Royal Canadian Mint Issues Battle of the Atlantic $2 Coin

The Royal Canadian Mint is issuing a $2 coin commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic. This will go into circulation. For a limited time the mint is offering a set of five uncirculated coins for $10.

Details and ordering information are on the Mint's web site. Since I expect that web page to expire at some point I am going to quote from it below in order to preserve the information.

The Battle of the Atlantic

The Battle of the Atlantic raged for six arduous years, from the earliest days of the Second World War to the final hours of the conflict in Europe. Sir Winston Churchill called it “the dominating factor all through the war.”

Sailors in both the Royal Canadian Navy and Canada’s Merchant Navy played an indispensable role in this battle, aided from the sky by the Royal Canadian Air Force. They transported, and defended, Canadian men and women, and vital supplies, across the treacherous North Atlantic.

Thousands of Canadians gave their lives in what would become the longest battle of the entire Second World War—all to ensure vital troops and provisions continued to reach Great Britain and Europe.

Victory was hard-won. In the first years of the war, German “wolf packs”—groups of ship-hunting submarines, or U-boats—took a devastating toll on Allied ships, sinking hundreds. Some attacks took place within view of Canada’s East Coast, and U-boats were even operated in the St. Lawrence River.

Our country responded by expanding its navy from less than a dozen ocean-going ships to more than 250, and from 3,500 personnel to more than 100,000. Our shipyards clanged with frenzied production, churning out hundreds of ships and thousands of landing craft during the war’s final four years.

Canada’s vital contribution and the bravery and skill of her sailors earned Rear Admiral Leonard Murray the role of leading the Allies’ endeavours in the Northwest Atlantic from 1943 to the end of the war. It was the only time during the Second World War that a Canadian held such a command.

The Royal Canadian Mint is proud to honour the courage and sacrifice of those who served in the Battle of the Atlantic. With this special 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic $2 coin, we continue our long tradition of paying tribute to the men and women who have served our country.

A Sailor Aboard a Canadian Warship

A watchful sailor presses his eye to the viewfinder of his anti-aircraft gun, scanning the skies for threats while unforgiving seas roll by below.

In dramatic detail, 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic $2 commemorative circulation coin pays tribute to the men and women who served and supported the Allied war effort in the North Atlantic.

The central image of the coin design—a sailor aboard a Canadian warship—is accompanied by the depiction of two other Canadian vessels in the distance while a Bristol Beaufighter flies overhead.

November 2016 Meeting

Capital Marine Modellers' Guild's next meeting at the Nepean Museum, 16 Rowley Avenue, Nepean will happen on November 1, 2016 at 7 p.m. Long range forecast calls for a high of 11°, low of 3° on that day. Bring out your show and tell items.

This is a 1:30 scale metal and wood model of a "32 pound long gun" which would have been seen on capital sailing warships at the time of Admiral Nelson, and would not have been phased out until breech loaders and rifled barrels were invented. This could be English or French and possibly have seen action at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. A common gun of this designation had a 155mm calibre; and with a full charge of about 5 kg could fire up to 14.5 kg of projectile to an extreme range of less than 1800 metres. The barrel weighed about 3 tonnes, and the carriage another half tonne.

CONTAINER SHIP "CARTIER"

This is an unknown-scale plastic model kit of the "Dong Fang", an "Oriental Electric Powered Container Vessel" by ZT Model of China (ztmodel.com). It is about 300mm long. I renamed it the "Cartier".
All of the containers come individually, but are moulded in six colours. I painted them the same colours and weathered and rusted them. The water line white boot-topping has been lightly weathered and rusted, as has the bow and area near the screw. all paint is Tamiya acrylic. All small windows were filled with clear cement, and the large windows on the bridge are made with sheets of clear plastic. I built a square funnel to replace the open-topped round funnel in the kit. I added four smoke stacks on top of the square, and put a maple leaf on both sides. A tiny radar dish has been added to the rear antenna array. The most detailing I did was to add photo-etch railings to the superstructure and stairs. This was experimental and a good way to learn without ruining a valuable kit. The decals were only stickers, so I replaced them with decals from IPMS Canada which were for Canadian armoured units. I added a paper flag to the bow (under pilot), and a red ensign to the stern. It was a fun kit, but far from accurate.