Summary
Highlights
The Cold War brought the constant fear of nuclear war, with air raid drills and the Cuban Missile Crisis as the closest the world came to a Third World War. Following WWII, Canada sought alliances, primarily with the United States, leading to the creation of NATO in 1949. NATO's collective defense principle quickly shifted its focus to deterring the Soviet Union, making anti-submarine warfare (ASW) a key element of Canada's defense plans.
By the late 1950s, tensions escalated as the Soviets developed technology to launch nuclear missiles from conventional submarines, capable of reaching Canadian soil. In 1961, the US attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro. In response, Castro and Khrushchev secretly agreed to place Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. Canada was tasked with monitoring most of the East Coast.
During the crisis, the Royal Canadian Navy played a leading role in ASW, collaborating with the US Navy to patrol the North Atlantic for Soviet ships, especially submarines. Sailor Mike Benson recounts his experiences patrolling for Russian submarines and fishing boats. Before the crisis, Canada focused on the North Atlantic's shipping lanes off Newfoundland, where most Soviet vessels were expected to pass.
The solution to hunting submarines was the revolutionary SOSUS (Sound Surveillance System), a network of hydrophones on the ocean floor developed by the US Navy in the early 1950s. This top-secret work of tracking submarines was largely entrusted to a specialized team of women from the Royal Canadian Navy, known as the Wrens. Wren Nicki Ruby and her team were stationed at NCSM Churchill, where the hydrophone cables were connected. They analyzed acoustic data on thermic paper, with specific patterns indicating the presence of nuclear submarines. Anti-submarine forces were instructed to act quickly if a submarine was identified.
On October 22, 1962, President Kennedy announced a naval quarantine on Cuba. Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker alerted Canadian forces on October 24 to prepare for deployment. Sailor Mike Benson was about to retire when the crisis hit. By late October, tensions eased as Khrushchev agreed to remove Soviet missiles in exchange for Kennedy's promise not to invade Cuba. The crisis ended in early November, though Canadian forces continued operations off the East Coast.
The Cold War lasted for decades, during which Canada gained a global reputation for excellence in ASW. The Wrens provided invaluable support, monitoring the Atlantic and securing borders, despite their contributions often going unrecognized due to the top-secret nature of their work. They operated in anonymity, with many not even discussing their roles with family, yet their work was deemed highly important for national security.