Maritime Command Pacific

The Royal Canadian Navy’s West Coast Fleet in the Early Cold War

David Zimmerman author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of British Columbia Press

Published:1st Jul '16

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Maritime Command Pacific cover

One of Canada’s leading military historians recounts the story of the Canadian navy’s Pacific fleet during the tense years of the early Cold War.

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.”

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.

-- Sean Getway, independent scholar * Pacific Historical Revi

ISBN: 9780774830355

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 320g

206 pages