Corvette Port Arthur

[Torvald Von Mansee]

http://www.nfb.ca/film/corvette_port_arthur/

So, what kind of "u-boat" was that in the film?

[GoldenRivet]

Hard to say.

The sub could have been slightly or even substantially modified for the film, though i think it would be pretty obvious that it is a British or Canadian class of Sub of some sort participating in the film.

some of the close shots at the beginning could even be a prop of some sort

At that point in time (1943) the RCN had no submarines and the RN rejected all Canadian requests to provide enough boats at Halifax to facilitate advanced escort training.

I doubt that sets were used although some of the footage might very well be staged. Note in the action stations sequences, stock footage which must have been filmed on destroyers is used extensively. Also, note that the Escort Group commander is a mere RN Lieutenant, at least one USN DD is shown (perhaps a pre-war Benham Class), the Bangor Class minesweepers in the escort role and the general youth of the Navy crews.

Nice find, thanks for sharing. My late uncle served in corvettes as an Oerlikon gunner and on the armed merchant cruiser HMCS Prince Robert. Dad was in Bomber Command with 13-trips done before he was wounded and sent to an air navigation school as an instructor so some of the NFB Air Force films hit close to home.

Cheers

[Jimbuna]

A nice bit of Canadian propaganda....must have been well believed/welcomed during its day.

Wasn't aware they ever escorted almost half the allied convoys themselves....as I recall they were always the poor relation in equipment terms amongst the US, UK and Canada.

I could be wrong though.

I honestly enjoyed it....thanks for sharing.

[CaptainHaplo]

What often occurs is that any country with at least one escort vessel in the convoy claims they escorted it. The fact is that many countries contributed - and some did so in inferior equipment. Thanks are due to all those who contributed, regardless of nationality.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo

What often occurs is that any country with at least one escort vessel in the convoy claims they escorted it. The fact is that many countries contributed - and some did so in inferior equipment. Thanks are due to all those who contributed, regardless of nationality.

Fair point

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Wasn't aware they ever escorted almost half the allied convoys themselves....as I recall they were always the poor relation in equipment terms amongst the US, UK and Canada.

Great book written on the subject called "Far Distant Ships", its on my shelf.

IIRC The RCN started the war with a couple of destroyers and by 1950 they had an aircraft carrier and a few submarines.

[The Bandit]

By the looks of this, a lot of it was filmed alongside at "slackers" (what they used to call HMCS Stadacona, what is today CFB Halifax Dockyard) most likely the submarine is some British type, they occasionally had S or T class boats there, and some old L class boats were stationed there permanently for training exercises. One of the Ls was destroyed as a target after the war and was rediscovered during the search for the wreckage from Swiss-air 111. There is some really good footage here of the corvette navy.

Edit: After having a very close look at it, I think that the submarine could actually be a Type VII, the british captured the U570 and pressed her into service as HMS Graph, Its deffinatly not an L boat, and does not really look like an S or a T either.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

Great book written on the subject called "Far Distant Ships", its on my shelf.

IIRC The RCN started the war with a couple of destroyers and by 1950 they had an aircraft carrier and a few submarines.

Cheers....I'll look it up