Canada!

[RAGMAN]

I didn't know of the contributions of Canada in the Pacific Theatre! I have read and seen a lot of info on the contribution of Canada in Europe and the atom bomb project. As some of you have said WW2 was really a group effort.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Yes that it was. I believe Canada and Australia though were the 2 biggest besides the US and England. Russia does not count because we are talking about the commonwealths.

[Nonskimmer]

RAGMAN you're not alone. Even the Canadian government puts almost all emphasis on the European contributions and practically nothing is ever mentioned about the Pacific or CBI, other than Hong Kong early on. We were there. In many cases it was as part of RN or RAF units, but we were there. Read up on the Aleutians as well.

Getting back to Italy, have you ever heard of the First Special Service Force? It was an elite combined Canadian/American group (although mostly American) that fought in Italy. There was even an old Hollywood movie made about them (although it was typically completely inaccurate) called the Devil's Brigade.

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub...unders/special

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

NS can you tell me some stuff about the Canadian stuff in the PTO. I also am not to up to date on that.

[Nonskimmer]

Admittedly, I'm not real good with many of the details myself at the moment, but go over the first page of this thread. PD and I go over some of it in brief.

Well, that and the fact that I'm too lazy to do a lot of typing right now.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Yeah I should have done that to begin with. I was just too lazy to go back to the first page. I know its just a click.

[Wildcat]

Here's some info I found that might interest you Skim. Check out

http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/ozatwar/canadiansinoz.htm

I imagine this would be relatively unknown info.

[Nonskimmer]

Thanks for the link mate. Interesting. I knew absolutely nothing about that, and I'd bet my pay that hardly anyone in Canada does these days. Good stuff.

[Wildcat]

No probs mate! Indeed an interesting bit of Canadian/Australian military history.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I could not get it to load for somereason.

[Dac]

Thanks fo the nod to Canada plan_D.

One of the things about the Canadian contribution to the war was it started from almost nothing.

At 191 Officers and 1,799 ratings in 1939, Canada had enough naval personel to crew one British BB with enough left over for a DD. I think the largest ship in the navy at the time was a Destroyer.

The Canadian Army had something like 8 tanks which were only fit for training. The Army had actually been downsized in the 1930s to save money. Sound familiar?

The RCAF had few modern aircraft but was expanding in the 30s'.

Canada had no real armaments industry before the war and a company that built washing machines in Toronto converted to Bren Guns as did a factory in Thunder Bay which before the war built railway boxcars but during the war built over 1,000 Hurricanes and about 900 SB2Cs for the U.S. Navy for example. Amazingly enough one of its' head designers was a woman. Wish I could remember her name.

All this changed Canada forever, with many Canadians leaving the rural areas to work in the cities.

As for the lost potential you talk about Nonskimmer, our lose was Americas' gain. In the 1950s' Canada had one on the best aerospace industries in the world. We built over 1,800 Sabres for our own and 10 other nations airforces. Avro Canada produced the all-weather CF-100 Canuck and was about to produce the CF-105 Arrow.
When our PM cancelled the Arrow in 1959, it killed Avro Canada and over 35,000 of some of the best aerospace workers in the world headed south to join NASA and American corporations. It was partly Canadian know-how that put Americans on the moon!

Oh Yah, I'd also like to lodge a complaint about the hypnotizing effect of trackends' animated icon

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Interesting post there. Canada was a good example of how a war can bring out the most of people.

[Nonskimmer]

Originally Posted by Dac

The Army had actually been downsized in the 1930s to save money. Sound familiar?

Very.
Good post by the way.

You'll get used to Lee's (trackend's) avatar. I find it to be rather calming.

[plan_D]

Just from what I have recently learned about the Aleutians (I haven't finished studying it yet) - Canadians arrived in force during July and August 1942 with;

Air Support
8th Recon Bomber Squadron
111th Fighter Squadron

Both arriving in July to aid in the bombardment of Kiska on August 7th.

Sea Support

Canadian Auxiliary Cruisers -

Prince David, Prince Henry and Prince Robert

Two Canadian Corvettes.

In support of the landing operations on Adak (30th August). All five Canadian vessels were released from Task Group Tare and sent to the South Pacific.

[schwarzpanzer]

Read the bit about Canadians in the Dams Raid, it's interesting.

Yes, there were a load in 617 Sq IIRC?
I always consider them when I think 'Dambusters'.


I know this is going to sound coarse Wildcat and I really apologise, but I have to say it:

Maybe Australia didn't have a choice but to fight?

Believe me, no-one respects the Australians and their effort more than me, but without Britain, Japan could have taken Oz?

The fate would be much worse than what would happen to Britain or Russia unde the Nazis.

The British would have dented pride and a slight population loss.

The Russians would simply cease to exist and join the Aztecs.

But the Australians would have been mutilated, or worse before, slowly, dying.

However the Nazi's may have turned against the Japanese in aid of 'fellow Aryans' if that was the case maybe?

As I believe they would anyway?

Again, I'm very sorry if I offend anyone by saying that.


Dac

I think without the Canadians, the Manhattan project would have took, how long??

Sorry to mention tanks, but it's something I know about Canadian production:

The Canadian Valentines built at something-or-other locomotive works were superior in armour protection & build than the British versions.

Shedloads (shall I get the exact number?) were sent to Russia.

The Russians loved these, and considered them superior to the T34! (even the Brit ones)

However, they thought the 2pdr was pants, so fitted their far superior 76mm.

These were, according to a Russian source, a huge factor in winning the Kursk battles.


Also I was told (by a gunsmith) that Australian SMLE's are far better than the indiginous ones.

Only they are orange wood instead of lovely walnut, and don't seem to look/smell/sound as nice.

Also all Ozzy Brens were Mk1's (better IMHO)

The Owen was a great SMG too, even in Malaya.

Don't think the Boomerang plane was too good though?