War reaches Canada!

predavolk · 05-25-08, 08:51 PM

As a Canadian, I didn't know the extent to which the U-Boat war raged in our waters. Over 20 ships were lost not just in the Gulf, but in the actual River of the St. Lawrence! Nine by one Type IXB alone! I was always very proud that Canada was a major (total and especially proportional) contributor to the Allies, that we didn't wait to be directly threatened, that our fighting services were entirely voluntary, and that we did all this despite never being directly attacked ourselves. But I guess I'll have to settle for the first three.

I HIGHLY recommend The Battle of the St. Lawrence (Greenfield) for an in-depth view of the politics, U-boat tactics, and ASW tactics at the time (each given about the same amount of space). There are several interviews quoted, as well as U-Boat captain's diaries, and it gives a very good look at this "forgotten" aspect of the Battle for the Atlantic. For example, both sides talk about how the mixture of fresh and salt water affected the acoustic, diving, and detection characteristics of their boats.

I'm off to read Essex's book on the same topic now.

05-25-08, 08:51 PM	#1
predavolk Weps Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 369 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	War reaches Canada! As a Canadian, I didn't know the extent to which the U-Boat war raged in our waters. Over 20 ships were lost not just in the Gulf, but in the actual River of the St. Lawrence! Nine by one Type IXB alone! I was always very proud that Canada was a major (total and especially proportional) contributor to the Allies, that we didn't wait to be directly threatened, that our fighting services were entirely voluntary, and that we did all this despite never being directly attacked ourselves. But I guess I'll have to settle for the first three. I HIGHLY recommend The Battle of the St. Lawrence (Greenfield) for an in-depth view of the politics, U-boat tactics, and ASW tactics at the time (each given about the same amount of space). There are several interviews quoted, as well as U-Boat captain's diaries, and it gives a very good look at this "forgotten" aspect of the Battle for the Atlantic. For example, both sides talk about how the mixture of fresh and salt water affected the acoustic, diving, and detection characteristics of their boats. I'm off to read Essex's book on the same topic now.