Outposts in Gaspé [Editor's note. Information concerning coastal batteries in Fort Prével, Fort Haldimand and Fort Peninsula was culled from the report La batterie côtière de Fort Peninsula et le complexe défensif de la baie de Gaspé lors de la Seconde Guerre mondiale edited by Normand Lafrenière of the Canadian Parks Service. Quotations are also taken from this research paper.] Drawing showing the coastal defence of the Gaspé bay. From a report prepared by Normand Lafrenière of Parks Canada: La batterie côtière de Fort Péninsule et le complexe défensif de la baie de Gaspé lors de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, p. 73.   The Royal Canadian Navy The Fairmiles Bs The Canadian Army The Royal Canadian Air Force Today   In the summer of 1940, facing the threat of an attack on Great Britain, military authorities set out to find a port on the eastern seaboard to harbour the Canadian fleet. Gaspé Bay was chosen for its strategic location, allowing defence of the coast and adjacent waters while facilitating site defence. Anchorage was adequate and permitted harbouring of warships. This military complex had two principal functions: to provide a base for a port and military installations to ensure protection of the British fleet should it have to leave port, and to protect a small detachment of naval escorts attached to the HMCS Fort Ramsay naval base. The three military branches, army, navy and air force, had to work together to ensure adequate defence of the bay. The navy protected the entrance to Gaspé Bay, controlled maritime traffic in and out of the port of Gaspé and looked after patrolling and minesweeping. The army operated the three coastal batteries, an anti-aircraft defence system and, in case of ground attacks, furnished additional military strength. The air force, for its part, operated reconnaissance patrols over a large territory and would attack the enemy on land or in the air. Administration building at the Fort Ramsay naval base, Gaspé National Archives, Canada (PA-134329) The Royal Canadian Navy As soon as the shipping season opened in 1940 a few warships started patrolling the river sporadically. For example, the HMCS Bras d?Or was assigned to the Rimouski base as a minesweeper from June to mid-October of 1940. In October of the same year the HMCS Vison was the first ship to be assigned to the Gaspé base, but returned to Halifax in November when the river was closed to traffic for the winter season. In July 1940 a fleet of patrol ships was assigned to headquarters at Rivière-du-Loup to cover the river from Île-aux-Coudres to the westernmost point of Anticosti Island. This fleet was made up of the following ships: the Ambler, the Eileen, the Cleopatra and the Anna Mildred. When the shipping season opened in 1941 four armed yachts were assigned to Gaspé: HMCS Reindeer, HMCS Raccoon, HMCS Lynx and HMCS Vison. May 1st 1942 marked the official inauguration of the HMCS Fort Ramsay naval base in Gaspé. This base was located inside the point at Sandy Beach, on the banks of the bay, near Gaspé. This base included maritime defence, a fuel depot, jetties, ammunition stores, maintenance facilities, a launching cradle, a communications centre and a hangar and apron for seaplanes. At the time only one ship was moored there: the Venning. Construction of an underwater net to protect the entrance to the Fort Ramsay naval base, Sandy Beach and Penouille, September 1942. National Archives, Canada (PA-134334) Following the first torpedo attacks in the St. Lawrence, military authorities decided to reinforce defences in the Gaspé by creating the Gulf Escort Force to include seven corvettes, five Bangor minesweepers, three additional fairmiles motor launches joining the three already present, and an armed yacht. The number of ships assigned to the Gaspé base now totalled 19. In addition to patrolling and escorting convoys, these ships rescued survivors from torpedoed ships. The Naval Control Service situated in Quebec City had the task of organizing convoys in the St. Lawrence between the Bic Islands and Sydney, Nova Scotia. In August of 1942 a radar station was installed in Rimouski and two ships, the HMCS Madawaska and the CGS Jalobert, were assigned there also to escort convoys. In 1943, when the river was closed to transatlantic navigation, the Gaspé base was reduced in strength, with fewer minesweepers and Fairmile motor launches, and fewer military. Activities sprung up again during the shipping season of 1944 when U-boats returned to haunt the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but with no pressing threat present and the need for ships in the Atlantic theatre as the war drew to a close, it was decided gradually to close military installations. Possible ruins of an ancient military building at the Gaspé naval base. Naval Museum of Quebec   Cannon in Fort Prével. The grounds where the cannons are situated now belong to a hotel complex. Naval Museum of Quebec The Canadian Army Three coastal batteries, Fort Peninsula, Fort Prével and Fort Haldimand, assured the protection of the Gaspé naval base. Fort Prével served as an anti-aircraft battery, owing to its strategic location at the entrance to the bay and its huge artillery, largest in the Gaspé military complex. Fort Haldimand, outside the restricted area, served as an inspection and anti-aircraft battery to protect torpedo boats and launches. Fort Peninsula was assigned two roles: short-range defence and inspection battery. [...] Fort Peninsula had to see to the total application of rules concerning port entry, port exit and port manoeuvres of merchant ships in the port of Gaspé. The inspection of merchant ships took place at the edge of the restricted area. Warships had to report to the Port War Signal Station, a control post located at the entrance to Gaspé Bay. Fort Peninsula, a short-range defence battery, had as one of its missions to engage in short-range combat any hostile ship attempting to attack the port of Gaspé. In contrast to the other two coastal batteries, Fort Peninsula was equipped with a garrison composed of an artillery detachment known as Troop C of the 105th Coastal Battery as well as a small infantry unit some 30 strong. Also, two gun batteries were posted high on the mountain behind HMCS Fort Ramsay. Two more gun detachments flanked either of the naval base. The construction of permanent coastal defence installations began in April of 1941, to be completed in August of the same year. Thus, the defence of the Gaspé military complex was made up of permanent defence installations (coastal batteries, searchlights and underwater nets) and mobile defence (air and sea patrols). The military continued monitoring the bay of Gaspé until complete demobilization, on October 1st, 1944, of all installations serving as barracks. Gaspé, 1945 Quebec National Archives, Quebec Office du film du Québec series (E6, S7, P29218) The Royal Canadian Air Force Up until May of 1942 air operations in the gulf region were extremely limited, owing to the feeble enemy threat and the lack of resources. The only operational unit stationed along the gulf before 1942 was a detachment of the 5th Squadron, Supermarine Stanraer, operating from a makeshift base in Gaspé during the 1940 shipping season. Following the first submarine attacks in the St. Lawrence in the spring of 1942 the Eastern Air Command had to deploy. They took on the major part of the job, which was patrolling the waters, protecting convoys and submarine hunting. Two of the seven seaplanes belonging to the new 117th Squadron were sent to the Gaspé naval base to form a detachment. After the July 1942 torpedoing, three Hudsons from the 113th Squadron in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia as well as three more Hudsons from the 119th Squadron in Sydney, Nova Scotia were transferred to the air base at Mont-Joli for the remainder of the shipping season. Between May and October of 1942 the Eastern Air Command carried out 1590 air sorties over the gulf. Air coverage of the gulf was not really increased throughout the entire war. With its limited resources, the RCAF chose to concentrate efforts in zones where the enemy was most likely lurking. The air force nonetheless launched several attacks on enemy subs responsible for casualties in the waters of the St. Lawrence River and Gulf. During the 1943 shipping season, base headquarters in Gaspé also directed units of the Eastern Air Command operating in the gulf under the name "5th Group" or "Gulf Group." Air and naval forces operating in the gulf remained active throughout the summer, escorting convoys and responding to alerts. Throughout this world conflict it seems that there was very little coordination between the navy and the air force: no coherent plan of operations was ever devised.   Today Buoy used to support the underwater net Richard Chouinard collection The present remains of Fort Peninsula do not represent a clear picture of the network of installations set up during World War II. Now located within the confines of Forillon National Park, this coastal battery has kept its artifacts: guns, concrete strong room with powder magazines, armoury and shelters for guarding and maintaining the artillery detachment. Some of the World War II installations of Fort Prével are still in place. The two anti-aircraft guns and concrete bunkers are still in their original location, now on the grounds of a hotel complex. Certain residents of Gaspé also have in their possession objects reflecting defensive installations of the Gaspé Bay used during World War II. For example, Mr. Richard Chouinard has a buoy used to support the underground net placed between Sandy Beach and Penouille.