The title Tin-Pots and Pirate Ships reflects a common Canadian attitude during the First World War: Canada's "Tin-Pot Navy" was maligned while the "Kaiser's Pirates" were feared. Not since Gilbert Tucker's classic, The Naval Service of Canada, has there been so comprehensive a study of the origins of the Canadian Navy, and no previous study has examined those origins from the perspective of the Canadian Navy's response to the German threat.

Basing his study on some two-hundred-and-fifty German novels, memoirs, fictionalized histories, and films (including Das Boot), Michael Hadley examines the popular image of the German submarine and weighs the values, purposes, and perceptions of German writers and film makers. He considers the idea of the submarine as a war-winning weapon and the exploits of the "band of brothers" who made up the U-boat crews. He also describes the perceptions of the German public about the role of the U-boat in the war effort and the hopes that it carried for victory in two world wars against the Allied...

A collection of incisive essays emerging from the second Fleet Historical Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, A Nation's Navy documents for the first time the evolution of a distinctive Canadian naval identity. Contributors explore a wealth of pivotal issues: the popular perception of the Canadian navy, the navy as an instrument of national policy, the impact of various wars and conflicts, the navy as an expression of Canadian society, the distinctive role of women and the integration of francophone Canadians, and the future direction of Canadian naval policy. Contributors include Catherine...

The U-boats constituted a serious threat to North American security and a major challenge to coastal and convoy defense. Hadley reveals the military and political impact on Canada of in-shore submarine warfare and vibrantly documents the successful German strategy of deploying daring long-range solo sorties to pin down the enemy close to home.