Interview with Colonel (Ret'd) Ernest Cable: Canadian Maritime Patrol

Narrator: Colonel (Ret’d) Ernest Cable Interviewer: Conor Standen Interview Date and Location 6 March, 2024, Victoria BC. Synopsis: The interview with Colonel Ernest Cable begins with a description of his life growing up before joining the armed forces and his aspirations when joining the armed forces. Next Colonel Cable describes the duties of the air navigator and his education path that led him to become an air navigator. Colonel Cable then describes the duties of the Maritime Patrol during the Cold War including anti-submarine warfare, monitoring fishing vessels and search and rescue. Additionally Colonel Cable discussed the spotting of Soviet spy ships, Canada’s involvement in NATO exercises, his role in the transition from the CP-107 Argus to the CP-140 Aurora aircraft and ends the interview with a reflection on his career in the RCAF. 0:00 - 0:40 - Introduction 0:40 - 1:34 - Life growing up as a son of an RCAF member, education and airforce ambitions 1:34 - 2:23 - Aspirations for the RCAF and the choice to become a navigator 2:23 - 2:53 - Knowledge of the Maritime Patrol before enlistment and overall RCAF knowledge 2:53 - 3:57 - Duties and responsibilities of the navigator aboard the Maritime Patrol 3:57 - 5:09 - Education path to becoming an air navigator 5:09 - 5:56 - Years as an air navigator 5:56 - 7:27 - Duties and responsibilities of the Canadian Maritime Patrol during the Cold War 7:27 - 11:14 - Submarine spotting regularity, protocol once they had been spotted and the threat submarines posed North America 11:14 - 14:57 - Regularity of monitoring Fishing vessels and soviet spy ships 14:57 - 16:24 - Monitoring domestic Canadian fishing vessels 16:24 - 19:03 - Search and rescue and the benefits of the Argus over the Aurora 19:03 - 19:48 - Time spent on the Argus compared to the Aurora and career history 19:48 - 24:55 - The creation of the Aurora and the challenges that arose with the new aircraft 24:55 - 26:54 - Nato exercises, cooperation and Canada's area of responsibility for surveillance 26:54 - 28:19 - Ernest’s role in the creation of the Aurora and preference on aircraft 28:19 - 29:52 - Atlantic Maritime patrol abilities, Auroras abilities and the respect NATO had for Canadian Maritime Patrol 29:52- 35:13 - Career reflections, time in American and time as the deputy commander of RCAF air group in charge of Maritime patrol

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Standen, Conor
• Cable, Ernest

Subject

• Military history
• Military education
• Soldiers
• Cold War (1945-1989)
• Canada. Royal Canadian Air Force
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Language

• eng

Identifier

• Interview #SC141_CE_910

Keyword

• Anti-Submarine Warfare
• CP-107 Argus aircraft
• CP-140 Aurora aircraft
• 404 Squadron
• Greenwood
• Royal Roads
• RCAF
• Soviet spy ships
• NATO
• Maritime Patrol
• Nova Scotia
• Canadian fishing vessels
• Cold War
• Search and Rescue, Atlantic
• Air Navigation
• Soviet Fishing

Date created

• March 6, 2024

Relation

• Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews (HIST 426, 2024).

Resource type

• Moving Image

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 00:35:13

Alternative title

• Canadian Maritime Patrol

Geographic Coverage

• Nova Scotia

Coordinates

• 45.00015, -62.99865

Physical Repository

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Genre

• oral histories (literary genre)
• interviews
• reminiscences
• video recordings (physical artifacts)

Archival item identifier

• Accession Number: 2025-002; Series 3; Item: 910

Fonds title

• Military oral history collection

Fonds identifier

• SC141

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection

Technical note

• Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2024. Recorded in digital format by interviewer. Keywords supplied by interviewer. Metadata by KD.

Rights

• This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca

DOI

•  https://doi.org/10.58066/xxj6-cs75