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Interwar Years
Imperial Adventure: HMCS Thiepval

In 1924, one of the few ships in the post-First World War Royal Canadian Navy, the Battle-class trawler HMCS Thiepval, became the first Canadian warship to visit the Soviet Union and Japan when it provided support for a British attempt to fly around the world.

HMCS Thiepval's Lieutenants and the British Flight Crew, Petropavlovsk
HMCS Thiepval's Lieutenants and the British Flight Crew, Petropavlovsk

HMCS Thiepval's two lieutenants (left and second from right) pose with the crew of the British round-the-world flight attempt and their Vickers Vulture flying boat.

British and American attempts at round-the-world flights were significant events in 1924, and the participants were celebrities. Here, the British pilot, Flying Officer William N. Plenderleith (second from left) and signal-gun toting Squadron Leader A. Stuart McLaren (centre) are flanked by Thiepval's two lieutenants. The man on the right is most likely the third member of the Vickers Vulture's flight crew, flight engineer Sergeant W.H. Andrews.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19710050-001_104





HMCS Thiepval in Nazan Bay, Atka Island, in the Aleutians
12-Pounder Cannon, HMCS Thiepval
Coastal Schooner Everett Hays, Alaska
Red Army Guards aboard HMCS Thiepval
HMCS Thiepval Officers with Japanese Naval Lieutenant, Hakodate, Japan
Loading a Propeller, HMCS Thiepval
HMCS Thiepval Crew Members
Bruno the Brown Bear, HMCS Thiepval
Vickers Vulture Flying Boat in Petropavlovsk, Soviet Union
Soviet Soldiers and HMCS Thiepval Lieutenant
HMCS Thiepval's Lieutenants and the British Flight Crew, Petropavlovsk
The End of the Voyage