Battle of the Atlantic

The Battle of the Atlantic, from 1939 to 1945, was the longest continuous battle of the Second World War. Canada played a key role in the Allied struggle for control of the North Atlantic, as German submarines worked furiously to cripple the convoys shipping crucial supplies to Europe. Victory was costly: more than 70,000 Allied seamen, merchant mariners and airmen lost their lives, including approximately 4,400 from Canada and Newfoundland. During the Battle of the Atlantic, approximately 24 Canadian warships were sunk, and 62 Canadian merchant ships were lost. In total, 2,600 merchant ships were lost during this campaign, with a significant number of these being Canadian vessels.