Battle of Bell Island
Battle of Bell Island | |
---|---|
Part of the Newfoundland | |
Result | Indecisive |
Newfoundland
Kapitän-Leutnant Friedrich Wissmann
Werner von Janowski
SS Saganaga
SS Evelyn B
SS Anna T
Flyingdale
SS Rose Castle
PLM 27
HMCS Drumheller
2 Fairmile fast motor boats
German submarine U-518
SS Saganaga(29 killed)
SS Evelyn B
SS Rose Castle (28 killed)
PLM 27 (12 killed)
In 1942, the
The German U-boat Attacks
On the night of 4 September 1942 The German boat, U-513, which was under the command of Kapitänleutnant Rolf Ruggeberg, followed the iron ore carrier Evelyn B to Conception Bay. There, they spent the night under twenty metres of water. The next morning on 5 September U-513 attacked and sank SS Lord Strathcona and SS Saganaga. A total of twenty-nine men who were all on Saganaga died. Right after the attack, U-513 left the fight following Evelyn B. On 2 November at 3 a.m., the waters off Bell Island saw a second attack, this time executed by U-518. Commanded by Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Wissmann, and she was at the southern end of Bell Island in an area known as “The Tickle,” also known as Wabana Anchorage. Over the course of an hour, she fired a torpedo at the 3,000 ton Anna T. It missed and went under SS Flydingdale which then exploded towards the loading dock. This explosion startled many in Bell Island. Wissman fired twice more. The torpedoes went straight towards SS Rose Castle, and the ship immediately sank, killing twenty-eight men with her. The Free French ship Paris Lyon Marseille 27 was also attacked, and right after she was hit, sank losing twelve men. After these shootings,
Aftermath
After all the attacks had happened, the result was indecisive. Many[quantify] Newfoundlanders[who?] witnessed the aftermath of the raids. Evidence of the battle persist to today.[when?][citation needed] Many[quantify] pictures were taken[by whom?] of the ruins from the battle. On October 13, 1942, the ship SS Caribou, departed from Sydney at 9:30 p.m. The next morning, U-69 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Ulrich Gräf, raided the vessel and she sank in the Gulf of St. Lawrence taking 137 people with her, including women and children.
References
- ^ Paul Collins. "Bell Island Sinkings". Retrieved Oct 28, 2019.
- ^ Collins , Paul W. “The Battle for Bell Island.” The U-Boat Attacks on the Bell Island Ore Ships in 1942, 2011,http://www.seethesites.ca/designations/the-u-boat-attacks-on-the-bell-island-ore-ships-in-1942.aspx Archived 2017-07-16 at the Wayback Machine