria Boat Accident
Why India tops the list of abandoned sailors
SCUTTLEBUTT
Admiral Tirpitz’ Lesson for China
Metacentric Height ll GM ll Ships Equilibrium ll Angle of Loll ll Righting Lever and Righting Moment (Editor – great basic reminder in a 9:13 min video)
HMCS Bonaventure (CVL 22) – Majestic Class Aircraft Carrier (Editor – 15:30 min video)
The Boat with Propellers in the Front (Editor – 1 min video)
Japan Shocked by Armored Flight Decks at Okinawa (Editor – 18:54 min video)
Japan Stunned When America Fixed Mark 14 Torpedoes and Cut Supply Lines (Editor – 16:01 min video. A reminder to test all weapons systems in realistic conditions…before a war)
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
23 August 1953 HMCS Caribou is commissioned as a Naval Reserve Division in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland.
24 August 1949 North Atlantic Treaty goes into effect, with the parties agreeing that an armed attack against one country would be considered ‘an attack against them all.’ NATO created by Canada, the US, and 10 European countries.
24 August 1957 US Wind class icebreaker HMCS Labrador under RCN Capt O.C.S. “Long Robbie” Robertson the first deep draught vessel to navigate Bellot Strait; will become the first ship to circumnavigate North America in a single voyage; transferred to the Department of Transport on 22 November 1957 and re-designated the Canadian Government Ship (CGS) Labrador; later CCGS Labrador.
24 August 1969 US oil tanker Manhattan leaves Chester on trial voyage through Northwest Passage; helped by Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker CCGS John A. Macdonald, the Manhattan will reach Sachs Harbour, NWT, on September 15.
24 August 1990 HMC Ships Athabaskan, Protecteur, and Terra Nova with 934 personnel sail from Halifax to participate in the United Nations to participate in the blockade of Iraq over its invasion of Kuwait three weeks earlier, Operation Friction.
26 August 1939 World War II – The British Admiralty transmits the single word ‘funnel’ – the agreed-upon signal transfers control of Canadian merchant ships from the owners to the RCN.
26 August 1940 US President Franklin D Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister W. L. MacKenzie King signed the Ogdensburg Agreement calling for a permanent board for the defence of Canada and the US 8-days ago and The Permanent Joint Board on defence holds its first meeting in Ottawa, Ontario.
27 August 1942 The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service is established.
27 August 1944 Actions by Flying Officer Roderick Borden Gray of the RCAF over the Atlantic Ocean earn him the George Cross. (Posthumous). Flying Officer Gray was the navigator of a Wellington aircraft which was shot down into the sea by a U-boat in the Atlantic. The crew managed to extricate themselves from the aircraft and despite a severe wound in the leg, Gray succeeded in inflating his own dinghy and then assisted his captain. After helping others into the raft, he recognized that it could not hold more than 2 persons. Although suffering intense pain, he refused to get into the dinghy. Gray held on to its side for some hours eventually becoming exhausted. He eventually lost consciousness and died.
27 August 1997 HMCS Ottawa during a fierce storm near Dakar harbour, Senegal conducted a challenging rescue mission. Upon finding a recently sunken vessel, they managed to pluck from the water 16 fishermen through judicious ship handling and skilled boat work. Despite the best efforts of the embarked Sea King helicopter to scour the immediate area they were regrettably unable to locate the Captain and five other of the crew who perished. The survivors told the navy their boat sank in five-meter swell after its cargo shifted.
28 August 1942 HMCS Oakville commanded by LCDR Clarence A. King, D.S.O., D.S.C. & Bar, M.I.D., RCNR during convey escort duties and working with a USN PBY sank the German submarine U-94 in the Caribbean Sea by depth-charges and three rammings. Once the submarine was stopped, two sailors board her and force entry into the conning tower, capturing the now sinking U-boat.
28 August 1992 RCN sends destroyer HMCS Gatineau to monitor UN embargo against Yugoslavia; moves to NATO standing force in Mediterranean.
29 August 1911 The prefix “”Royal”” is granted to the Canadian Navy by the King.
29 August 1917 Robert Borden’s Military Service Act gets Royal Assent; all male British subjects up to 45 years of age liable for conscription; with certain exceptions. Ottawa, Ontario
SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – If you see any omissions or errors please inform me, and any more modern significant dates are also welcomed. The list draws primarily from the Directory of History and Heritage’s comprehensive “Significant Dates in Canadian Military History”, the now defunct “Canada Channel”, “Legion Magazine”, The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History Vol 1-3, NAC member Roger Litwiller’s excellent web site, encyclopedic guidance from NAC member Fraser McKee, the Uboat.net site, and anywhere else I can find credible information. For the merchant ship history, a special thanks to NAC member Bill Dziadyk for his able assistance and detailed work. The RCN lost 1,965 men and 24 ships during the War, most of them in the Atlantic. A comprehensive list of the staggering merchant losses – sunk, damaged, or lost – Canadian Merchant Ship Losses of the Second World War, 1939-1945 by Rob Fisher {Revised June 2001}, and for the loss of individual personnel RCN Ship Histories, Convoy Escort Movements, Casualty Lists 1939-1947)
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