The recent announcement that the Canadian government has selected a German manufacturer to build a dozen attack submarines for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has made some look to the past despite the project being one of the biggest leaps forward in Canada's naval history.Some have been struck with the irony that, over 80 years after RCN battled German U-boats for control of Atlantic shipping lanes, Canada is now looking to its former adversary to build its brand new subsurface fleet.Despite this historical irony, a man who knows more about German subs than likely anyone else in the country, says that the decision to choose a German manufacturer is probably the correct one.Captain Bill Wilson, 102, is a resident of Calgary and is, presumably, one of the last surviving veterans of the Battle of the Atlantic.Born in Winnipeg in 1924, Wilson was 18 when he joined the Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1942, as the battle to maintain the supply routes from North America to Britain was hitting its peak.For three years he served as a seaman-gunner onboard the HMCS Ottawa, hunting German U-boats, and was even present on D-Day, where he and the rest of the crew of the Ottawa were tasked with protecting Allied forces and ships as they landed on the beaches of Normandy..Despite his history of fighting the Germans, Wilson says he held no anger towards them, saying that the men he fought against were simply doing the same thing he and his comrades were, albeit in different uniforms."We felt sorry for those men; they were just doing their job, like us," Wilson remarked.It must also be assumed that this sorrow must've also been tinged with respect for German engineering and naval ability, as when asked about the federal government's recent decision to select a German manufacturer for the next Canadian submarine fleet, Wilson said it was a decision he was supportive of."As far as the submarines are concerned, the German U-boats were extremely hard to kill. The Germans make the best submarines; I think it's a good decision."It's harder to get a better endorsement than that from a man who would know firsthand the ability and strength of German naval engineering.The new subs are set to replace the Navy's four 70s-built Victoria-class submarines that have been, mainly due to their age, marred with operational issues.ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems will be the company responsible for building the ships at their shipyards in Kiel and Wismar on the northeastern coast of Germany.The RCN is set to receive up to a dozen Type 212CD attack submarines, with the first set to be delivered by 2036, with the government saying they could be delivered as early as 2034. The new fleet is expected to cost the government $24 billion with the expectation that the overall lifetime costs could be as high as $100 billion.
