Battle of Bell Island

Battle of the Bell islands
Part of the American Theater and the Battle of the St. Lawrence of World War II
Date August 1942 – November 1942 Location Bell Islands, Newfoundland Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Canada Newfoundland	Germany
Commanders and leaders
	Germany Kapitän-Leutnant Rolf Ruggeberg Germany Kapitän-Leutnant Friedrich Wissmann Germany Werner von Janowski
Strength
SS Lord Strathcona SS Saganaga SS Evelyn B SS Anna T Flyingdale SS Rose Castle SS Caribou PLM 27 HMCS Drumheller 2 Fairmile fast motor boats	German U-boats German submarine U-513 German submarine U-518
Casualties and losses
SS Lord Strathcona (29 killed) SS Saganaga SS Evelyn B SS Rose Castle (28 killed) SS Caribou (137 killed) PLM 27 (12 killed)	Spy captured

Introduction

Bell Island is one of the few places in the Dominion of Newfoundland that the German troops raided during World War II. In 1942, the German U-boats attacked Bell Island two times which led to four ore boats sinking, and more than 60 men dead. The Germans also tried to capture St.John’s the capital of the Newfoundland. Bell island is an island in Conception Bay, Newfoundland and the waters near there are an important transAtlantic convoy route that helped the allies of America. Many ships brought supplies in these waters to Britain’s troops, but many of them were cut off by the German U-boats. Later, many other ships sunk which led to the death of more than 137 people.

The German U-boat Attacks

On the night of September 4, 1942 The German boat, U-513, which was under the command of Kapitänleutnant Rolf Ruggeberg, followed the ore carrier Evelyn B to Conception Bay. There, they spent the night under twenty meters of water. The next morning on September 5, the U-513 attacked and sank the SS Lord Strathcona and the SS Saganaga. A total of twenty- nine men who were all on the SS Saganaga died. Right after the attack, the U-513 left the fight following Evelyn B. On November 2 at three o'clock a.m., the next attack happened at Bell Island. This time, the attack was by the U-513 ships sister, which was the U-518. It was commanded by Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Wissmann, and it was at the southern end of Bell Island. It was in the area called “The Tickle” also known as Wabana anchorage. Within an hour, it fired a torpedo at the 3000 ton Anna T. Unfortunately, it missed and went under the SS Flydingdale which then exploded towards the loading dock. This explosion startled many in Bell Island. Once again, Wissman fired at a ship, but this time he fired two. It went straight towards SS Rose Castle, and the SS Rose Castle ship immediately sank killing twenty-eight men with it. Another vessel was the PLM 27. It was also attacked, and right after it was hit, sank losing twelve men. After these shootings, the U-518 escaped even though there were two patrol boats nearby. This whole attack lasted ten minutes. Admiral Humphrey, who was the governor of Newfoundland, was angered by these sinkings. He called the Chief of Staff, Captain F.L. Houghton right when he returned to St. John’s and said “It was madness to let ships lie unprotected”. However, Captain F.L. Houghton felt that it was better for the ships to be left alone in St. John’s.

SS Caribou Sinking

Later on in 1942, On October 13, the ship SS Caribou, departed from Sydney at 9:30 p.m. The next morning, the boat U-69 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Ulrich Gräf, raided the vessel and it sunk in the Gulf of St. Lawrence taking 137 people with it (even women and children). The loss of the Caribou was tragic, however, this showed how the attacks that the Newfoundlanders faced were at the front lines of battle of the Atlantic war.

Aftermath

After all the attacks had happened, the result was indecisive. Many Newfoundlanders wittnesed the aftermath of the raids. To this day, you can still see the evidence of the ships battling. Many pictures were taken of the ruins from the battle. People all over come to see the remains of the tragic attacks.