In the interwar years, poor economic conditions and a sense of security, engendered by the proximity of the United States and the traditional protection of the British Royal Navy, had resulted in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) being equipped with very few ships, especially for coastal defence. Upgraded to six destroyers just before the war, Canadian naval deployment gave priority to the North Atlantic convoy routes and responsibility which grew until the war's end when the RCN was the third largest allied naval power in the world, with 100,000 men and 400 vessels. The Royal Navy contributed two destroyers to the fight in October 1942 when attacks reached their peak.