NO HIGHER PURPOSE: THE OFFICIAL OPERATIONAL HISTORY OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR, 1939-1943. VOLUME II, PART 1.

Douglas, W.A.B.; Sarty, Roger; Whitby, Michael; Caldwell, Robert H.; Johnston, William; Rawling, William G.P.

ISBN 10: 1551250616 / ISBN 13: 9781551250618

Published by Vanwell, St. Catharines, Ontario, 2002

About this Item

664 pp, large 8vo (9 1/2" H). Map endpapers. B&w photographs, b&w and colour maps, colour plates. "In April 1943, the Royal Canadian Navy assumed responsibility for Canadian Northwest Atlantic Command, the only operational area to be run by a Canadian Commander-in-Chief during the Second World War. (This book) describes the RCN's long, challenging journey from the outbreak of the war in September 1939 to the momentous events of Spring 1943. Based on extensive research in Canadian, British, American and German archives, (it) describes the mobilization of the naval service during the first half of the war, measures its response to the demanding, ever-changing strategic situations that confronted the Allies, and analyses the service of our ships and sailors on the North Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean seas as well as the defence of Canadian waters. With the main focus on the Battle of the Atlantic, this important and well-illustrated history demonstrates how Canadian naval forces proved indispensable to victory in that most critical campaign of the Second World War." Minor wrinkle at top of spine; place, date and signature in ink on free front endpaper. Dust jacket has very light wrinkling at top of spine and flap-folds, minor rubbing.

Seller Inventory # 25388

Bibliographic Details

• Title: NO HIGHER PURPOSE: THE OFFICIAL OPERATIONAL HISTORY OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR, 1939-1943. VOLUME II, PART 1.
• Publisher: Vanwell, St. Catharines, Ontario
• Publication Date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1551250616
• ISBN 13: 9781551250618
• Binding: Hard Cover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Very Good+
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+
• Seller catalogs:
  • Military - Naval
  • Military - World War II

About this title

Synopsis

Throughout the Second World War, Canada played a vital role in contributing manpower and escorting supply convoys to the European theater of war. The Royal Canadian Navy was called upon to participate in virtually every phase of war at sea.

This is the official history of the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. This impressive book chronicles how the RCN expanded more rapidly and played a greater part in Allied operations, than could possibly have been foreseen when the war broke out. Over a period of six years, the RCN's contribution to the Allied war effort fundamentally transformed the RCN's nature. In 1939, the RCN was a small coastal defense force with 'blue water' aspirations.

Our Navy was modeled on the British Navy and formed an important part of the Empire Navy, a worldwide network of British naval communications, intelligence and trade defense. RCN officers and a large number of ratings served in RN training ships and establishments. Political, financial and material constraints limited the RCN's horizons, with the exception of annual exercises in the Caribbean. Yet, by 1945, the RCN had a record of service in the North Atlantic, the waters of northwest Europe, the Arctic, the Mediterranean and the Pacific. In short, the RCN had achieved the status of a 'blue water' Navy! As a result, tens of thousands of Canadians who had served in the Navy during the war formed a national constituency that had never before existed.

No Higher Purpose was written by a team of professional historians and has been in preparation for fifteen years. Veterans of the RCN, current sailors and naval officers, and students of military and naval history in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany have eagerly awaited it. This book is a fitting testimonial to the men and women of Canada's Navy.