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Following the end of WW II hostilities two large Type IXC German U-Boats, U-889 and U-190, formally surrendered at sea to units (U-190 to HMCS THORLOCK & HMCS VICTORIAVILLE) of the Royal Canadian Navy. The white ensign flew from U-190′s mast at 0001 GMT 12 May 1945. The submarine was then were taken to Bay Bulls, Newfoundland. Both submarines were commissioned into the RCN for testing and evaluation.

On 1946-01-12 U-889 was turned over to the United States Navy and sunk by torpedo off of New England in 1947. U-190 was paid off by the RCN 1947-07-24

An operation designated “Exercise Scuppered”, a combined multi-ship and aircraft attack was planned for Trafalgar Day 1947-10-21. The object was to sink U-190 in a position about 50 miles south-east of Halifax, Nova Scotia near the position where she had sunk HMCS ESQUIMALT 1945-04-16 … the last Canadian warship to be lost during the war.

The exercise was supposed to start with RCN units: 826 Squadron Fireflies attacking the submarine with rockets; followed by 4.7 inch gunfire from Tribal destroyers HMCS NOOTKA and HMCS HAIDA; then 883 squadron Seafires were to drop 250 lb bombs; followed up by HMCS NEW LISKARD carrying out an anti-submarine mortar (hedgehog) attack.

However, the exercise did not come off quite as planned. The two destroyers, NOOTKA and HAIDA, had to abort the first run as NEW LISKARD, fouled the range. The second run at thirty knots was “delayed”, some present saying because the senior gunnery observer inadvertently leaned on the “Check Fire” bell-push on NOOTKA’s bridge. By the time the destroyers finally started to shoot, the aircraft were on target with their rockets and U-190 was already settling. The sinking honours went to 826 Squadron Fireflies (piloted by Lts. Jim Burns, Doug Ross, and Freddy Rice) but the surface and air components of the RCN have never , according to reports, completely agreed who sank her.

Here’s hoping the navy has better luck sinking HMCS HURON!

That distinction of being the last Canadian Naval vessel to be sunk by ‘friendly fire’ goes to HMCS KAPUSKASING who, after performing non-naval duties after WWII for several years, was returned to the Navy in 1972 and was expended as a target 1978-10-03. I’ve not seen and record of this sinking so I presume the Navy had better luck sinking her than they did with U-190. They must have kept Naval Air out of the exercise!

I don’t agree with how this is to be done, it should have holes cut in the hull, and explosives should be detonated to send her to the bottom.

We have already done this with several naval vessels, such as HMCS Columbia, Chaudiere, Yukon, Saskatchewan, and Saguenay, to name a few. However, this will be the first Tribal(Iroquois) class vessel that I am aware of, to suffer this fate, the rest are still in service.

Turtle