HMCS St. Thomas - K488
K488, was a Castle Class corvette, laid down in June of 1943 for the Royal Navy as HMS Sandgate Castle; but brought into the Canadian Navy with funds raised by the citizens of St. Thomas, Ontario (at that time a city of fewer than 18,000 people). On May 4, 1944, she was re-commissioned as H.M.C.S. St. Thomas. Appropriately, five men from St. Thomas were amongst her crew along with more than a dozen from Elgin County. Her primary tasking was to escort the convoys across the North Atlantic. However, on December 27, 1944, fate had something else in store. Click on the following links to learn more about HMCS St. Thomas and other stories about the men and women of Elgin County who served in the Navy.
|
The Calm Before the Storm
0 November 1944 [...] Our last voyage was like the previous ones in every way, with no excitement of any kind; the first three days were miserable, with the ship rolling 35 to 40 degrees continually; but everything got back to rights, and we then had a week of hot weather. [...] We now have a piano on the boat, so there's a sing-song every night in the mess; we also have a movie projector for the men, which [we] use three or four times on each crossing; we have even reached the point of exchanging films right at sea, from one boat to another. [...] 17 December 1944 [...] No change for Christmas, which we will be spending elsewhere than in the last few years; we'll be having our celebration on the 21st, so that everyone can recover before our departure. It will be in keeping with naval customs; the youngest seaman on board will become captain for a few hours, the second youngest will become the first lieutenant; then there's the captain's round by the temporary captain, with our commanding officer acting as coxswain etc.; as for me, I am inheriting, for the occasion, the position of quartermaster on the bridge to present arms. Obviously, we exchange uniforms for this occasion. I am saving for you a portrait of me as a seaman. Everything winds up with a round for everyone, at our expense, in the Mess. |
Stanislas Dery, Naval Officer, HMCS St. Thomas
Stanislas Dery Collection, Quebec Naval Museum |
Note: This video begins in French and then it is translated into English.
|
One Never Forgets Such Moments
"Suddenly, in the splashing of the waves and eddies, we saw men's heads emerge like corks on the black, icy Greenland sea. They were all quite close to us and were paddling desperately. We heard them shouting. We sensed their distress. One never forgets such moments. In the face of imminent death, one no longer sees the enemy. One only thinks about the man who is there before one, who is desperate and whose fate has been providentially left in one's hands. At that precise moment, the fury of war had to give way to compassion, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Forgetting about the war, we attempted at once to save as many survivors as possible...." Pages 446 - 447
Excerpt from La belle histoire d'une sale guerre, drawn from Occasions de bonheur by Alain Stanké, published in Montreal by Éditions internationales Alain Stanké in 1993 (490 p.)
The only occasion of the sinking of a U-boat when all the crew survived. Above: Survivors of U-877 Dec.27, 1944.
View from HMCS Sea Cliff
"Apparently, it was the St. Thomas's squid that sank the submarine. [...] There were five combat ships, but we (HMCS Sea Cliff) were with the St. Thomas for that operation; we assisted the St. Thomas with it. When U-877 surfaced, the crew of the Sea Cliff began firing. Seeing that the submarine was too heavily damaged, its crew abandoned ship."
The Survivors from U-887 "The survivors were not picked up immediately, because the Allied ships didn't know what the German crew had done with the submarine. After about two hours, the Sea Cliff launched a lifeboat and threw rope ladders over the side of the ship so that the survivors could climb aboard. The Sea Cliff picked up 21 German submariners, accommodating them in the stoker mess at the bow of the ship. They all went to the sick bay for a medical examination and then were given clothing from the Red Cross: a sweater, underwear, trousers and tuque. Those who were covered with oil took a shower. Aboard each submarine, there was a guy from the Gestapo, I suppose to make sure that the crew behaved well and properly. I had a rosary that my mother had given me, and I kept it in my coat. At one point, a young German asked me for my rosary. I left it to him and he took it. The political officer arrived, gestured to the young German and spoke to him in German. I presume that he told him to keep away from the Canadian crew members. After two or three days, this political officer was set apart from the other survivors. Apparently they were very pleased with this action. |
Above: Breathing lung from U-877 at the Elgin Military Museum. Below: HMCS Sea Cliff
|
I looked after the routine for the Germans; for example, organizing their meals and supervising the dish washing. They all had hammocks and slept on leather cushions we had on our lockers. They were given blankets and they slept on them. Some slept on the floor, but it was very, very clean."
"When they went to the toilet, we had to escort them. At one point, during the night, a German wanted to go to the toilet. I don't know whether the hatch was closed or what, but we had a guard with a small [?] gun above, who was supposed to supervise the comings and goings of the survivors. As the guard was asleep, the German woke him up to go to the toilet. The guard was punished for negligence. When they went to the toilet there was a map that covered the porthole, but they could still see a bit through the map and tell where the ship was headed. At the beginning, they thought they were going to Canada and were very happy. But when they arrived in Scotland, they were not well received by the seamen of the British Royal Navy or by the civilian population."
Excerpts from an interview with Jules Blais in Québec, 24 November 1995. Initiative of the Québec Naval Museum. Interviewers: Linda Croteau and Fabrice Mosseray.
"When they went to the toilet, we had to escort them. At one point, during the night, a German wanted to go to the toilet. I don't know whether the hatch was closed or what, but we had a guard with a small [?] gun above, who was supposed to supervise the comings and goings of the survivors. As the guard was asleep, the German woke him up to go to the toilet. The guard was punished for negligence. When they went to the toilet there was a map that covered the porthole, but they could still see a bit through the map and tell where the ship was headed. At the beginning, they thought they were going to Canada and were very happy. But when they arrived in Scotland, they were not well received by the seamen of the British Royal Navy or by the civilian population."
Excerpts from an interview with Jules Blais in Québec, 24 November 1995. Initiative of the Québec Naval Museum. Interviewers: Linda Croteau and Fabrice Mosseray.
View of German First Officer Peter Heisig
"The crew of the German submarine had left Norway eight weeks before it was attacked by the St. Thomas, at dawn on 27 December 1944. Peter Heisig indicates that the valve in the submarine's snorkel system was not working properly. When the submarine was submerged, it was receiving green seas in the exhaust, which interfered with the working of the diesel engine. Because of these problems, they had to surface several times, and that held them back on their itinerary; they were heading for the American coast. The meeting with the St. Thomas shouldn't have happened, because the two vessels were on completely different courses. " [interviewer's synopsis]
"It was the Sea Cliff that sent a radio message to the St. Thomas to say it had detected something. As the St. Thomas was just nearby, it immediately detected U-877, at a depth of 80 meters. It made its first attack on the submarine, and after five minutes, as it was right over U-877, it dropped depth charges.
"It is difficult to say how things went for each of the members of the submarine's crew. The conception of the attack and the way of experiencing it vary with each member, depending on his task and his position in the submarine."
"It was the Sea Cliff that sent a radio message to the St. Thomas to say it had detected something. As the St. Thomas was just nearby, it immediately detected U-877, at a depth of 80 meters. It made its first attack on the submarine, and after five minutes, as it was right over U-877, it dropped depth charges.
"It is difficult to say how things went for each of the members of the submarine's crew. The conception of the attack and the way of experiencing it vary with each member, depending on his task and his position in the submarine."
The First Depth Charge - Everything was in Total Darkness
"When the submarine was struck by the first depth charge, on the port side, all the equipment, like the instrument panel, began to burn, and a leak developed in the torpedo room."
"Everything was in total darkness; everyone was using his flashlight to see what was going on. The man who looked after the depth gauge was trying to see whether there were any leaks or special breakage. The transmission shaft was jammed on the port side and the diving rudders weren't working. The submarine started to list 45 degrees and sink by the stern. The man went to close the compartment doors. He had to climb over the diesel engines to get to the centre, the angle was so steep. They couldn't pump out the water because the pressure was too great and was destroying all the watertight joints. Thanks to the engineer, they were saved, because he managed to stabilize the submarine's position at a depth of 230 meters. They had enough compressed air to drive the water out of the ballast tanks and get back up to the surface. However, they all had their eyes riveted to the depth gauge to see whether the submarine was going down or up. If it went down any farther, they would have trouble surfacing again, because the submarines were designed to go down only to a certain depth.
"Everything was in total darkness; everyone was using his flashlight to see what was going on. The man who looked after the depth gauge was trying to see whether there were any leaks or special breakage. The transmission shaft was jammed on the port side and the diving rudders weren't working. The submarine started to list 45 degrees and sink by the stern. The man went to close the compartment doors. He had to climb over the diesel engines to get to the centre, the angle was so steep. They couldn't pump out the water because the pressure was too great and was destroying all the watertight joints. Thanks to the engineer, they were saved, because he managed to stabilize the submarine's position at a depth of 230 meters. They had enough compressed air to drive the water out of the ballast tanks and get back up to the surface. However, they all had their eyes riveted to the depth gauge to see whether the submarine was going down or up. If it went down any farther, they would have trouble surfacing again, because the submarines were designed to go down only to a certain depth.
Four Crew Members Blown Out of Hatch
At one point, the captain felt the submarine was too badly damaged to hold on, so they decided to bring it to the surface. To do so, they used the only electric engine that was functioning. When they opened the hatch, four crew members were blown out of the submarine by the change in pressure. They threw themselves into the water with their life belts and inflatable boat. The injured were placed in the dinghies. They stayed together so they could be found, because it was dark. [interviewer's synopsis]
|
Nazi Spy
"There was a Nazi officer in each German submarine. Such officers were spies charged with observing the activities of the officers, ensuring that the officers complied with the orders given by headquarters, keeping up motivation and maintaining a fighting spirit. Aboard U-877, Peter Heisig was a spy of this kind, but he had been chosen by the commanding officer because he knew Heisig wasn't a true spy. He even came close to getting arrested by the Gestapo, because he had written a letter saying that the German situation was truly desperate. This was an unforgivable mistake, a dramatic situation; because one was supposed to never say things like that. One wasn't supposed to weaken the fighting spirit, and fanaticism was not to be contradicted by anyone. One had to show that it was worthwhile to fight, that the Germans were going to win." [interviewer's synopsis]
Excerpts from an interview with Peter Heisig in Québec, 3 January 1996. Initiative of the Québec Naval Museum. Interviewer: Linda Croteau.
Excerpts from an interview with Peter Heisig in Québec, 3 January 1996. Initiative of the Québec Naval Museum. Interviewer: Linda Croteau.