The Rainbow. A World War One on Canada's West Coast Timeline
- Thread starter YYJ
- Start date
Driftless
Donor
Thanks for the photos. We had been given the specs of the submarines earlier, but my mental picture of them had been of a craft barely larger than the Holland submarine of a decade or so earlier. While the CC1 &2 aren't big by any means, they're bigger than I thought.
Hip hip hooray! The actions of the Rainbow and her valiant crew will go down in history, never to be forgotten.
No word on the Government of Canada Reaction yet, other than the military reaction.
The US Navy and Revenue Cutter Service have been quite consistent in saying "Keep this $%^&**! thing out of our waters!"
Driftless
Donor
I would imagine, under the circumstances, some of the US press on the boats hovering near the invisible borderline got some memorable photos - they would have had plenty of good opportunities. And let's not forget our intrepid aviatrixes and what could be some iconic photos from above.
The US press would have this as front-page news in virtually every major paper, and I'd imagine soon the stories and photos go international.
The US press would have this as front-page news in virtually every major paper, and I'd imagine soon the stories and photos go international.
I've been rereading this and it made me ponder, whatever happened to some of the characters from the beginning of the timeline, such as when the submarines were being acquired. For example, where are Captain WH Logan, Lieutenant Pilcher, and Sub-Lieutenant Brown during the raids on Victoria and Vancouver?
Pilcher was dismissed from his position at Esquimalt due to his heavily deteriorated mental state, Logan is off doing his own thing and Brown is currently aboard the captured German liner Saxonia, acting as a hospital ship in Bamfield.
Welp the RCN in this timeline has the legend upon which it can build it's own identity. The Rainbow and the C-2 and much of their crews paid with their lives to do this but they gave their lives for a cause worth fighting for
Nick P
Donor
I wonder what Westminster and the Royal Navy are saying at home about the utter lack of defense for Canada while there is a huge fleet in being all around the UK?
Somebody is surely drawing up plans for a squadron of destroyers, even second rate ones, to form a Canada Protection Patrol.
Every port in the British Empire will be looking to their own defences and plotting out where to site a gun battery or three which will have an impact on how many guns get to the Western Front.
Somebody is surely drawing up plans for a squadron of destroyers, even second rate ones, to form a Canada Protection Patrol.
Every port in the British Empire will be looking to their own defences and plotting out where to site a gun battery or three which will have an impact on how many guns get to the Western Front.
ferdi254
Banned
Judging from the posts here Canada did spend a crazy amount of money and ressources on coastal defenses OTL. Crazy for the very obvious reason that after Spee was sunk the Germans could hardly get any ship to that coast.
Also OTL the USA did spend an amount of money and ressources that was crazy and only they could afford to defend against Japanese attacks.
So ITTL there will be an utterly insane amount of money and ressources spent on coastal defenses and nobody will dare speaking up against this.
This might turn out to be even more damaging to the Entente war effort as the direct damage done (even though this is bad enough already) as the UK cannot afford a spending spree as the USA could some 28 years later.
Also OTL the USA did spend an amount of money and ressources that was crazy and only they could afford to defend against Japanese attacks.
So ITTL there will be an utterly insane amount of money and ressources spent on coastal defenses and nobody will dare speaking up against this.
This might turn out to be even more damaging to the Entente war effort as the direct damage done (even though this is bad enough already) as the UK cannot afford a spending spree as the USA could some 28 years later.
Driftless
Donor
I could see demands for warships at every rinky-dink port with a local colonial official trying to show his importance. Maybe some more of the old pre-dreads and AC's might get farmed out than were in history?
@RelativeGalaxy7 is correct here, of course.
Lieutenant Pilcher seems to have disappeared from history OTL. I can feel no no record of his whereabouts after he had his nervous breakdown. He did play a critical role in acquiring the submarines OTL and ITTL.
Logan’s point of view is not needed for the storytelling any more.
We may meet Sub Lieutenant Brown again. Soon.
There are a few point-of-view characters who only appear once, then are not seen again after their perspective falls off the timeline. There was a miner at Anyox fermenting a counter attack against the Germans. And Jorkki Hekkannen in Ladysmith, (one of my favourite characters) drinking on his porch while Princess Charlotte laid waste to the harbour. Perhaps others that elude me now.
Driftless
Donor
Another source of (alternative) historical reporting here would be any Vancouver/Esquimault area newspaper reporters and any amateur or professional photographers who think to put their equipment to work recording what they're seeing. More likely than not, their view is going to be what's happening in the short radius of what they can see in the immediate vicinity - but that shortened view could be quite a powerful story.
By comparison to our history, think of those iconic photos of London firefighters during the BoB and the Blitz
By comparison to our history, think of those iconic photos of London firefighters during the BoB and the Blitz
And then, an ammunition ship explodes in port and everyone dies forgotten...
Honestly, best case for the RN and Canada would be canada investing in Light cruisers. The RN had such a ridiculous cruiser need for the next few decades that a dominion building say, a dozen(!) Could really give them assistance. Meanwhile, it allows Canada to have exorbitantly well protected coasts given her threats, and it doesn't piss of the Americans by building something that could be seen as threatening.
Thank you YYJ for this tale of courage and bravery! This is my weekly read on this forum for the last months and I can say it was worth it. Great stuff!
A surface raider coming down the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the beginning of 1941 would have faced a couple of 9.2” guns on 30 degree mounts in a much better location, and a pair of 8” railway guns on barbette mounts that could reach to the American side of the Strait, before they came in range of the 5 modern 6” guns. This was all on the Canadian side of the Strait.
The Americans had a bunch of Endicott period forts around Seattle rivalling the defences of Manila.
By mid war the Canadians had added a third 9.2” gun and 3 more modern 6” guns with ranges of like 24k yards. The Americans had added 2 x 6” and 2 x 16” guns west of Port Angeles.
Vancouver and Prince Rupert each started World War 2 with a few 6” batteries and some smaller anti torpedo boat batteries that would have made the events in this story impossible. Prince Rupert had a pair of 8” guns at the start of the war as well.