NAC News – Edition K673 HMCS Magog
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of June 19, 2026
Edition K673 HMCS Magog (River Class Frigate: heavily damaged by a torpedo) Quote: “ The Royal Canadian Navy will have to grow by as much as 40 per cent in terms of personnel in order to meet the demands of a growing fleet, says its new commander. Vice-Admiral Dan Charlebois assumed the post of top sailor in a ceremony on Tuesday set against the backdrop of the country’s naval history — HMCS Haida, the Second World War vessel that serves as the navy’s ceremonial flagship…The Canadian Armed Forces overall enrolled 7,310 regular force members in the most recent fiscal year, hitting a 30-year high and surpassing their recruiting target. The navy has benefited from the modest turnaround…”We need to grow that significantly, and that’s just what we need to crew our future fleet with a bit of resilience and robustness,” Charlebois said following the ceremony, which was attended by both his predecessor, Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, and the country’s top military commander, Gen. Jennie Carignan.” CBC News, New Royal Canadian Navy boss says service must grow by up to 40%, Murray Brewster, 16 June 2026
Editor NAC News: Rod Hughes (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, and 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.
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NOTICES
20 June 2026 12:00 (Ottawa time) The NAC National 2026 AGM will be held virtually using GoToMeeting. Details on how to join, the agenda and meeting reports (as available), procedures and other information can be found here. https://nac-o.wildapricot.org/sys/website/?pageId=18286 (please note you must be logged in as this is a member event). Registration is encouraged to help assess participation and monitor quorum requirements. Contact Nora Kennedy at NACcoordinator@navalassoc.ca as needed.
UPDATED 25 – 27 June 2026 The RCN and the Canadian Nautical Research Society present 13th RCN Historical Conference – Sea Power on the Pacific Rim: History, Heritage, and the Canadian Experience. Venue Wardroom CFB Esquimalt. Registration 0800 – 0900 am.
13 – 16 July 2026 Monday-Tuesday, Maritime & Arctic Security & Safety Conference (MASS) St. John’s Convention Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
19 October 2026 ABCDMI Seaspan Industry Engagement Day Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC
20 – 21 October 2026 ABCDMI Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC
THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLE
NATO wants ‘credible’ spending plans from members at next month’s summit
Canada PM says he saw Iran agreement. He calls it a ‘game changer’ (Editor – 1:17n min video)
CANADA
La Marine royale canadienne accueille un nouveau commandant & Royal Canadian Navy welcomes new Commander
VAdm Angus Topshee’s FINAL interview with the RCN! (Editor – RCN 9:01 min video)
Canada ready to take part in RIMPAC naval exercise with 30 other countries
TKMS places order for submarine steel in support of Canada’s future submarine program
OSI and TKMS to collaborate on Canadian Navy’s next-gen submarine project
Battleship construction begins in Halifax (Editor – 1:45 CTV min video) and Canada’s newest destroyer carries on legacy of warship lost in 1940 tragedy
When David sinks Goliath: TKMS submarines
The DIA Has a Strategy. Industry Has Questions. (Editor – author NAC member Ian Mack)
GGAI: Marking Milestones for the NSS (Editor – 35:25 min podcast)
Ralmax revives plans for graving dock on Victoria’s Upper Harbour
New Allowances Announced (Editor –expect these will be welcomed!)
NORAD generals explain the reality of a dual fighter jet fleet (Editor – 5:18 min CBC News video)
Le Canada lance une mission de lutte contre la pêche illicite, non déclarée et non réglementée dans l’océan Pacifique Nord & Canada launches mission to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the North Pacific Ocean
Marine transportation safety investigation M23A0169 (Editor – submersible Titan) & Enquête sur la sécurité du transport maritime M23A0169
Vigilance Continental Defence Corvette (Editor – Vard Marine Inc. 2:14 min video)
RCN May Need More Than Two JSS: Case for Retaining CSS Asterix and Canadian Armed Forces: RCN Set to Lose a Vital Asset (Editor – Esprit de Corps 6:09 min video)
Editor – Three articles but not directly naval equipment acquisitions but there are significant implications. Trump furious as EU & Canada build new fighter jet to replace F-35—$2T deal collapses, AI shut off (Editor – not sure of the accuracy but items of interest in a 17:47 min video) Why the F-35 Is the Best Jet and the Most Broken (Editor – flawed programme in a 22:52 min video) Canada risks new U.S. political battle over Swedish spy plane deal (Editor – 2:16 min CBC News video)
Civilian justice system takes over from military police on sexual offence complaints
$15.7 billion floating LNG project on Canada’s horizon as Kanata partners with Hanwha Ocean
U.S. pulling ocean sensors a ‘shock’ for Canadian research as El Niño nears however sanity prevails and U.S. National Science Foundation reverses decision to dismantle oceans-monitoring network after outcry
50 years of data reveals true extent of climate change impacts on kelp forests
NAC Members Barry Murphy and Robert Kamphuis, both of London, Ontario were recognized for his work with the Battle of Atlantic Memorial. BZ to you both.
An armchair tour of Shearwater Aviation Museum
Editor – 17 July 2026 marks the Legion’s official 100th anniversary, recognizing the day in 1926 when the Canadian Legion was formally incorporated by a Special Act of Parliament. This summer, members and Branches across Canada will mark The Royal Canadian Legion’s 100th anniversary—a historic moment to reflect on a century of service, Remembrance, community, and support for Veterans and their families.
CNMT: Action Stations Volume 45 Issue 1 Spring 2026
Lookout: Volume 71, Issue 12, June 15, 2026 (Editor – note pg. 8 NAC Merritt Chisholm award presentation) & Volume 71, numéro 12, 15 juin, 2026 (Note de l’éditeur – p. 8: Remise du prix Merritt Chisholm du CNA)
Trident: Monday 15 June 2026 Volume 60, Issue 12 (Note de l’éditeur – La version française n’est pas disponible pour une raison inconnue)
NAC Naval Affairs: Bibliography Amphibious Operations (Editor – NAC Naval Affairs Papers, Briefing Notes, Niobe Papers, and much more. Please share with people you think may benefit from the knowledge, after all, that’s what your naval affairs programme is all about; enlightening Canadians about maritime affairs and the need for the RCN.
USA & AMERICAS and the Caribbean Sea
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: June 15, 2026
Brookings: An era of maritime disorder
Destroyer USS Mitscher Returns Home From 11-month Deployment
31 warships from 19 nations kick off large-scale Atlantic exercise
Joint Task Force Southern Spear Strikes Suspected Drug Boat in Eastern Pacific
Why an Entire Fleet Can’t Find One US Navy Submarine (Editor – 17:02 min video)
SASC Wants Navy to Develop New DDG(X) Destroyer in Tandem with Trump Battleship
U.S. Navy Looks to Fleet-wide Expeditionary Mine Warfare in Wake of Operation Epic Fury
US Navy moves forward with F-35C LRASM testing
How America Builds Two Ford-Class Supercarriers at Once?
Shadow Fleet Tanker Captain Pleads Guilty After Weeks-Long Atlantic Chase by U.S. Coast Guard
US Navy demonstrates new dual-use laser system
INDO-PACIFIC
Pacific Ocean and 22+ marginal seas:
Fair winds, INDOPACOM: Pentagon returns command name to US Pacific Command and The likely reasons for INDOPACOM becoming PACOM again
Japan ramping up defence is ‘critical’ to prevent war, Defence Minister Koizumi tells BBC
USNI News Western Pacific Pulse: June 12, 2026
Why South Korea’s Navy Is More Powerful Than You Think (Editor – 20:33 min video)
Report to Congress on Russian Military Activities in Asia
CIMSEC: China Is Rehearsing More Than Amphibious Landings
China’s Navy has missiles and drones. Why is it bringing back the ‘big guns’?
Soya – Japan Coast Guard’s new large patrol vessel boasts icebreaking capability
South Korea Could Build Nuclear Submarines, But It Shouldn’t
Indian Ocean and 4 major marginal seas:
India Conducts Spate of Tests for Anti-Ship, Land Attack, BMD And Hypersonic Ground Attack Missiles
Indian Navy Removes Unexploded Missile From Inside a VLCC
Indian Navy Retires Iconic Sea King 42B Squadron After 55 Years
Pakistan’s newest submarine arrives in home waters following delivery voyage from China and then Official: Pakistan Navy considering deploying newest submarine in Bay of Bengal
EUROPE
Black, Azov, and Caspian Seas:
Ukraine Drone Strikes Sparks Fire At Russian Port
Ukraine unveils Sea Trident underwater drone capable of hitting Russian strategic targets
Ukraine Waited Until Russia Docked Its Flagship — Then Sent 8 Drones to ERASE It (Editor – complexity of maritime drone warfare in a 10:23 min video)
“It’s Getting Worse” – Russian Reporters Warn of Crimea Siege (Editor – 15:12 min video)
A Shift In Ukraine? – The Frontline Balance, Forces & Moscow Parade (Editor – 59:55 min video)
Baltic Sea:
Inside Sweden’s New Luleå-Class: The Warship That Changes the Baltic Sea (Editor – 11:50 min video)
Mediterranean Sea and its 15 marginal seas:
General:
Pete Hegseth blasts European allies, announces review of American troops in region (Editor – 1:38 min video)
Royal Navy makes history at trooping the colour (Editor – “believed to be the first time in the event’s 350-year history”)
Who is new Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis? (Editor – background for the new British Defence Secretary in a 2:36 video)
Russian warship fired warning shots near U.K.-registered yacht in English Channel but Yacht couple reject Russian frigate account of shots (Editor – so what was the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich doing?)
West working out scenarios for pre-emptive strikes against Russian naval bases — aide
The Russians Are Coming! Putin’s Warships Surround UK (Editor – unusual for this videographer to be a non-historical 9:08 min video)
ScanFish trials aboard RFA Proteus mark a step forward for Royal Navy seabed warfare capability
US to cut air and naval assets deployed for NATO operations in Europe
The ‘Obsolete’ Swedish Gun The Royal Navy Is Bringing Back To Kill Drones. (Editor – 13:14 min video)
What the Navy needs: Small, cheap and lots
Royal Marines board Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in English Channel then UK Charges Indian Captain of Russian Shadow Fleet Tanker is Tanker capture: political theatre, or genuine crackdown on shadow fleet?
Dutch Defence Ministry orders new torpedoes for future submarines (Editor – F21 heavyweight torpedo amongst others)
STM Holds Steel-Cutting Ceremony for Second Portuguese Logistics Support Ship
Russian builder unveils export-only variant of existing minesweeper class
Ukraine receives ex-Dutch Alkmaar-class minehunter Henichesk
USC offers more than sixty ship projects to potential partners
Regeneration of axed HMS Bulwark to be completed this year before planned sale to Brazil
The €7BN Mega-Canal That Will Reshape Europe (Editor – 15:19 min video)
Norwegian Budget Includes Money to Construct World’s First Ship Tunnel
Finland Prosecutes Captain and Bosun in Anchor Dragging Incident
MIDDLE EAST
Trump Signs Interim Iran Deal as Focus Shifts to Hormuz
US lifts naval blockade as Iran’s supreme leader says Trump made deal ‘out of desperation’
Iran, U.S. have a deal of sorts. What happens next?
Iran’s military has been degraded. What’s left?
Macron: France Could Start Hormuz Peacekeeping Mission Within Days
Germany moves two ships to Djibouti, eyeing multinational Hormuz mission this summer
Scouring the Strait of Hormuz for Mines Could Take Weeks
U.S. Military Guidance Reveals High-Risk Reality of Hormuz’s ‘Southern Highway’
Analysts Warn Hormuz Trade Flows Face Long Road Back with Maersk Keeps Gulf Restrictions in Place Despite Hormuz Reopening Push
US Ships Escort Oil Tankers Through Hormuz at Night, Burgum Says
Japan Undecided on Sending Military to Hormuz
Armed Skiffs Attack Two Ships Off Yemen in Separate Gulf of Aden Incidents
Vessel comes under attack off Yemeni coast — UKMTO
U.S. Navy Assists in Rescue of 14 Indian Mariners in Northern Arabian Sea
Barnacle Boom: Divers Race to Clean Ships Stranded in Persian Gulf
ARCTIC, 7 marginal seas and Canada’s archipelago (Editor – a new section)
Russia Readies Second Homebuilt Arctic LNG Icebreaking Carrier as Novatek Expands Sanction-Hit Fleet
Icebreakers – Rise of the Arctic Giant – Big Bigger Biggest (Editor – 45:13 min video)
U.S. Senators Propose Arctic Spy Ship Ban Amid Rising Chinese, Russian Activity Near Alaska (Editor – not sure how this would get enforced)
Second new Russian Navy minesweeper arrives at Northern Fleet base
GLOBAL INTERESTS
Has Australia’s Antarctic Shelf claim been shelved forever?
The 100,000 Horsepower Engine (Editor – great explanation in a 22:17 min video)
The Crisis of Rising Abandoned Ships (Editor – 8:21 min video)
What Happens When a Shipping Container Falls Off a Ship? (Editor – 8:42 min video)
SCUTTLEBUTT
He wasn’t a Marine. But he saved 500 of them!!! (Editor – not mentioned that USCG Medal of Honor recipient Douglas Munro was born in Vancouver B.C. – 2:57 min video)
From the ANI Archives: Relevance of Strategists
How a Simple British Rubber Strip Disabled the Audio Gauges of 60 German Submarines (Editor – a peculiar piece of history in a 19:37 min video)
Lend Lease Destroyers At War (Editor – fascinating 11:47 min video)
Marooned in the Arctic (Editor – 15:06 min video)
The Mariner’s Mirror: Rebellion at Sea: The Great Naval Mutinies of 1797 (Editor – 34:00 min podcast)
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
20 June 1923 HMCS Brunswicker, a current day Naval Reserve Division, was raised as an RCN Volunteer Reserve half-company in Saint John, NB.
20 June 1942 Japanese submarine I-26 shelled Estevan Point BC lighthouse and radio-direction-finding station and marking the first enemy attack on Canadian soil since the Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1871. I-26 fired 25–30 rounds of 5.5-inch (140 mm) shells at the lighthouse but failed to hit its target. Although the attack resulted in no damage or casualties, the subsequent decision to turn off the lights of outer stations caused difficulties for coastal shipping. Five RCN patrol vessels and a RCAF Supermarine Stranraer flying boat were dispatched to search for the submarine but failed to locate I-26 which had fled north and then returned to Japan.
20 June 1942 HMCS Edmundston (Flower Class corvette) rescues 31 crewmembers from the SS Fort Camosun that had been disabled by a Japanese submarine I-25 near the Washington coast. The I-25 also shelled the US Fort Stevens at the mouth of the Columbia River. The Fort Stevens shelling marked the only time that a military base in the contiguous United States was attacked by the Axis Powers during World War II, and was only the second time a continental U.S. military base was attacked by an enemy since the bombing of Dutch Harbor two weeks earlier.
21 June 1749 A military expedition led by Colonel Edward Cornwallis arrives at the harbour at Chebucto, NS and establishes the Halifax military base.
21 June 1940 HMCS Fraser evacuates from France some Free French troops, and the then Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to France, who became subsequently the Canadian Ambassador to France, and even further in the future, the Canadian Governor-General, Lieutenant-Colonel G.P. Vanier.
21 June 1940 The National Resources Mobilization Act is passed provides for conscription for home defence and registration of all adult males and females.
21 June 1942 HMS P-514 left Argentia, bound for St. John’s to join a convoy. She was under the escort of three Canadian corvettes; but in a rough day with poor visibility became separated from her escort for a few fatal hours. Although its normal crew contingent was listed as 33, there were 42 on board. It was thought some may have been catching a ride to rendezvous with other vessels. In the middle of the night, with heavy fog, the Bangor class minesweeper HMCS Georgian sat just off Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula, waiting to escort a convoy bound for Sydney, N.S. In a case of mistaken identity HMCS Georgian, which was also there waiting, picked up the unmistakeable sound of diesel engines from a submarine on its hydrophone. The minesweeper’s captain, Lt. Alfred George Stanley, closed in on the signal. Still, there was no reply from P-514. At 3:05 a.m., the submarine was rammed amidships on the port side, broadside on. Her navigation lights were seen to flick on. The submarine then disappeared; there were no survivors. A Board of Inquiry ruled that Gregorian’s CO had acted correctly. P-514’s story reflects many aspects of the Battle of the Atlantic – she had sailed from a newly established USN Argentia Base established as part of the lend-lease process. She was originally USS R-19 (SS-96) a WW1 era boat completed in 1918 then transferred/commissioned 9 March 1942 into the RN as P-514 to serve as an ASW training target to help training the Canadian convoy escort ships operating out of Newfoundland, still then a British Colony.
21 June 2001 Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson unveils the National Aboriginal Monument, Ottawa, to commemorate the sacrifice of aboriginals in both world wars and Korea.
22 June 1940 The last class of RCN Volunteer Reserve officers graduate from HMCS Stone Frigate.
22 June 1967 HMCS Onondaga an Oberon Class submarine was commissioned. In anticipation of the Victoria-class. Onondaga was paid of in Halifax 28 July 2000. She is preserved as a museum ship in Rimouski Quebec.
22 June 1968 HMCS Okanagan an Oberon-class submarine was commissioned.
23 June 1919 The Air Board is formed in Canada to control all aspects of aviation, including military.
23 June 1940 Destroyer HMCS Restigouche engaged in French evacuation operations off St Jean de Luz engaged in French evacuation operations.
23 June 1940 Sgt. Henry A. Larsen leaves Vancouver on the RCMP schooner St. Roch bound for Halifax via the Northwest Passage; ship will take southerly route through Arctic islands, and after two winters trapped in the ice, will reach Halifax Oct. 11, 1942; first ship to make the voyage from west to east, and in both directions, and to circumnavigate North America; St. Roch declared national historic site in 1962; berthed at Vancouver Maritime Museum.
23 June 1961 The Antarctic Treaty comes into force. The continent is declared a scientific reserve and military activity is banned.
23 June 1968 HMCS Okanagan (Oberon Class submarine) commissioned at Chatham Dockyards.
23 June 1995 HMCS Winnipeg Commissioned at Esquimalt BC.
25 June 1755 HMS Mars (captured French Le Mars 64-gun third-rate (1740) while attempting to enter Halifax NS in poor weather and in the dark of night, ran onto a dangerous shoal just off the coast, not far from Herring Cove. The inquiry reported that the cause of the foundering was ‘pilot error’. The notorious shoal where the Mars sank has been known as Mars Rock ever since.
24 June 1762 A French fleet commanded by Chevalier de Ternay captures Bay Bulls and St. John’s, Newfoundland.
24 June 1943 HMCS Sault Ste. Marie is commissioned as the first Algerine-class minesweeper produced for the RCN.
24 June 1944 A Canso from RCAF Squadron 162 sank U-1225 north of the Shetlands.
24 June 1944 HMCS Haida commanded by Cdr Harry G. DeWolf, DSO, RCN, with HMS Eskimo and a Royal Air Force patrol aircraft sink the German submarine U-971 in the English Channel.
25 June 1940 HMCS Fraser with 47 crew is lost after colliding with a British cruiser, HMS Calcutta in the Bay of Biscay. She has the dubious honour of being the first RCN ship sunk during the Second World War. Most of her survivors went down with HMCS Margaree four months later.
25 June 1965 RAdm Walter Hose is buried at Windsor, Ont. Considered the founding sponsor of the RCNVR & Naval Reserves, post-RNCVR.
25 June 1950 North Korean forces cross the 38th Parallel and invade South Korea and the Korean War starts; nearly 27,000 Canadians serve, 1,558 are wounded, 516 die.
25 June 1963 HMCS Assiniboine is recommissioned as the RCN’s first helicopter-carrying destroyer.
25 June 1944 Flight Lieutenant (RCAF) David Ernest Hornell (Toronto born) as Captain of a Canso PBY-5A despite fatal damage to his aircraft attacked and sank a U-boat. Hornell landed the plane in rough seas and organized his crew to take turns in the one dinghy they had. The crew were rescued the next day, but Hornell was exhausted and died soon after. F/L Hornell was the first member of the RCAF to earn the Victoria Cross during the Second World War. He is buried in Lerwich New Cemetery, Zetland (Shetland), Scotland.
25 June 1994 HMCS Saguenay is sunk off Lunenburg as a diving park.
26 June 1923 HMCS Queen, a current day Naval Reserve Division, was raised as a RCN Volunteer Reserve half-company in Regina.
26 June 1959 Canadian warships assigned to Atlantic Command participate in the opening ceremonies of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
26 June 2021 HMCS Harry DeWolf the first of 6 of her call was commissioned in Halifax. These ships are classified as Arctic and Off-shore Patrol Ships and have ice-strengthened hulls. The ships have a broad range of operational capacities and will be employed in many activities.
Significant RCN Dates – If you notice any omissions or errors please inform me. Pointing out any more modern significant dates is encouraged. 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. Recently “Guardians of the North” written by NAC members Rich Gimblett & Karl Gagnon. 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) Last and far from least Gary Weir’s For Prosperity’s Sake RCN historical project site.
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