View source for SS Caribou

{{Short description|Ship}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{|{{Infobox Ship Begin}}
{{Infobox Ship Image
|Ship image          = Newfoundland SS Caribou-2d.jpg
|Ship caption        = Stamp depicting SS ''Caribou''
}}
{{Infobox Ship Career 
|Hide header         = 
|Ship flag           = {{shipboxflag|Newfoundland}}
|Ship name           = ''Caribou''
|Ship owner          = Newfoundland Railway
|Ship operator       =
|Ship registry       = 
|Ship route          = [[Channel-Port aux Basques|Port aux Basques, Newfoundland]] to [[North Sydney, Nova Scotia]]
|Ship ordered        = 1925
|Ship builder        = Goodwin - Hamilton S. Adams Ltd.  [[Rotterdam]], [[Netherlands]]
|Ship original cost  =
|Ship yard number    =
|Ship way number     =
|Ship laid down      =
|Ship launched       = [[Schiedam]] [[Netherlands]] 9 June 1925
|Ship completed      =
|Ship christened     =
|Ship acquired       =
|Ship maiden voyage  =
|Ship in service     = 1928–1942
|Ship out of service = 14 October 1942
|Ship identification =
|Ship fate           = Sunk by German [[U-boat]] in the  [[Gulf of St. Lawrence]], 14 October 1942 
|Ship notes          = 
}}
{{Infobox Ship Characteristics
|Hide header         =
|Header caption      =
|Ship class          =
|Ship tonnage        = {{cvt|2200|LT|MT|lk=on}}
|Ship displacement   = 
|Ship length         = {{cvt|265|ft|m}}
|Ship beam           =
|Ship height         =
|Ship draft          =
|Ship depth          =
|Ship decks          =
|Ship deck clearance =
|Ship ramps          =
|Ship ice class      =
|Ship sail plan      =
|Ship power          =
|Ship propulsion     =
|Ship speed          = {{convert|14.5|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship capacity       = {{cvt|3000|hp|kW|lk=on}}
|Ship crew           = 46 
|Ship notes          = Information about ship specifications from Gibbons (2006){{sfnp|Gibbons|2006|p=9}}
}}
|}

'''SS ''Caribou''''' was a [[Newfoundland Railway]] passenger ferry that ran between [[Channel-Port aux Basques|Port aux Basques]], in the [[Dominion of Newfoundland]], and [[North Sydney, Nova Scotia]] between 1928 and 1942. During the [[Battle of the St. Lawrence]] the ferry participated in thrice-weekly [[convoy]]s between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The {{GS|U-69|1940|6}} 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]]. Her sinking is cited by many historians as the most significant sinking in Canadian-controlled waters during the [[World War II|Second World War]].{{sfnp|Tennyson|Sarty|2000|pp=274–275}}

==Construction==
''Caribou'' was built in 1925 at [[Rotterdam]], the [[Netherlands]], for the [[Newfoundland Railway]].{{sfnp|Gibbons|2006|p=9}} [[Ceremonial ship launching|Launched]] in 1925, she produced {{convert|3000|hp|lk=on}} and was able to reach a speed of {{convert|14.5|kn|lk=in}} when fully loaded.{{sfnp|Gibbons|2006|p=9}} 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]] along the Newfoundland coast each spring.

==Sinking==
{{Location map | Newfoundland
| width = 300
| float = right
| alt = Map of Atlantic Canada
| label = SS ''Caribou''
| caption  = Site where ''Caribou'' sank in the [[Gulf of St. Lawrence]], 14 October 1942.{{sfnp|Helgason|2012}}
| position = right
| mark = Red pog.svg <!--red dot-->
| coordinates = {{coord|47|19|N|59|29|W}}
}}
On 13 October 1942, ''Caribou'' was part of the Sydney-Port aux Basques (SPAB) [[convoy]], organized by the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] base {{HMCS|Protector}}. The SPAB series of convoys usually occurred three times a week, and was carried out in darkness. {{HMCS|Grandmère}}, a {{Sclass|Bangor|minesweeper}} was the naval escort vessel on this ill-fated voyage.{{sfnp|Tennyson|Sarty|2000|pp=276–277}}  

The [[Nazi Germany|German]] submarine {{GS|U-69|1940|2}} was also patrolling the [[Gulf of St. Lawrence]]. It was a dark evening, and the heavy smoke from ''Caribou''{{'}}s coal-fired steam boilers silhouetted her against the nighttime horizon.{{sfnp|Tennyson|Sarty|2000|pp=276–277}} At 3:51 a.m. Newfoundland Summer Time, on 14 October 1942,{{sfnp|Tennyson|Sarty|2000|pp=276–277}} she was [[torpedo]]ed approximately {{convert|20|nmi|lk=in}} southwest of [[Channel-Port aux Basques|Port aux Basques]] and sank five minutes later.{{sfnp|Gibbons|2006|p=1}} ''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]]s, but did not damage the submarine, and ''U-69'' crept away into the Atlantic undetected.{{sfnp|Caplan|1987|pp=37–41}} Following procedure, ''Grandmère'' then went back for survivors.{{sfnp|Caplan|1987|pp=37–41}} In the days after the sinking, the Canadian naval vessel was criticized in the ''[[Cape Breton Post|Sydney Post-Record]]'' and ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' – 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.{{sfnp|Tennyson|Sarty|2000|pp=276–277}} After picking up survivors, ''Grandmère'' sailed for Sydney because it had better hospital facilities than Port aux Basques.{{sfnp|Caplan|1987|pp=37–41}}

''Caribou'' was carrying 46 crew members and 191 civilian and military passengers.{{sfnp|Tennyson|Sarty|2000|pp=274–275}} The ship's longtime [[Sea captain|captain]], 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.{{sfnp|Tennyson|Sarty|2000|pp=276–277}}{{sfnp|Lamb|1987|p=133}} Of the deceased, two were rescued at first, but they later died from exposure to the cold water.{{sfnp|Tennyson|Sarty|2000|pp=276–277}} 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.{{sfnp|How|1988|pp=108–109}} 34 bodies were found and brought to Port aux Basques by fishing [[schooner]]s [[Chartering (shipping)|chartered]] by the Newfoundland Railway Company.{{sfnp|Caplan|1987|pp=46–49}}  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.{{sfnp|Tennyson|Sarty|2000|p=278}}{{sfnp|Caplan|1975|p=25}} The sinking made front-page news in both [[Toronto Star|''The Toronto Daily Star'']] and ''The Globe and Mail'' newspapers later that week.{{sfnp|Toronto Daily Star|1942|p = 1}}{{sfnp|The Globe and Mail|1942}}

==Memorialized==
In 1986, the [[CN Marine]]/[[Marine Atlantic]] ferry {{MV|Caribou}} was named after SS ''Caribou''.{{sfnp|Morgan|2009|p=119}} She plied the same route as the original ferry, travelling between North Sydney and Port aux Basques.{{sfnp|Morgan|2009|p=119}} On her maiden voyage, 12 May 1986, the ship stopped at the location where its predecessor sank.{{sfnp|Caplan|1987|p=49}} At approximately 5:30 a.m., survivor Mack Piercey, one of 13 survivors on board for the occasion,{{sfnp|Caplan|1987|p=back cover}} tossed a poppy-laden memorial wreath into the ocean and then the ship continued on to Port aux Basques to complete the voyage.{{sfnp|Caplan|1987|p=49}}

In 2014, as part of a special dedication service in the town of [[Port Hawkesbury]]'s Veterans Memorial Park, SS ''Caribou''{{'}}s passengers and crew were honoured.{{sfnp|Post Staff|2014|p=A3}} Part of the dedication service included the unveiling of the anchor from the decommissioned MV ''Caribou'' as a new feature for the memorial.{{sfnp|Post Staff|2014|p=A3}} 
{{Military history of Nova Scotia}}

The Canadian Government announced that their new Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) {{HMCS|Margaret Brooke}} was being named for a [[Margaret Brooke (Canadian naval officer)|Royal Canadian Navy Nursing Sister]] who was decorated for her bravery during the sinking of ''Caribou''.<ref name = "Margaret Brooke">
{{cite web
 |author        = Department of National Defence
 |title         = New Royal Canadian Navy ship to be named after naval hero of SS ''Caribou'' sinking
 |url           = https://www.canada.ca/en/news/archive/2015/04/new-royal-canadian-navy-ship-be-named-after-naval-hero-ss-caribou-sinking.html
 |publisher     = Government of Canada
 |location      = Ottawa
 |date          = 13 April 2015
 |access-date   = 4 February 2021
 |archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20181117114534/https://www.canada.ca/en/news/archive/2015/04/new-royal-canadian-navy-ship-be-named-after-naval-hero-ss-caribou-sinking.html

 |archive-date  = 17 November 2018
 |url-status    = live
}}</ref>

==Popular culture==
* ''Caribou'' was featured on a 2¢ Newfoundland postage stamp in 1926.<ref name="SG">{{cite book | title=Stanley Gibbons Catalogue | publisher=Stanley Gibbons | year=1952}}</ref>
* In the Canadian series ''[[Bomb Girls]]'', ''Caribou'' is mentioned to have sunk the previous day which gave the people of the home front a shock.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==

*{{cite journal
 |last         = Caplan
 |first        = Ronald
 |author-link  = Ronald Caplan
 |title        = The Sinking of the 'Caribou' Ferry
 |journal      = Cape Breton's Magazine
 |date         = 1975-03-31
 |issue        = 10
 |pages        = 23–29
 |url          = http://capebretonsmagazine.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=302
 |access-date  = 2013-01-06
 |publisher    = Breton Books
 |location     = Wreck Cove, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
 |issn         = 0319-4639
 |archive-date = 17 October 2012
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20121017042643/http://capebretonsmagazine.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=302
 |url-status   = dead
}}
*{{cite journal
 |last         = Caplan
 |first        = Ronald
 |title        = Sydney Harbour in World War 2
 |journal      = Cape Breton's Magazine
 |date         = 1976-06-01
 |issue        = 13
 |pages        = 27–40
 |url          = http://capebretonsmagazine.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=417
 |access-date  = 2013-01-06
 |publisher    = Breton Books
 |location     = Wreck Cove, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
 |issn         = 0319-4639
 |archive-date = 22 September 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140922053415/http://capebretonsmagazine.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=417
 |url-status   = dead
}}
*{{cite journal
 |last         = Caplan
 |first        = Ronald
 |title        = Procedure Report of Bodies Brought to Port-aux-Basques from the Ill-Fated Vessel S.S. Caribou
 |journal      = Cape Breton's Magazine
 |date         = 1987-08-01
 |issue        = 46
 |pages        = 46–49
 |url          = http://capebretonsmagazine.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=2493
 |access-date  = 2013-01-06
 |publisher    = Breton Books
 |location     = Wreck Cove, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
 |issn         = 0319-4639
 |archive-date = 22 September 2014
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140922060753/http://capebretonsmagazine.com/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=2493
 |url-status   = dead
}}
*{{cite web
 | last        = Gibbons
 | first       = Henry K.
 | url         = http://www.visitnewfoundland.ca/sscaribou/chapter1.html
 | title       = The Last Voyage of the S.S. Caribou (October 13/14, 1942)
 | publisher   = Government of Newfoundland and Labrador 
 | location    = St. John's, Newfoundland
 | access-date  = 2013-01-12
 | year        = 2006
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130103104725/http://www.visitnewfoundland.ca/sscaribou/chapter1.html
 | archive-date = 2013-01-03
 | url-status=live
 }}
*{{cite book
 | last       = Hague
 | first      = Arnold 
 | title      = The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945
 | publisher  = Vanwell Publishing Ltd.
 | location   = St Catharines, Ontario
 | year       = 2000
 | url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=xHOwAAAAIAAJ&q=HMSC+Protector
 | isbn       = 978-1-861-76147-7
 }}
*{{cite web
 | last        = Helgason
 | first       = Gudmundur
 | title       = Caribou: British Steam Merchant
 | work        = Uboat.net
 | location    = Reykjavik, Iceland
 | url         = http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/2270.html
 | access-date  = 2013-01-13
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080720004645/http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/2270.html
 | archive-date = 2008-07-20
 | url-status=live
 | year        = 2012
 }}
*{{cite book
 | last       = How
 | first      = Douglas
 | author-link = Douglas How
 | title      = Night of the Caribou
 | publisher  = Lancelot Press
 | location   = Hantsport, Nova Scotia
 | year       = 1988
 | isbn       = 978-0-88999-410-2
}}
*{{cite book
 |last1       = Lamb
 |first1      = James B.
 |title       = On the triangle run
 |year        = 1987
 |publisher   = Totem Books 
 |location    = Toronto
 |isbn        = 978-0-00-217909-6
}}

*{{cite book
 | last       = Milner
 | first      = Marc
 | title      = Canada's Navy: the first century
 | edition    = 2nd
 | publisher  = University of Toronto
 | location   = Toronto
 | year       = 2010
 | url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=afOEdO8mh1gC&q=HMCS+Protector&pg=PA379
 | isbn       = 978-0-8020-9604-3
 }}
*{{cite book
 |last        = Morgan
 |first       = Robert J.
 |title       = Rise Again!: the Story of Cape Breton Island - Book Two
 |year        = 2009
 |publisher   = Breton Books
 |location    = Wreck Cove, Nova Scotia
 |isbn        = 978-1-895415-85-8
 |editor      = Ronald Caplan
 |editor-link = Ronald Caplan
 }}
*{{cite news 
 | author1     = Post Staff
 | title       = Special service to honour people who died aboard SS Caribou
 | url         = http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2014-07-10/article-3794631/Special-service-to-honour-people-who-died-aboard-SS-Caribou/1
 | access-date  = 2014-07-11
 | work        = Cape Breton Post
 | date        = 2014-07-11
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140714165728/http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2014-07-10/article-3794631/Special-service-to-honour-people-who-died-aboard-SS-Caribou/1
 | archive-date = 2014-07-14
 | url-status  = live
 | location    = Sydney, Nova Scotia
 | page        = A3 
}}
*{{cite book
 | last1       = Rohwer
 | first1      = Jürgen
 | last2      = Hümmelchen
 | first2     = Gerhard
 | title      = Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945
 | others     = Derek Masters (trans.)
 | edition    = 2nd revised, expanded
 | publisher  = Naval Institute Press
 | year       = 1992
 | location   = Annapolis, Maryland 
 | isbn       = 978-1-55750-105-9
 }}
*{{cite book
 | last       = Sarty
 | first      = Roger F.
 | title      = War in the St. Lawrence: The Forgotten U-boat Battles on Canada's Shores
 | year       = 2012
 | publisher  = Allen Lane
 | location   = Toronto
 | isbn       = 978-0-670-06787-9
 }}
*{{cite book
 | last1       = Tennyson
 | first1      = Brian Douglas
 | last2      = Sarty
 | first2     = Roger F.
 | title      = Guardian of the Gulf: Sydney, Cape Breton, and the Atlantic wars
 | year       = 2000
 | publisher  = University of Toronto Press
 | location   = Toronto
 | isbn       = 978-0-8020-4492-1
 | url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=R2VUEea282QC&q=Guardian+of+the+Gulf+:+Sydney,+Cape+Breton,+and+the+Atlantic+wars&pg=PP1
 }}
*{{cite news
 | title     = Only Child Survivor
 | newspaper = The Globe and Mail
 | date      = 1942-10-19
 | location  = Toronto
 | page      = 1
 | ref       = {{harvid|The Globe and Mail|1942}}
}}
*{{cite news
 | title     = 16 Women, 14 Children Among 137 Lost on Torpedoed Ferry
 | newspaper = The Toronto Daily Star
 | date      = 1942-10-17
 | location  = Toronto
 | page      = 1
 | ref       = {{harvid|Toronto Daily Star|1942|ps=Large Headline}}
}}
*{{cite book  
 | last      = van der Vat
 | first     = Dan 
 | title     = The Atlantic campaign: the great struggle at sea, 1939–1945
 | publisher = Hodder & Stoughton 
 | year      = 1988
 | location  = London
 | isbn      = 978-0-340-37751-2
 }}

==External links==
* [http://www.cmhg.forces.gc.ca/cmh/en/page_668.asp ''Canadian Military Heritage''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311091719/http://www.cmhg.forces.gc.ca/cmh/en/page_668.asp |date=11 March 2007 }}
* [http://www.iosphere.net/~sullivan/caribou.htm ''Paper on topic''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991222152036/http://www.iosphere.net/~sullivan/caribou.htm |date=22 December 1999 }}
* [http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=history/other/Nursing/sisterhist3 ''The History of the Nursing Sisters of Canada'']

{{coord|47|19|N|59|29|W|display=title}}
{{October 1942 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caribou}}
[[Category:Icebreakers of Canada]]
[[Category:Ferries of Newfoundland and Labrador]]
[[Category:Ferries of Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II]]
[[Category:Naval history of Canada]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1942]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Newfoundland and Labrador coast]]
[[Category:Disasters in Newfoundland and Labrador]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
[[Category:Steamships of Canada]]