Canada's Naval History

Home > Explore History > First World War (1914-1918) > War in the Pacific

Birth Of the Navy

First World War

Between the Wars

Second World War

Early Cold War

Later Cold War
- - From RCN to Maritime Command
  - A Changing Fleet

Navy Today
- - The Gulf War
  - Continuing Commitments

First World War (1914-1918)
War in the Pacific

At the outbreak of war in August 1914, only three obsolete ships and two recently-acquired submarines protected Canada's west coast. Canadians feared that German cruisers might attack merchant ships or bombard cities and towns. After these attacks failed to materialize, many vessels and personnel were transferred to the Atlantic to deal with the growing German submarine threat.

Commander Walter Hose, HMCS Rainbow

At the start of the First World War, Walter Hose commanded HMCS Rainbow, the first Canadian warship to put to sea as a belligerent.

In this photograph, likely on board Rainbow, the three stripes on Hose's cuffs indicate his rank of commander. Hose, who had commanded Rainbow since 1911, had transferred from Britain's Royal Navy to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 1912. Following the First World War, he shepherded the RCN through postwar challenges to its continued survival.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 20020045-2810