U-Boat or No-boat? The Battle of Miminegash – Myth, Reality, or Cover-up?

Like a rock that emerges above the tide only at its low seasonal ebb it seems that the story of the great U-Boat battle off North Cape can be counted on to make the news every few years. This often seems to occur  when a CBC reporter or print journalist new to P.E.I. sniffs out the story. In its standard telling the noise and sights of a running conflict with explosions and tumult occurred on the western coast of PEI between Mimnegash and North Cape  on 7 May 1943 which resulted in the sinking of a U-Boat just over a mile off-shore – close enough to be seen and heard by observers on the shore. In addition with each new crop of recreational divers to visit the scene in the summer, the story of one diver from New Brunswick who visited the sea bottom and saw the wreck of a submarine complete with conning tower and deck gun is dusted off and re-cycled.  In August of last year CBC’s PEI news program contained an intriguing story with the title “Scuba divers say they may have found shipwreck near Tignish.” This provided an opportunity to resurrect the sub sinking once again. 

Whatever the scuba divers did find it was certainly not a submarine but there are those in the area who stand by their story because they know what they saw and heard and there was most definitely a series of marine explosions and gunfire in the shallow water just off Miminegash in the early May of 1943.

The essence of a good myth is a core of fact and in this case the facts align somewhat with the observations although how they are interpreted is at variance with the actual events of the day.  .

There was, in fact, a submarine off North Cape P.E.I. early in May 1943. And it was a German U-boat. The type VIIC  submarine number 262 been assigned a special duty. It was tasked with waiting just off North Cape for a signal from a group of escaped prisoners of war from a POW camp at Minto New Brunswick. However the POWs never showed up. Their plan had been discovered by the breaking of coded transmissions describing the plan and none of the escapees were able to get out of the camp. How they were supposed to travel through New Brunswick, across Northumberland Strait and up the western shore of the Island is not explained. The U-Boat remained on station but with the no-show of the POWs the vessel returned to its French base empty handed, leaving a full day before the alleged naval battle. It is unlikely that anyone from P.E.I. even knew it had been there.

A Type VIIC submarine similar to the one involved in the planned POW escape

Had the submarine stayed in the area for one more day it might have had an unplanned encounter of another sort. In 1943 Canadian shipyards were building a large fleet of Flower Class corvettes for the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy. The small sturdy vessels were based on a civilian design for whale catchers. What is not widely known is that a number of the ships originally destined for the British and Canadian fleets were transferred to the US Navy for use as patrol vessels on the Atlantic Coast. Early in May three of the vessels, renamed the USS Alacrity, USS Haste, and USS Intensity along with a merchant steamer were in Quebec awaiting departure for Boston., Two of the patrol vessels had been built in Quebec shipyards while the third was launched at Collingwood Ontario and came through the canal system.  

USS Alacrity, laid down as HMS Cornel and transferred to the USN before launch.

Course of the USS Alacrity and other vessels compiled from the ship’s logs. Note the course correction showing that the ships had been swept eastwardly by the tide.

On leaving Quebec with fresh US navy crews the commanders of the ships set a course down the St. Lawrence, through Northumberland Strait and the Strait of Canso for Boston. They also decided that the shakedown cruise would provide an opportunity to test the offensive and defensive weapons on the vessels. Exercises were carried out on the Alacrity in the Gulf on 5 May with the Haste and Intensity  carrying out weapons drills through the day on 7 May. Throughout the day the crews practised with deck armaments, hedgehogs (a forward firing anti-submarine projectile) and depth charges.  These would have provided an impressive show as the shallow water deployment would have cast up a significant quantity of sand, mud and rock as well as fountains of water. In addition, the noise of the explosions would have added to the apparent authenticity of the exercise and it is small wonder that the observers ashore would have been confident that they had indeed witnessed a naval engagement.

An official war photograph from the Royal Canadian Navy showing the effects of a depth charge. An equally impressive display whether seen from the sea or shore.

With wartime secrecy there were few hints of what had actually transpired off Miminegash. There were rumors in the community but it was not until a recreational scuba diver revealed that he had seen the sub on the bottom that the story seemed to be confirmed. However, when pressed further the story began to unfurl and certainty changed to doubt. Subsequent dives to take photos were thwarted by poor lighting and turbulent waters. In the mid-1990s the Royal Canadian Navy itself under took an investigation but found nothing of interest although at the same time a recreational diver reported sighting nearby what was definitely a rock formation roughly the size and shape of a submarine. 

Although there were suspicions of a cover up there seems to have been no reason for one, especially after the end off the war. It was not until the release of the U-boat and US Navy ships logs that the reality of the events could be pieced together.  Still it was too good a story not to be repeated and as with many a good story why bother with the truth.  For more details on the real story see Richard D. Mayne,  “The Great Naval Battle of North Point: Myth or Reality?” Canadian Military History 16, 3 (2007)  available here 

 

The Lobster Factory: Something New in the Fishing Line

In November of 1875, after a trip to the eastern part of the province the editor of the Charlottetown Examiner though it would be useful to update his readers on a recent development in the fishery which may have been a surprise to many of them. He had visited a King s County lobster cannery on the shore at Beach Point, opposite Poverty Beach. Since the whole idea of a lobster factory was perhaps unfamiliar to his readers he described the operation some detail.  The factory was owned by Messers Davie and McFarlane and was part of what could be described as an industrial complex which included a shipyard, large forge, a store, fishing station, two warehouses, two cook houses, a substantial wharf, and the lobster factory. The factory itself is captured in an image in the 1880 Meacham’s Atlas:

Malcolm McFadyen Lobster Factory at Beach Point. Meacham’s Atlas 1880 p.150

THE LOBSTER FACTORY 

This branch of the business is superintended by Mr. John Cairns. In connection with it, are elaborate arrangements first to capture lobsters and then to prepare them for market. There are three hundred lobster traps. These traps are semi-cylindrical in form — about three feet long and one foot six inches across the flat side. One end of each is filled in with a piece of netting, in the centre of which is a round hole. The bait — a cod head or other garbage — is fastened to a stick and suspended from the top. The traps, thus prepared, are sunk in line in the deep water off Cape Bear. The lobsters see the bait. make their way through the round hole to get it, and are thus caught. Twice every day the traps are visited and the captured lobsters taken out. Sometimes as many a six lobsters are caught in one trap. Thence they are conveyed to the factory. This building is situated by the water side. It is built in the form of an L — 100 feet one way and 80 in the other — two stories high. As soon as the lobsters are landed, they are thrown into a large boiler and thoroughly cooked. They are then scooped out and placed on large zinc covered table. Here they are manipulated by girls — the bodies, tails and claws separated — the bodies passed outside to the manure heap, and the claws and tails passed along to another set of operators to be shelled, washed and canned.  The the cans are covered, sawdered up tight, place in boxes and boiled for some hours; and then  they are painted , labelled, packed in boxes, and made ready for market. During the summer season, there are employed in the factory thirteen or fourteen men and boys, and from twenty-five to thirty women and girls. This year 250,000 lobsters were caught and 100,600 cans prepared for market. 

Location of McFadyen lobster factory, Beach Point, Lot 64. Meacham’s Atlas 1880.

The idea of canning lobsters was not a new on on Prince Edward Island. As early as 1857, Lobsters, as well as Oysters, and No.1 Mackerel, were being canned by James Romans and John Cairns in Charlottetown. Cairns was one of the pioneers in the industry. In 1862 he received a medal for excellence of quality for canned lobsters and salmon at the London International Exhibition and went on to operate a number of lobster factories across the Island.  Another early adaptor was the firm of Wilson and Waddell of Rollo Bay who put up 11,500 cans of lobsters in 1867, most of which was exported to Great Britain. The firm expected to produce 20,000 cans in 1868. 

The industry grew slowly initially. From one establishment in 1871, there were factories in Canoe Cove, Murray Harbour, Cascumpec, Little Sands, and Darnley by 1878. The following year the number increased to 35 and by 1885 was more than 80. It would eventually climb to more than 120 factories in harbours across the province before the plants began to be consolidated.  From 6,700 cans in 1871, production increased rapidly with 1.6 million cans in 1878 and 6.3 million only four years after that. 

In the 1880s lobster eclipsed mackerel as the Islands most important fishery and continues to be so today. In some areas there was a gradual transition from mackerel to lobster as some of the same infrastructure and boats could be used. While new production facilities such as cook-houses were needed it was not a capital-intensive industry and many small enterprises using local capital were established. Besides the lobster factory profits being ploughed into the rural economy, some of the greatest impacts were social. The traditional fishery was almost exclusively a male activity and suddenly women were needed for work in the factories. Other than “egg money” women in rural areas had had few opportunities for earning money. This changed as women were required for the processing of lobsters. In addition women were working along-side men, often in seasonal temporary accommodation outside their homes.

Elliot Lumsden phot of lobster factory workers. Note the number of women and girls. Photo: P.E.I. Public Archives and Records Office

In spite of modernizations in almost every aspect of the lobster fishery the activity of catching and canning described in the 1875 is still recognizable today. Canneries may be fewer and larger but it is still a seasonal industry, primarily located in hamlets outside the major centres.   

For another posting on early lobster factories click here   

Iceboats from Away

Recently I posted information about the parallel development of winter iceboat services in both Scandinavia and Prince Edward Island. (Click here to view) Thanks to the volunteers folks who manage a small iceboat museum in Denmark I have received some additional photos and information to share about one of these mail and passenger services.

Denmark is composed in part of a large number of islands. Two of the largest of these, Zealand and Funen, are separated by a strait called the Storebaelt (of Great Belt) of about 18 km which is now crossed by a fixed link which was built between 1986 and 1998. Like Northumberland Strait the crossing was formerly performed by ferries and, in harsh winters, by an iceboat service which had begun service in the 1700s.

Part of the 18km StoreBaelt fixed link. The suspension span is more than 1 km in length and was the longest in the world at the time of building. The current toll for crossing is 275 Danish Kroner or about CDN $55 .

The Storebaelt iceboat has many common features with their Northumberland Strait counterparts. It is described by the local museum as follows:

The ice boat is a strong, clinker-built oak dinghy with a hen’s ass, which is the name of the small flat square panel that sits between the two upper boards aft, the dinghy has round, undercut prows, so that it was easy to get up on the ice floes when these made further sailing impossible. When the boat was pulled forward over the ice it was kept on a straight keel by means of the oars, which were inserted crossways under the spar on one side and left to protrude on the other side so that couple of men walking on each side could use them to steady the boat if it were to get out of balance. The lifting took place with the aid of a long rope attached to the dinghy’s prow . To protect the boat, she has an iron rails on the bow and under the keel and the rudder fitting, as well as both side keels under the fourth plank to protect the fairing when the boat falls over on its side.

The dinghy was manned by five to six boatmen, who were very modestly paid, even if the work was considered exceptionally hard.  The iceboat was painted black on the outside with a yellow line under the fender strip, and the inside was painted a yellow grey colour.

Sail plan of 1881 Danish iceboat. The mainsail was on a sprit rig and the boat had a removable bowsprit and cutter rig.

However there are a number of differences between the Danish and Island boats. the most significant being in the use of sails. The sails on the P.E.I. boats were primarily used in aiding the movement of the boats across the ice as opposed to in the water whereas the Danish design used a mast on a tabernacle and a deployable boom to assist on sailing in areas of open water. Because of this the boat also had a rudder for steering. The Island boats were more dependent on oars for maneuvering and had no rudders. 

Tabernacle for main mast and sprit and boom to carry sailing rig.

 

Profiles of the Storebaelt iceboat showing the keel and bilge keels.

Another difference was in the design on the steel or iron runners which helped the boats move easily across the ice. The Danish boats were somewhat longer than the Island designs and had a single blade on the keel but had bilge keels shod with iron as well. The boats used that the Capes had two runners spaced a foot or so apart which functioned as a sleigh and likely made it easier to balance the boat on the ice, whereas in the Storebaelt boats the balance was achieved using protruding oars handled by the crew.

Another modification which appears on the Island boats was the use of tin sheets on the bottom of the boats to better enable them to slide through drifted snow on top of the ice when being hauled. This does not seem to have been used elsewhere.

Rudder and colourful paint job of the 1881 Danish iceboat built for the Danish Railways.

 As there is no evidence of the Danish design being specifically copied by the Prince Edward Island designers it may be gathered that the design evolved from the first iceboat use in the 1820s on P.E.I., to a final form which, although similar, was original to the Island.