1

Long range German U-boats gradually pushed the Atlantic battle zone west, with devastating results. Merchant vessels carrying much needed supplies to Britain, were being sunk in mid-ocean and in North American coastal waters at an alarming rate. It was evident that these vessels required a Naval escort from one side of the Atlantic to the other.The problem for the Allies was their vessels were largely short-range. The solution was to cross the Atlantic in stages. The plan called for merchant convoys to form up in Halifax and Sydney (US Ports were added later) from where they were escorted by Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) based in Halifax, to a meeting point off St. John's. There they were turned over tpo the Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF, later renamed the Mid-Ocean Escort Force) which took them to a point off Reykjavik, Iceland (later Londonderry), at which time the convoys were turned over to the British. The NEF refuelled at the eastern terminus and then escorted empty ships returning to North America. Off St. John's vessels were returned to the care of the WLEF, which escorted them to their final destination. In May of 1941 the first ships of the NEF arrived in St. John's and occupied the wharves on the south side of the harbour. St. John's would eventually become the home port for a significant portion of the Royal Canadian Navy along with a number of vessels from the Allies. At the height of the war, approximately 80 warships called St. John's their home port.