SS Caribou
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name: | Caribou |
| Owner: | Newfoundland Railway |
| Route: | Port aux Basques, Newfoundland to Nova Scotia |
| Ordered: | 1925 |
| Builder: | Goodwin - Hamilton S. Adams Ltd. Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Launched: | Schiedam Netherlands 9 June 1925 |
| In service: | 1928—1942 |
| Out of service: | 14 October 1942 |
| Fate: | Sunk by German U-boat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 14 October 1942 |
| Status: | sunk |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 2,200 short tons (2,000 t) |
| Length: | 265 feet (81 m) |
| Speed: | 14.5 knots (16.7 mph; 26.9 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 3,000 horsepower (2.2 MW) |
| Crew: | 46 |
| Notes: | Information about ship specifications from Gibbons (2006) |
SS Caribou was a Newfoundland Railway passenger ferry that ran between Port aux Basques, in the Dominion of Newfoundland, and North Sydney, Nova Scotia between 1928 and 1942. During the Battle of the St. Lawrence the ferry was attacked and sunk by the Nazi German submarine U-69 in October 1942, while traversing the Cabot Strait as part of her three weekly SPAB convoys. As a civilian vessel, she had women and children on board, and many of them were among the 137 who died. Her sinking, and large death toll, made it clear that the war had really arrived on Canada's and Newfoundland's home front, and is cited by many historians as the most significant sinking in Canadian-controlled waters during the Second World War.
Caribou was built in 1925 at Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for the Newfoundland Railway. Launched in 1925, she had a capacity of 3,000 horsepower (2,200 kW) and was able to reach a speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h) when fully loaded. She also had steam-heat and electric lights in all of her cabins, which were considered to be a luxury at the time. Also, due to her ice-breaking design, Caribou also assisted during the seal hunt along the Newfoundland coast each spring.
On 13 October 1942, Caribou was part of the Sydney-Port aux Basque (SPAB) convoy, organized by the Royal Canadian Navy base HMCS Protector. The SPAB series of convoys usually occurred three-times a week, and was carried out in darkness. HMCS Grandmère, a Bangor-class minesweeper was the naval escort vessel on this ill-fated voyage.
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