Maritime Command TRIDENT, January 2, 1976
JANUARY, 1975
Maritime Forces Pacific are without a submarine. HMCS Rainbow was paid off at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 31.
On a chilly, blustery day the boat's crew formed up on the aft deck under the command of Lieutenant-Commander L.W. (Lloyd) Barnes. After prayers by Padre E.P.A. (Edward) Timmons, LCdr. Barnes ordered Petty Officer Second Class Donald McKerracher to lower the Canadian flag. Pipes were sounded, and the Rainbow officially ended her Canadian Service. The flag was presented to LCdr. Barnes as a momento of his command.
After a few words by LCdr. Barnes and the Commander of Maritime Forces Pacific, Rear-Admiral R. John Pickford, the men left the 30-year old boat for the last time. The Rainbow will never move under her own power again, and any movement of the boat will be by tug.
After a few days leave, the crew moved on to new duties. Most stayed at Esquimalt, either in surface ships or shore billets. A few were posted to east coast submarines. LCdr. Barnes left almost immediately for Halifax to take command of HMCS Ojibwa January 7.
The Rainbow was a former U.S. submarine of the "Tench" class, and had been commissioned as U.S.S. Argonaut in January 1945. She was sent to the Pacific theatre, where she completed one patrol before the cessation of hostilities. During her patrol, she rescued a downed Marine Corps fighter pilot, sank a 25-ton cargo junk, and bombarded a Japanese radio direction finder off the coast of Korea.
The Argonaut served with the United States Navy until December 2, 1968, when she was purchased by Canada for $150,000. Commissioned as HMCS Rainbow, she was assigned to MARPAC and since then has functioned mainly as a training submarine for the west coast destroyer squadrons and maritime patrol aircraft.
She was a busy submarine, developing her own crew's skills and the anti-submarine capabilities of the surface and air personnel through frequent local exercises and a large number of combined Canadian - U.S. exercises. Her days-at-sea record was always high and last June she passed the ten thousand mark in dives.
The Rainbow was a good boat. She will be sorely missed.