The Royal Canadian Navy crews that sailed the Atlantic during the early Cold War held a contemptuous view of their West Coast brethren, likening the Pacific fleet to a “yacht club” where sailors enjoyed a life of leisurely service on a tranquil sea. As Maritime Command Pacific demonstrates, nothing could be further from the truth. The first comprehensive history of the Pacific fleet from 1945 to 1965, it begins by exploring how Maritime Command Pacific (MARCAP) weathered postwar downsizing only to face rapid expansion in the wake of the Korean War. As Cold War tensions mounted, the fleet worked closely with the US Navy to defend the west coast of North America from potential threats. Over the course of this twenty-year period, MARCAP’s warships were just as active as their counterparts in the Atlantic; and their crews contended with drifting Japanese mines, joint US-Canadian training exercises, and the threat of Soviet submarines – all while patrolling a rugged coastline known, in part, as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.”
1 The Legacy of War and Demobilization
2 From Peace to Cold War, 1945-50
3 Defending the West Coast in the Nuclear Age
Cold War Expansion
5 Reorganization of Pacific Command and West Coast Defence Planning, 1958-61
6 The Golden Age
7 The Cold War on the Pacific Coast, 1958-65
Conclusion; Notes on Sources; Notes; Index
David Zimmerman is a professor of military history at the University of Victoria. His books include The Great Naval Battle of Ottawa, Top Secret Exchange: The Tizard Mission and the Scientific War, and Britain’s Shield: Radar and the Defeat of the Luftwaffe. He is an expert on the history of anti-submarine warfare, radar, the Royal Canadian Navy, science and technology in war, and the rescue of academic refugees from Germany in the 1930s.
Any scholar of Cold War naval policy will benefit from reading this book. David Zimmerman sets out to correct the absence of works on the Canadian West Coast Fleet. … The book is superbly organized … [and] serves as an excellent example of examining all elements of a navy and not simply the fleet and strategy. Additionally, the book is a welcome break from the U.S.-centric perspective.