SS ''Caribou'' was a
Newfoundland Railway
The Newfoundland Railway operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow-gauge railway system in North America.
Early construction
]
In 1880, a committee of the Newfoundland Leg ...
passenger ferry that ran between
Channel-Port aux Basques, Port aux Basques, in the
Dominion of Newfoundland
Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westmi ...
, and
North Sydney, Nova Scotia
North Sydney (Scottish Gaelic: ''Suidni A Tuath'' or ''Am Bàr'') is a former town and current community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
Located on the north side of Sydney Harbour, along the eastern coast of Cape Breto ...
between 1928 and 1942. During the
Battle of the St. Lawrence
The Battle of the St. Lawrence involved marine and anti-submarine actions throughout the lower St. Lawrence River and the entire Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Strait of Belle Isle, Anticosti Island and Cabot Strait from May–October 1942, September ...
the ferry participated in thrice-weekly convoys between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. A German submarine attacked the convoy on 14 October 1942 and ''Caribou'' was sunk. She had women and children on board, and many of them were among the 137 who died. Her sinking, and large death toll, made it clear that the war had really arrived on Canada's and Newfoundland's
home front
Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin#During World War I, Zeppelin raids and endured Rationin ...
. Her sinking is cited by many historians as the most significant sinking in Canadian-controlled waters during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Construction
''Caribou'' was built in 1925 at
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, for the
Newfoundland Railway
The Newfoundland Railway operated on the island of Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow-gauge railway system in North America.
Early construction
]
In 1880, a committee of the Newfoundland Leg ...
.
Ceremonial ship launching, Launched in 1925, she produced and was able to reach a speed of when fully loaded. She also had steam-heat and electric lights in all of her cabins, which were a luxury at the time. Also, due to her ice-breaking design, ''Caribou'' also assisted during the
seal hunt
Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. Seal hunting is currently practiced in ten countries: United States (above the Arctic Circle in Alaska), Canada, Namibia, Denmark (in self-governing Greenland only), Ice ...
along the Newfoundland coast each spring.
Sinking
On 13 October 1942, ''Caribou'' was part of the Sydney-Port aux Basques (SPAB)
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
, organized by the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...
base . The SPAB series of convoys usually occurred three times a week, and was carried out in darkness. , a was the naval escort vessel on this ill-fated voyage.
The
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
submarine was also patrolling the
Gulf of St. Lawrence
The Gulf of St. Lawrence () is the outlet of the North American Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean. The gulf is a semi-enclosed sea, covering an area of about and containing about of water, at an average depth of .
...
. It was a dark evening, and the heavy smoke from ''Caribou''s coal-fired steam boilers silhouetted her against the nighttime horizon. At 3:51 a.m. Newfoundland Summer Time, on 14 October 1942, she was
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
ed approximately southwest of
Channel-Port aux Basques, Port aux Basques and sank five minutes later. ''Grandmère'' spotted the submarine and tried to ram her, but, ''U-69'' quickly submerged. Over the next two hours, the minesweeper launched six
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s, but did not damage the submarine, and ''U-69'' crept away into the Atlantic undetected. Following procedure, ''Grandmère'' then went back for survivors. In the days after the sinking, the Canadian naval vessel was criticized in the ''
Sydney Post-Record'' and ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' – as well as other media outlets – for not immediately stopping and helping save survivors; but that was against operating procedures, and would have placed the minesweeper in immediate danger of being sunk as well. After picking up survivors, ''Grandmère'' sailed for Sydney because it had better hospital facilities than Port aux Basques.
''Caribou'' was carrying 46 crew members and 191 civilian and military passengers. The ship's longtime
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, Benjamin Tavernor, was commanding the ship as she was struck, and perished along with his sons Stanley and Harold, who served as first and third officers respectively. Of the deceased, two were rescued at first, but they later died from exposure to the cold water. 137 people died that morning, and the passenger and crew totals were broken down as follows: of 118 military personnel, 57 died; of 73 civilians, 49 died; of the 46 crew members, 31 died. 34 bodies were found and brought to Port aux Basques by fishing
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
s
chartered by the Newfoundland Railway Company. To prevent rumours, the Royal Canadian Navy allowed the ''Sydney Post-Record'' and other media outlets to report the sinking, almost as soon as it happened, one of the few times that war censorship was temporarily lifted in this period. The sinking made front-page news in both
''The Toronto Daily Star'' and ''The Globe and Mail'' newspapers later that week.
Memorialized
In 1986, the
CN Marine
CN Marine was a Canadian ferry company headquartered in Moncton, New Brunswick.
History
CN Marine was created by parent Canadian National Railway (CN) in 1977 as a means to group the company's ferry operations in eastern Canada into a separate ...
/
Marine Atlantic
Marine Atlantic Inc. (french: Marine Atlantique) is an independent Canadian federal Crown corporation which is mandated to operate ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
Marine Atlantic's corporate hea ...
ferry was named after SS ''Caribou''. She plied the same route as the original ferry, travelling between North Sydney and Port aux Basques. On her maiden voyage, 12 May 1986, the ship stopped at the location where its predecessor sank. At approximately 5:30 a.m., survivor Mack Piercey, one of 13 survivors on board for the occasion, tossed a poppy-laden memorial wreath into the ocean and then the ship continued on to Port aux Basques to complete the voyage.
In 2014, as part of a special dedication service in the town of
Port Hawkesbury
Port Hawkesbury (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Chlamhain'') is a municipality in southern Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. While within the historical county of Inverness, it is not part of the Municipality of Inverness County.
History ...
's Veterans Memorial Park, SS ''Caribou''s passengers and crew were honoured. Part of the dedication service included the unveiling of the anchor from the decommissioned MV ''Caribou'' as a new feature for the memorial.
The Canadian Government announced that their new Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) was being named for a
Royal Canadian Navy Nursing Sister who was decorated for her bravery during the sinking of ''Caribou''.
Popular culture
* ''Caribou'' was featured on a 2¢ Newfoundland postage stamp in 1926.
* In the Canadian series ''
Bomb Girls
''Bomb Girls'' is a Canadian television drama that debuted on January 4, 2012, on Global and Univision Canada in Spanish. The plot profiles the stories of four women working in a Canadian munitions factory during World War II, beginning in 1941. ...
'', ''Caribou'' is mentioned to have sunk the previous day which gave the people of the home front a shock.
Notes
References
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External links
''Railway-Coastal Museum''''Canadian Military Heritage''
''The History of the Nursing Sisters of Canada''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caribou
Icebreakers of Canada
Ferries of Newfoundland and Labrador
Ferries of Nova Scotia
Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II
Naval history of Canada
Maritime incidents in October 1942
Shipwrecks of the Newfoundland and Labrador coast
Disasters in Newfoundland and Labrador
World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
Steamships of Canada