Robert W. Mackay

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HMCS OKANAGAN, HMCS RAINBOW–50 and counting!

July 25, 2018 by Robert Mackay 1 Comment

It’s been 50 years since HMCS OKANAGAN, the third of Canada’s O-boats, sailed from Gosport for workups. And in November this year, the Submarine Association of Canada (West) will celebrate the anniversary of her commissioning in the Chatham Dockyard.

The occasion, November 2-4, will also mark HMCS RAINBOW’S 50th. More about her in a later post.

OKANAGAN went on to an illustrious career in the RCN, most of her operations taking place in the Atlantic out of Halifax. Along with her sister boats, OJIBWA and ONONDAGA, her life was extended by a major update of periscopes, sonar, torpedo tubes, etc in the late 1980s that kept her operating until the late ’90s.

One of OKANAGAN’S last tasks was the search for and locating of the flight recorders of Swissair 111 which sadly crashed off Peggy’s Cove in 1998.

Many of her crew, now known as “The Crunch Bunch,” will no doubt reminisce about an unhappy day in 1973 when the OKANAGAN had a run-in with the propellers of Royal Fleet Auxiliary Grey Rover.

HMCS OKANAGAN was paid off in 1998, and sold for scrap. Both her sister O-boats, though, are museum pieces in Ontario and Quebec. They can be toured by the public, and will give an idea of life in what some have called “the last and best” of the O-boats.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Canadian submarines, Oberon class, RCN, submariners, submarines

Write What You Know… “Terror on the ALERT”

September 5, 2016 by Robert Mackay Leave a Comment

Terror on the ALERT comes from my time in British and Canadian submarines. A mere dog watch, compared to many of my former shipmates. I 11 B Okan BlockHouse 1968was extremely lucky to find myself, in 1968, as ‘fourth hand’ as the Brits would say; in Canadian parlance, Operations Officer in Her Majesty’s Canadian Submarine OKANAGAN. The OK was the third and last of Canada’s Oberon class submarines, top-flight boats that served Canada well for more than thirty years. Regarding OKANAGAN, I can’t put it better than has Don “Buster” Brown, outside wrecker on commissioning, and later in his career Maritime Command Chief Petty Officer:

“HMCS/m Okanagan was the most glamourous and up-to-date O-boat ever built in her time and was, sadly, the last submarine (and vessel) to be built in Chatham dockyard’s long history of submarine construction.”

OKANAGAN commissioned on June 22nd, 1968, and less than a week later sailed for work-ups in Faslane, Scotland.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Buster Brown, Canadian submarines, Faslane, HM Dockyard Chatham, HMCS OKANAGAN, Maritime Command, Oberon class, RCN, submarines, Terror on the Alert, workups

Supernatural Submarine

February 18, 2016 by Robert Mackay 5 Comments

Sub ExternalFor all those fans of “Supernatural” who caught last night’s episode, “The Vessel”, here’s an external photo of the amazing submarine replica built in Burnaby for the shoot.

 

John Badham torp tubes

This is director John Badham, with two of the torpedo tubes featured in the production. Hats off to the crew who put the amazing set together.

There were times when I had to shake my head to remind myself I’m not back aboard USS RASHER. This is a mockup, and the flames in the corner of the control room are real flames, but will be turned off once the cameras have the shot.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Canadian submarines, John Badham, submarines, Supernatural, USN Submarines, USS Rasher

Completing the Submarine Circle

February 13, 2016 by Robert Mackay Leave a Comment

USS RASHER Feb 1964 (004 small)In late 2015 I was hired as technical adviser for an episode of “Supernatural”, the episode itself directed by legendary Hollywood director John Badham. The episode, entitled “The Vessel”, is due to be shown on Wednesday, February 17th on the CW network locally.

The action takes place partially in a World War II United States navy submarine, BLUEFIN, and hence the need for a submariner as adviser.

It was a fascinating experience, as I’d never hung around a working set and shoot before. What made it especially interesting for me was that way back in 1964, as a green-around-the-gills sublieutenant in the Royal Canadian Navy, I had spent two weeks at sea in a US Navy submarine, USS RASHER (AGSS 269)–BLUEFIN’s real-life counterpart. RASHER’s Commanding Officer commented in a letter that I had “participated actively in the conduct of our exercises as assistant to the ship’s conning officer”. I guess that’s what I was doing when the photo of me on the periscope was snapped, although I look like I was reacting to a joke from one of the very professional but–being submariners–informal American crew.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Bluefin, John Badham, RCN, submariners, submarines, Supernatural, USN Submarines, USS Rasher

HMCS OJIBWA, first of Canada’s O-boats

February 2, 2016 by Robert Mackay Leave a Comment

OjibwayOJIBWA was commissioned for the first time in 1965 in HM Dockyard Chatham, England. She served in the RCN until May 1988.

She is now at rest and on display, a magnificent museum piece located at Port Burwell on the shore of Lake Erie. See the Museum of Naval History.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Canadian submarines, Oberon class, Ojibwa, submarines

Naval Procurement Decoded

November 4, 2015 by Robert Mackay 1 Comment

In a recent “Forces With History” newsletter, which I reproduced as a blog post (November 2nd), several acronyms crept into the discussion. Some of these stumped me, I have to admit. Here’s a cheat sheet:
RCN–starting out easy, right? Royal Canadian Navy
JSS–Joint Support Ship, supposed replacements for HMCS Protecteur and Preserver.
AOR–Auxiliary Oil Replenishment; again, think Protecteur and Preserver.
AOPS–Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships
ASW–antisubmarine warfare
CSC–Canadian Surface Combatant (replacements for frigates and destroyers)
DND–Department of National Defence
PWGSC–Public Works and Government Services Canada
RFP–Request for Proposal
PD–Preliminary Definition(?)

Hope that helps!

Interested in my newsletter? Email me at bob.mackay@hotmail.com

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: destroyers, DND, frigates, RCN, submarines

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Canada’s Forgotten War: Korea, 1950-53

June 19, 2022 By Robert Mackay Leave a Comment

Covering the Bases

May 24, 2022 By Robert Mackay Leave a Comment

Ukraine Stands Fast (Dateline Feb 25, 2022)

February 27, 2022 By Robert Mackay Leave a Comment

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Forces With History" is published via email 1-2 times a month. It deals with issues of interest regarding Canadian armed forces, modern and historical. Please give it a try if so inclined--comments and feedback are always welcome!

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Contact Info

From saddles and spurs to periscopes and North-Seekers, Robert W. Mackay is an avid military, naval and wartime historian.

He is currently working on a mystery.

T: 604-541-9098
E: info@robertwmackay.ca

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