1920s: A Fledgling Navy Struggles to Survive

CH14 and CH15

The 'H' class of submarines was originally designed in 1915, and were to be built in the US with some of the boats assembled in Canada. Two such craft were enroute to England when WWI ended, and were subsequently re-routed to Bermuda. In Jan 1919, they were presented to the Canadian Government and were subsequently commissioned into the RCN in Jun 1919.

The H-class were single hulled submarines with an overall length of 150', a beam of 16' and a draught of 12'. Their surfaced displacement was 364 tons and submerged they weighted in at 434 tons. Their Nelseco diesel engine gave them a surface design speed of 13 knots, with a radius of 1,600 miles at 10 knots. Submerged, they would reach speeds of 11 knots. Their armament consisted of 1-6 pounder gun and 4 bow mounted 18" torpedo tubes. Their crew complement was 3 officers and 20 ratings (NCMs).

With no real purpose to service, they lingered in Halifax for only two years before they became victims of the naval spending cuts announced 16 May 1922 which would leave only PATRIOT and PATRICIAN in commission. They were sold for scrap 5 years later.