Birth of the Navy (1909-1914)
HMCS Rainbow

One of the Naval Service of Canada's first two ships, HMCS Rainbow's duties included the training of sailors and maintaining a naval presence on Canada's Pacific coast. Small and inexpensive to operate, Rainbow was well suited to these purposes, but limited budgets still constrained the ship's activities.

14-inch Mark IX Torpedo

Torpedoes like this, capable of inflicting underwater damage to a ship's hull, complemented HMCS Rainbow's armament of guns.

Initially at the leading edge of weapons technology, by the time of Rainbow's transfer to Canada in 1910, these Mark IX torpedoes, produced in the mid-1890s, had been supplanted by newer types carrying more explosives farther and faster. This particular torpedo is of the same type as those used on Rainbow, but in 1916 was listed in Niobe's stores, where it was likely used to arm some of that ship's larger boats.

Torpedo, 14-inch Mk IX
CWM 19390001-075