U-Boats in the Royal Canadian Navy

U-190 and U-889 Surrender to Canada

Mar 28, 2009 Jason Gray

As the Second World War came to a close, a pair of German U-boats found themselves being commissioned into service with the Royal Canadian Navy.

In May, 1945, with the Third Reich in ruins, Germany's submarine command ordered all of its U-boats to immediately surface, and surrender to the Allies. Admiral Karl Doenitz further instructed that none of his commanders were to scuttle or destroy their boats, an order which many officers ignored.

The Sinking of HMCS Esquimalt

On April 16, the Bangor class minesweeper HMCS Esquimalt was patrolling off the coast of Halifax, when she was sighted by U-190, under the command of Hans-Edwin Reith. His U-boat fired a single torpedo, striking Esquimalt on her starboard side, immediately knocking out her power.

The ship was unable to radio for assistance, and the explosion sent most of the crew into the sea, where they remained for six hours before being rescued. Many died from wounds, or exposure, with only 27 men surviving from a crew of 71.

Esquimalt had the unfortunate distinction of becoming the last Canadian ship sunk during the war.

Germany's U-boats Surrender to Canada

When Doenitz's surrender order came, three boats were operating in Canadian waters. One of these was U-190, which had torpedoed Esquimalt a few weeks earlier. The others were U-889 and U-805, with the former being captured by the United States Navy.

Under the command of 26 year old Friedrich Braeucker, U-889 surfaced, and raised a black surrender flag. She was sighted by a passing RCAF Liberator, with her crew on deck waving at the airmen. The air force crew notified the navy of the submarine's location, and she was soon being escorted back to Bull's Bay, Newfoundland.

One day later, Oberlutenant Reith's U-190, surfaced. His crew jettisoned documents, ammunition and torpedoes, just before two Canadian corvettes intercepted the submarine. Canadian seamen raised the white naval ensign over her conning tower, and escorted the U-boat back to Bull's Bay.

U-boats Commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy

In June, both of the U-boats were commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy, becoming Canada's first submarines since the 1920's. The crews were interrogated, and sent to a POW camp near Gravenhurst, Ontario. Reith remained a prisoner in Canada for a year, later returning to Germany where he remained a POW, under British supervision, until 1947.

Following an examination of the two submarines, U-190 embarked on a summer tour of some cities and towns along the St. Lawrence, including Montreal, Quebec City, and Sydney. Upon returning to Halifax, the navy used her for training, until she was paid off in 1947.

Because of her acoustic torpedo's, U-889 was studied by Canadian officials, and she was later used for experiments by the navy. In January, 1946, she was transferred to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in nonoperational condition. The U-boat was then handed over the U.S. Navy

The Sinking of the U-boats

The Canadian Navy decided that U-190 would be sunk at the exact same location HMCS Esquimalt went down. October 21, 1947, Trafalgar Day, was the date selected to send her to the bottom.

Codenamed "Operation Scuttled", and with the media in attendance, two destroyers, a minesweeper, and a variety of Canadian naval aircraft battered U-190 with rockets and gunfire. When the first rocket struck, the submarine raised her bow into the air, and she slipped beneath the waves.

In New Hampshire, the U.S. Navy spent a year examining U-889 and conducting tests on her. Finally, she was sunk during a torpedo test off the New England coast, sliding beneath the waves with much less fanfare than U-190 a year earlier.

Sources:

U-Boats Against Canada: German Submarines In Canadian Waters, by Michael Hadley, McGill Queens Press, 1990

Heart of Oak, A Pictorial History of the Royal Canadian Navy, by J.A. Foster, Methuen Publications, 1985

Ten Years and Twenty Days. A Memoir, by Admiral Karl Doenitz, Nordon Publications.

The copyright of the article U-Boats in the Royal Canadian Navy in Canadian History is owned by Jason Gray. Permission to republish U-Boats in the Royal Canadian Navy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

White Ensign raised over U-190