Canada's First Submarines ​ CC1 and CC2﻿

The Canadian Submarine Service was born in 1914 of crisis and opportunity, and of sheer daring by the premier of British Columbia. The birth was a complicated one - the boats departed covertly from Seattle in the dead of night and narrowly avoided being shelled by their own side. No naval band played "Heart of Oak," no flags or streamers fluttered in the breeze, and no crowd cheered when they came alongside in Esquimalt.



Canada's first submarines were originally built for the Chilean Navy by the Seattle Dry Dock and Construction Company under contract to the Electric Boat Company. When Chile reneged on her payments, the government of British Columbia bought them without federal authority. CC1 and CC2 arrived in Canadian waters south of Victoria, BC before daybreak on 5th August 1914, a few hours after World War One had been declared.



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