Interview with Captain (Ret'd) Steve Nichol: Canadian Maritime Patrol

Narrator: Captain (Ret’d) Steven Nichol Interviewer: Conor Standen Interview Date and Location 8 March, 2024, Victoria BC. Synopsis: The interview with Captain Steve Nichol begins with a discussion on his life growing up and his path to joining the RCAF. Next Captain Nichol discussed air navigation, the different responsibilities of the navigator and the responsibilities of the Maritime patrol during the Cold War. Once the duties had been laid out Captain Nichol discussed tracking submarines, aiding the fishery department in ensuring fishing laws were being followed, search and rescue operations and what a typical day in the Maritime Patrol looked like. Finally, Captain Nichol discussed the transition from the CP-107 Argus to the CP-140 Aurora aircraft, a review of his career and his reasoning for leaving the RCAF. 0:00 - 0:48 - Introductions 0:48 - 1:17 - Life growing up as the child of an RCAF member 1:17 - 1:36 - Reasoning for joining the RCAF 1:36 - 2:01 - Goals when entering the RCAF 2:01 - 2:37 - Knowledge of Maritime Patrol prior to Enlistment 2:37 - 3:15 - Reasoning for choosing to be a Navigator 3:15 - 3:45 - Skills needed to become a Navigator 3:45 - 6:26 - Types of Navigators on the aircraft and their responsibilities 6:26 - 6:50 - Years of service as a navigator 6:50 - 7:47 - Duties of the Maritime Patrol during the Cold War 7:47 - 9:04 - Frequency of submarine spottings during the Cold War 9:04 - 9:58 - Information gained from tracking submarine and reasoning for tracking 9:58 - 11:12 - Submarine tracking and witnessing a Crazy Ivan 11:12 - 12:04 - Witnessing Nato submarines closely following an oblivious Soviet submarine 12:04 - 13:07 - Tasks of the Maritime Patrol outside of Anti Submarine Warfare 13:07 - 14:34 - Fishery and pollution patrols 14:34 - 15:38 - Soviet spy vessels or Auxiliary gather of Intelligence vessels 15:38 - 18:34 - Rescue of French Sailor in the Atlantic Ocean and search and rescue success rates 18:34 - 20:51- A typical day for the Maritime Patrol 20:51 - 22:35 - Transition from the Argus to the Aurora and the Auroras effectiveness 22:35 - 23:20 - Canadian Maritime patrol and NATO exercises 23:20 - 24:10 - Negatives of the transition from the Argus to the Autora 24:10 - 25:50 Getting pilot wings and improving a squadron 25:50 - 27:49 - Comparison between time as a navigator and as a pilot 27:49 - 29:46 - Career regrets and evolving expectations 29:46 - 30:44 - Post Military career flying with the airlines 30:44 - 32:12 - Control issues and plane malfunction during routine takeoff 32:12 - 33:17 - Different challenges flying out of the various Maritime patrol stations 33:17 - 34:22 - Pacific submarine activity and comparison to the Atlantic 34:22 - 34:57- Final thought and reasoning for leaving the RCAF 34:57 - 35:32 - Conclusion

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Standen, Conor
• Nichol, Steven

Subject

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• Military history
• Armed Forces--Search and rescue operations
• Soldiers

Language

• eng

Identifier

• Interview #SC141_NS_912

Keyword

• NATO
• Atlantic
• Maritime Patrol
• Soviet Fishing
• Prince Edward Island
• Cold War
• Pacific
• Yves Lecronec
• Canadian fishing vessels
• Search and Rescue, Atlantic
• Anti-Submarine Warfare
• RCAF
• Soviet spy ships
• Air Navigation
• Nova Scotia
• Northern Patrols
• Comox
• CP-140 Aurora aircraft
• CP-107 Argus aircraft
• RCAF Pilot
• Auxiliary gather of Intelligence vessels

Date created

• March 8, 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

• 00:35:32

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

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

Archival item identifier

• Accession Number: 2025-002; Series 3; Item: 912

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/gdg3-1v64