'Now vertical, the ship seems to poise there a moment and then slips swiftly backwards, down into the encompassing waters with a sizzling hiss. The Tribal Class Destroyer disappears and darkness envelopes the sea and its survivors. Their ship, their home, their friend, is dead, sunk beneath the ocean she once ruled, to rest in its depths in a cold and watery grave. Only those trapped in her final moments keep her company.' At the outbreak of World War II, the Royal Canadian Navy consisted of just 13 warships and about 3000 permanent and reserve members. By the war's end, however, it had grown into the third largest navy in the world with 365 warships and more than 100,000 personnel.