Guardians of the North

A comprehensive, fully illustrated survey of Canada’s warship and maritime aircraft acquisitions from 1910 to the present day.

Combining the talents of two of Canada’s foremost naval historians, this book fills an important void in the story of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and associated Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Maritime Aviation. An unprecedented chronological examination of when and why Canada procured its some fifty classes of warships and a dozen aircraft types over the past 120 years, and how it has employed and disposed of them, Guardians of the North does more than collect statistics on the specifications and characteristics of those vessels and aircraft — it also offers fresh insights into many previously overlooked themes, revealing trends and connections over the decades to the present day.

Karl Gagnon’s exceptional profile drawings and many rarely seen images complement Richard Gimblett’s engaging narrative history of the RCN and Maritime Aviation, making this the defining work on the ships and aircraft defending Canada today.