HMCS Rainbow

HMCS "Rainbow" formerly HMS "Rainbow" was an "Apollo"-class protected cruiser built for Britain's Royal Navy by Palmers at Hebburn-On-Tyne in England. She was launched on the 25th of March, 1891 as HMS "Rainbow" and entered service in 1893. She would serve in China Station in Hong Kong from 1895 to 1898 and in Malta from 1898 to 1899. The cost of operating "Rainbow" was deemed excessive, and between 1900 and 1909 she saw very limited service. Most of her operations at this time were closer to England. During this time, she also saw a severe reduction in Fleet Support, resulting in minor modernization updates. Her crew rotation at this time was basically used as a training cycle. Eventually, she was not used at sea from 1907 - 1909 at all. In early 1909 the Admiralty ordered her decommissioned and placed on the Inactive List (Ships of the Line that were not in service).

Royal Canadian Navy service

HMS "Rainbow" was presented to Canada in 1910, and was recommissioned HMCS "Rainbow". HMCS "Niobe" and "Rainbow" were the two first ships of the Royal Canadian Navy that were purchased from the Admiralty. She entered Canadian service on May 4 1910. Her initial duties included training, ceremonial visits and fishery patrols. "Rainbow" served Canada's west coast from Esquimalt, British Columbia.

In 1914, the "Rainbow" was called to Vancouver to assist with an international incident that was unfolding. The "Komagata Maru", a ship filled with Sikh immigrants from India, challenged Canada's racialized immigration law designed to prevent immigration from South Asia. The ship's passengers were not permitted to disembark even though they were citizens of the British Empire. The "Rainbow" was sent to force the ship to return to India. Twenty of the passengers were killed upon returning to Budge Budge, India, after they resisted an attempt to forcibly return them to Punjab. [http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Komagata_Maru]

When World War I broke out, "Rainbow" was already underway on a mission to find and engage ships of the Imperial German Navy in the Pacific Ocean, in particular the SMS "Leipzig" and the SMS "Nurnberg". She never met either of these ships, although she missed the "Leipzig" by only a day at San Francisco. [citeweb |url=http://www.legionmagazine.com/features/canadianmilitaryhistory/04-05.asp#2 |title=The Original Rainbow Warrior |author=Marc Milner |date=May/June 2004 |publisher=Legion Magazine |accessmonthday=May 3 |accessyear=2007] This was to be "Rainbow's" first and only taste of peril.

In 1916 and early 1917, "Rainbow" was used to transport $140,000,000 in Russian gold bullion (valued in 1917 Canadian dollars) between Esquimalt and Vancouver. [citeweb |url=http://www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org/resource_pages/ships/rainbow.html |title=Ship histories: HMCS "Rainbow" |author=Clare Sugrue |date=2005-2006 |publisher=CFB EsquimaltNaval & Military Museum |accessmonthday=May 3 |accessyear=2007] This money was placed in trust with Canada by the Russian government for protection due to the impending Russian revolution.

The RCN found that the cost of operating "Rainbow" was using up too much of the West Coast naval operations budget, and the crew of the "Rainbow" was sorely needed on the Atlantic coast for the fight against the U-boats. The "Rainbow" was decommissioned and de-activated on May 8 1917, and her crew sent east. One month later, she was recommissioned in Esquimalt as a depot ship. She served in this capacity until 1920, when she was sold for scrap.

Post Royal Canadian Navy service

The ship's name was used again when the RCN acquired the "Tench"-class submarine USS|Argonaut|SS-475, which served from 1968 to 1974.

Commanding Officers

*CDR J.D.D. Stewart (RN) 4 August 1910 - 23 June 1911
*CDR Walter Hose (RN then RCN) 24 June 1911 - 30 April 1917
*CDR H.E. Holme (RCN 1 May 1917 - 8 May 1917
*LCDR J.H. Knight (RCN) 1 July 1917 - 21 August 1917
*CDR J.T. Shenton (RCN) 22 August 1917 - 12 May 1918
*LT Y. Birley (RCN) 13 May 1918 - 14 October 1919
*CAPT E.H. Martin, CMG, (RCN) 15 October 1919 - 1 June 1920

References

* Macpherson, Keneth R. and Burgess, John. (1982)(Second Printing)The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910-1981. Collins Publishers. ISBN 0-00-216856-1