Tin-Pots and Pirate Ships: Canadian Naval Forces and German Sea Raiders 1880-1918

by Michael L. Hadley, Roger Sarty

Michael Hadley and Roger Sarty shed new light on Canadian and German history -- and on Canada's naval defences in particular -- by exploring the naval operations and politics of both nations between 1880 and 1918. Beginning with Canada's feeling of "Splendid Isolation" and Germany's imperial ambitions against North America, the authors' intriguing and graphic account takes us from the early turmoil of federal politics in Canada to the conflict of the Great War and the eventual mothballing of the Canadian fleet. Having conducted an exhaustive study of Canadian, German, American, and British sources -- many of which have not been examined before -- Hadley and Sarty evaluate such major issues as policies and practice; intelligence schemes and spy scares; naval bills and the Dreadnought crisis; U-boats, commercial submarines, undersea cruisers, and surface raiders; and coastal patrols and convoy protection. Many factors that were believed to have been responsible for shaping -- and misshaping -- the Canadian Navy of 1939-45 are shown to have been in play during the First World War. Tin-Pots and Pirate Ships reveals the Canadian tradition of building a fleet only when needed, dismantling it once the conflict is over, and ultimately accepting terms dictated by alliance partners.

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada

424 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Michael L. Hadley is an award-winning writer, multidisciplinary scholar, yachtsman and former naval officer. He is the author of many books including God's Little Ships: A History of the Columbia Coast Mission (Harbour Publishing, 1995). He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Victoria, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and lives in Victoria, BC.

Reviews

[Heribert Feilitzsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

One would expect a dry military history, reserved for those of us who don't shrivel up in the heat of historical minutiae. Yet, this book is amazing: well written, despite the huge amount of research full of anecdotes and stories, and therefore captivating. The authors did lots of original research which produces some amazing twists to the "known chain of events." Great read!