The submarine was assigned to the west coast in the home port of Esquimalt , British Columbia , and conducted training operations and patrols for three years . Together with , '' CC-1 '' and '' CC-2 '' were the only Canadian warships defending the west coast of Canada between 1914 and 1917 . Britain had tasked the defence of British Columbia to the Imperial Japanese Navy 's North American Task Force . In 1917 , the submarine was transferred to the east coast along with '' CC-2 '' and the submarine tender . Their transit through the Panama Canal was the first time a Canadian or British warship traversed the Panama Canal under the White Ensign . They arrived at Halifax , Nova Scotia for preparation to send the two subs to Europe . Deemed unsafe for transatlantic crossing , '' CC-1 '' was held in Halifax for coastal defence . While under repair at Halifax , the two submarines survived the Halifax Explosion unscathed . The Royal Canadian Navy then devised a plan to utilise the two subs in anti-submarine training for the surface vessels . The two subs finished the war as training vessels , not going on patrol again before the Armistice
Halifax Explosion
Halifax Explosion
HMCS CC-1