CDKW00574 - Additional Naval Commitments

By March 1953, the Korean conflict had scaled down considerably as the ceasefire held and negotiations proceeded slowly towards a peace agreement. In the meantime, United Nations Forces maintained long-term commitments in the region, hence requests like this one from the British Royal Navy, inquiring if Canada could spare some Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) squadron members to help staff British destroyers. Although Ottawa could not provide the numbers requested, the RCN did supply the 12 aircraft and 14 pilots it could make available to the Royal Navy. This commitment demonstrated a crucial aspect of the Korean conflict: lengthy negotiations and uncertainty surrounding heightened Cold War tensions necessitated keeping a fully-staffed army in the Pacific, even though it had been years since any substantial fighting had occurred along the Korean front.