This is the story of six of Canadas Warships HMCS NAPANEE, HMCS BELLEVILLE, HMCS HALLOWELL, HMCS TRENTONIAN, HMCS QUINTE (I), and the HMCS QUINTE (II). These histories give a unique account of the small ships that have been the backbone of the Canadian Navy during the Second World War and the Cold War. The stories record the accomplishments of these hardworking ships as well as the mistakes. This rich and vivid account of an important part of Canadas Naval Service draws from the records of the ships, interviews with their crews, letters, diaries, newspaper articles, community libraries and photographs.

You will learn about the HMCS NAPANEE as she fights a five day battle against twenty-four German submarines in on one of Canadas most tragic convoy battles. Be with HMCS BELLEVILLE as she fights to rescue a torpedoed merchant ship and find out about how a German submarine sinks the HMCS TRENTONIAN late in the war killing six of her crew.

Roger’s interest in Canada’s Navy began as a Sea Cadet in his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario. He later became an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve and the Navy League of Canada. Educated in Emergency Medical Services, Roger has served the Quinte Region of Ontario since 1982 as a decorated Paramedic. His other interests include public speaking and photographic artistry. Roger resides near Trenton with his wife Rhonda and their six children.

Roger Litwiller's profile page

This rich and vivid account of an important part of Canadas Naval Service draws from the records of the ships, interviews with their crews, letters, diaries, newspaper articles, community libraries and photographs.

Seawaves

Roger Litwiller obviously spent considerable hours doing exhaustive research on all six vessels and he has a knack for translating this research into text that is easy enough for a landlubber to understand and enjoy while not boring the bellbottoms off professional sailors. His bibliography is extensive, and a gold mine for anyone wishing to follow up with further reading.

While the colour cover painting is striking and the illustrations inside well-chosen, the narrative in the chapters is the real strength of the book.

Northern Mariner magazine

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in Canadian naval history.

Sea Breezes