During WWII, Canadian personnel manned the carriers
HMS Nabob (from 1943 until torpedoed in 1944) and
HMS Puncher (from 1944 until returned to the US in 1946), with their complement of
Royal NavyFleet Air Arm (FAA) carrier based aircraft. Canadian naval aviators including pilots of the RCN Volunteer Reserve also served in the FAA aboard carriers of the Royal Navy Pacific Fleet.
With the loan of
HMCS Warrior in 1946, the RCN received its first aircraft, operating
Fairey Firefly fighter-bombers and
Supermarine Seafire fighters loaned from the Royal Navy. When both aircraft and the ship failed to meet Canadian requirements,
HMCS Magnificent was purchased in 1948, along with
Hawker Sea Fury fighters and in 1950,
Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers.
From then until 1968, the RCN operated a variety of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. After the Canadian Forces sold off
HMCS Bonaventure in 1970, Canadian naval vessels operated only
Sea King helicopters. The
Trackers were transferred to land bases to perform coastal patrols, while the
Sikorsky HO4S plane-guard helicopters were retired, and other types still in service were allocated as per their RCAF equivalents.
Aircraft that remained in service after unification are highlighted in blue.
^102 RCN CS2F serial numbers were assigned. 99 Trackers built under licence by
de Havilland Canada were assigned RCN serial numbers 1502-1600 and used operationally. One US-built S2F-1,
BuNo136519, was obtained for manufacturing verification and was assigned RCN number 1500. In 1954, this aircraft was given serial number X-500 and was reassigned to operational testing. In 1956, it was upgraded to CS2F-1 standards and assigned serial number 1501, and was used as a stationary instructional airframe at
Shearwater until 1972.[11][12]
^Ex-
US Army, built as H-25A and transferred to RCN in May 1954,[19][20] modified and redesignated on delivery to conform to US Navy HUP-3 standards[21][22]
^Originally three HO4S-2 and ten HO4S-3; both remaining airworthy HO4S-2 aircraft upgraded to HO4S-3 standards in 1955-1956[25][26]
^Used by No.1 Naval Air Gunner School/743 Fleet Requirements Unit