View source for Battle of the St. Lawrence

{{Short description|Marine and anti-submarine actions in WWII}}{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of the St. Lawrence
| partof            = the [[Battle of the Atlantic]]
| image             = German submarine U-190.jpg
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = German submarine {{GS|U-190||2}} arrives in [[St. John's, Newfoundland]] in June 1945 after surrendering
| date              = May 1942 – November 1944
| place             = [[Gulf of St. Lawrence]], [[St. Lawrence River]]
| result            = Allied strategic victory<ref name="battleofthegulf">{{cite book|title=The battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence|publisher=[[Veterans Affairs Canada]]|year=2005|isbn=0-662-69036-2}}</ref>
| combatant1        = {{flag|Canada|1921}}<br>{{flag|United Kingdom}}
| combatant2        = {{flag|Nazi Germany|name=Germany}}
| commander1        = {{flagdeco|Canada|naval-1911}} [[Percy W. Nelles]]<br />{{flagdeco|Canada|naval-1911}} [[Leonard W. Murray]]
| commander2        = {{flagdeco|Nazi Germany|naval}} [[Karl Dönitz]]
| strength1         = {{naval|Canada|1911}}:
* 14 frigates
* 31 corvettes
* 35 minesweepers
* 4 armed yachts
* 1 auxiliary ship
{{flagicon image|Air Force Ensign of Canada (1941-1968).svg}} [[Royal Canadian Air Force]]:
* 12 bomber-reconnaissance squadrons
* 1 fighter squadron
{{navy|UK}}
* 2 destroyers
| strength2         = ''{{flagdeco|Nazi Germany|naval}}'' ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'':
* 17 [[U-boats]]
| casualties1       = 23 merchant ships sunk<br />4 RCN ships sunk<br />340 killed
| casualties2       = Some U-boats damaged and some crewmen killed;{{sfnp|Granatstein|Oliver|2011|p=32}} all spies captured
| campaignbox       = {{North American Theater}}
{{Campaignbox Atlantic Campaign}}
}}

The '''Battle of the St. Lawrence''' involved marine and anti-submarine actions throughout the lower [[Saint Lawrence River|St. Lawrence River]] and the entire [[Gulf of Saint Lawrence]], [[Strait of Belle Isle]], [[Anticosti Island]] and [[Cabot Strait]] from May–October 1942, September 1943, and again in October–November 1944. During this time, German [[U-boat]]s sank over 20 merchant ships and four Canadian warships. There were several near-shore actions involving the drop of German spies, or the attempted pickup of escaping prisoners of war. Despite the 23 ships lost, this battle marked a strategic victory for Canadian forces as ultimately they managed to disrupt U-boat activity, protect Canadian and [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[convoy]]s, and intercept all attempted shore operations. This marked the first time that a foreign power had inflicted casualties in Canadian inland waters since the US incursions in the [[War of 1812]].<ref name="battleofthegulf"/>

In the interwar years, poor economic conditions and a sense of security, engendered by the proximity of the United States and the traditional protection of the [[Royal Navy]], had resulted in the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] (RCN) being equipped with very few ships, especially for coastal defence.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jackson|first=Ashley|title=The British Empire and the Second World War|publisher=Hambledon Continuum|year=2006|location=London |isbn=1-85285-417-0|page=64}}</ref> Upgraded to six destroyers just before the war, Canadian naval deployment gave priority to the North Atlantic convoy routes. By the end of the war, the RCN had expanded to become the third largest allied naval power, with 400 vessels and 100,000 men and women.<ref>{{cite web|last=Mosseray|first=Fabrice|title=The Battle of the St. Lawrence|work=uboat.net|publisher=Guðmundur Helgason|date=1995–2007|url=http://uboat.net/articles/?article=29|access-date= 14 November 2007}}</ref> The Royal Navy contributed two destroyers to the fight in October 1942 when attacks reached their peak. 

== Historical context ==

[[File:Golfe Saint-Laurent en.png|right|thumb|The Gulf of Saint Lawrence]]

From the start of the war in 1939 until [[Victory in Europe Day|VE Day]], several of Canada's Atlantic coast ports became important to the resupply effort for the [[United Kingdom]] and later for the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] land offensive on the Western Front. [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] and [[Sydney, Nova Scotia]] became the primary convoy assembly ports, with Halifax being assigned the fast or priority convoys (largely troops and essential material) with the more modern merchant ships, while Sydney was given slow convoys which conveyed bulkier material on older and more vulnerable merchant ships. Both ports were heavily fortified with shore radar emplacements, [[searchlight]] batteries, and extensive coastal artillery stations all manned by RCN and Canadian Army regular and reserve personnel. Military intelligence agents enforced strict [[Blackout (wartime)|blackouts]] throughout the areas and anti-torpedo nets were in place at the harbour entrances. Even though no landings of German personnel took place near these ports, there were frequent attacks by U-boats on convoys departing for [[Europe]]. Less extensively used, but no less important, was the port of [[Saint John, New Brunswick|Saint John]] which also saw [[matériel]] funnelled through the port, largely after the United States entered the war in December 1941. The [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] mainline from central Canada (which crossed the state of [[Maine]]) could be used to transport in aid of the war effort.

Although not crippling to the Canadian war effort, given the country's rail network to the east coast ports, but possibly more destructive to the morale of the Canadian public, was the Battle of the St. Lawrence, when U-boats began to attack domestic coastal shipping along Canada's east coast in the [[St. Lawrence River]] and [[Gulf of St. Lawrence]] from early 1942 through to the end of the shipping season in late 1944.

==Spring 1942==
{{Military history of Nova Scotia}}
The ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' had made no formal plans to attack merchant shipping in the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, despite its activities off the convoy assembly ports of [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] and [[Sydney, Nova Scotia]]; therefore, early attacks in the Battle of the St. Lawrence were considered ad hoc and opportunistic.

The first attack was by {{GS|U-553||2}}, which torpedoed and sank the British freighter ''Nicoya'' at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River several kilometres off [[Anticosti Island]] on 12 May 1942, followed by the Dutch freighter ''Leto'' in the same vicinity several hours later. ''U-553'' departed the Gulf of St. Lawrence to return to its established patrol in the North Atlantic.{{sfnp|Blair|1996|p=571}}

Before these sinkings, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and St. Lawrence River had been guarded by only four RCN warships, a {{sclass|Bangor|minesweeper}}, two [[Fairmile Marine]] [[Motor launch (naval)|Motor Launch]]es and an [[armed yacht]]; a clearly inadequate force for the task. The RCN's response to the attacks was to deploy five {{sclass2|Flower|corvette}}s, but it remained inadequate even with these reinforcements.

The incident revealed that the RCN did not have the resources to deal with the situation and there were political repercussions in Canada with suggestions that RCN ships allocated to the Atlantic convoys should be recalled to protect Canadian territorial waters; however, the RCN's priority remained with the protection of convoys to Britain, the [[Soviet Union]] and North Africa.

Several RN escorts were attached to the RCN for some months during 1942, with convoys in the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence being formed between RCN facilities at {{HMCS|Chaleur II||6}} in [[Quebec City]], {{HMCS|Fort Ramsay||6}} in [[Gaspé, Quebec|Gaspé]], and {{HMCS|Protector||6}} in Sydney. [[RCAF]] aircraft carried out operational patrols from RCAF stations such as [[RCAF Station Mont-Joli|Mont-Joli]], [[RCAF Station Bagotville|Bagotville]], [[RCAF Station Chatham|Chatham]], [[RCAF Station Mount Pleasant|Mount Pleasant]], [[RCAF Station Charlottetown|Charlottetown]], [[RCAF Station Summerside|Summerside]], [[RCAF Station Debert|Debert]], [[Stanley, Nova Scotia|Stanley]] and [[RCAF Station Sydney|Sydney]] as well as various civilian fields, particularly in the [[Magdalen Islands]].

Residents along the Gaspé coast and the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence were startled at the sight of maritime warfare off their shores, with ships on fire and explosions rattling their communities, while bodies and debris floated ashore. The Canadian government's wartime secrecy saw censors forbid media reporting of incidents; so the only news came from local gossip. Blackouts were strictly enforced and army units were sent out on coastal patrols along roads and railway lines.

==Summer 1942==

In July 1942, Captain Ernst Vogelsang piloted {{GS|U-132|1941|2}} into the Gulf. On 6 July, within half an hour, he sank three ships from the twelve-ship convoy QS-15: the British registered ''Dinaric'' and ''Hainaut'', and the Greek vessel ''Anastassios Pateras''. Eventually depth charge runs by a ship, {{HMCS|Drummondville|J253|6}} and four [[Curtiss P-40 Warhawk]] from [[No. 130 Squadron RCAF]] damaged the U-boat's ballast pumps and resulted in the loss of {{convert|4|m3|abbr=on}} of fuel and a few crewmen. This attack drove the submarine to the bottom where it hid for 12 hours. The submarine then rushed out of the Gulf for repairs.<ref name="battleofthegulf"/>

In late August, two U-boats made a joint raid on the St. Lawrence. {{GS|U-517||2}} sank nine ships and damaged another in a two-week period, escaping attacks by escort vessels each time and sinking the Flower-class corvette {{HMCS|Charlottetown|1941|6}} on 11 September. {{GS|U-165|1941|2}} was less successful in attacking merchant shipping but it sank the armed yacht {{HMCS|Raccoon|S14|6}} and heavily damaged {{USS|Laramie|AO-16|6}}. [[RCAF Eastern Air Command|Eastern Air Command]] positioned itself to better defend the remaining convoys by establishing a "Special Submarine Hunting Detachment" of [[No. 113 Squadron RCAF]] in Chatham, New Brunswick. They made their first U-boat attack on 9 September, when Pilot Officer R.S. Keetley dove on ''U-165'', about {{convert|32|km|mi}} south of [[Anticosti Island]]. He did not do much damage to the submarine, but subsequent naval and air activity in the area frustrated the U-boat's efforts to attack other convoys.<ref name="battleofthegulf"/> The RCN requested additional forces from [[Western Local Escort Force]], receiving two old Royal Navy destroyers with improved radar to combat the U-boat threat.{{sfnp|Sarty|2012|p=153}}

Within 24 hours of 24 September, crews from 113 Squadron registered seven sightings and three attacks on ''U-517''. Flying Officer M.J. Bélanger, an experienced 23-year-old Quebec native who came to the squadron from duty as a flying instructor, made two of the attacks. Neither sank the U-boat. Aircraft continued to harry the submarine as it cruised the Gulf. Bélanger was in the cockpit for another attack on ''U-517'' on 29 September. Although his depth charges exploded all around the submarine's hull, it survived yet again. Still, Bélanger's attacks had badly hurt the submarine along with some sailors inside it. Later the young airman would be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, in large part for his determined attack on the U-boat.<ref name="battleofthegulf"/>

The continued attacks caused the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence to be closed to all trans-Atlantic shipping, allowing only coastal trade. In practice, although this embargo strained the  [[Canadian National Railway]] (CNR) system to Sydney and Halifax, it simplified the management of Atlantic [[convoy]]s. The embargo lasted until early 1944.

==Fall 1942==
On 5 September 1942, {{GS|U-513||2}}, under the command of ''Kapitänleutnant'' Rolf Ruggeberg, [[Battle of Bell Island|attacked]] and sank SS ''Lord Strathcona'' and SS ''Saganaga''. A total of twenty-nine men who were all on ''Saganaga'' died. On 10 September {{GS|U-91|1941|2}} attacked [[Convoy ON 127]] along with a number of other submarines and chased them  across the Atlantic all the way to the gulf. The submarine sustained minor damage from the warships but managed to sink {{HMCS|Ottawa|H60|6}} by firing two torpedoes at her.

On 14 October, the [[Newfoundland Railway]] passenger ferry {{SS|Caribou}} was torpedoed by {{GS|U-69|1940|2}}, in the [[Cabot Strait]], between [[Sydney, Nova Scotia]] and [[Channel-Port aux Basques|Port aux Basques]], Newfoundland, with heavy loss of life.{{sfnp|Tennyson|Sarty|2000|pp=274–275}} ''U-69'' escaped a counterattack by the ''Bangor''-class minesweeper {{HMCS|Grandmère}}.{{sfnp|Rohwer|Hummelchen|1992|p=161}} 

On 21 October {{GS|U-43|1939|2}} moved into the entrance of the river and encountered widespread RCN patrols. The submarine's captain, Hans-Joachim Schwantke, attempted to attack convoy SQ 43 off [[Gaspé, Quebec|Gaspé]], but was spotted and repulsed by the convoy's escorts. It was stated{{by who|date=April 2023}} that six depth charges from the ''Bangor''-class minesweeper {{HMCS|Gananoque}} knocked out the U-boat's lights, blew the battery circuit breaker and activated a torpedo in one of the sub's stern tubes. Captain Schwantke pushed his sub down to {{convert|130|m|ft}} to avoid what he thought was a coordinated attack. The submarine was damaged but escaped the river.

On 2 November, {{GS|U-518||2}} [[Battle of Bell Island|sank]] two iron ore freighters and damaged another at [[Bell Island (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Bell Island]] in [[Conception Bay]], Newfoundland, ''en route'' to a patrol off the [[Gaspé Peninsula]] where, despite an attack by an RCAF patrol aircraft, it successfully landed a spy, [[Werner von Janowski]] at [[New Carlisle, Quebec]]; he was captured at the [[New Carlisle station (Quebec)|New Carlisle railway station]] shortly after landing on the beach. In November, {{GS|U-183||2}} was ordered in but turned away because of oppressive Canadian patrols that prevented entry.

U-boat losses experienced by the ''Kriegsmarine'' during 1942 following the entry of the [[United States Navy]] into the [[Battle of the Atlantic]], coupled with declining German shipbuilding capability to replace battle losses, saw the U-boat fleet redeployed to the primary Atlantic convoy routes to disrupt the Allied war resupply effort; this effectively saw enemy submarines withdrawn from the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence by the end of 1942.

==1943==
Canadian military intelligence and the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] (RCMP) intercepted mail addressed to several ''Kriegsmarine'' officers (including [[Otto Kretschmer]]) imprisoned at the Camp 30 [[prisoner of war]] camp at [[Bowmanville, Ontario]] in early 1943. The correspondence detailed an escape plan in which the prisoners were to tunnel out of the camp and make their way (using currency and false documents provided for them) through eastern Ontario and across Quebec to the northeastern tip of [[New Brunswick]] off the [[Pointe de Maisonnette, New Brunswick|Pointe de Maisonnette]] lighthouse where the escapees would be retrieved by a U-boat.

Canadian authorities did not tip off the POWs and detected signs of tunnel digging at Camp 30. All prisoners except one were arrested at the time of their escape attempt; the sole inmate who managed to escape travelled all the way to Pointe de Maisonette undetected, likely travelling onboard [[Canadian National Railway]] passenger trains to the [[Bathurst, New Brunswick|Bathurst]] area. This POW was apprehended by military police and RCMP on the beach in front of the lighthouse on the night of the planned U-boat extraction.

The RCN provided a U-boat counteroffensive force (codenamed "[[Operation Pointe Maisonnette]]") that was led by {{HMCS|Rimouski|K121|6}}, which was outfitted with an experimental version of [[diffused lighting camouflage]] for the operation.

The task force led by ''Rimouski'' waited in [[Caraquet Harbour]], obscured by [[Caraquet Island]], the night of 26–27 September 1943 and detected the presence of {{GS|U-536||2}} off Pointe de Maisonnette while shore authorities arrested the POW escapee.

''U-536'' managed to elude the RCN task force by diving just as the surface warships began attacking with depth charges; the submarine was able to escape the Gulf of St. Lawrence without making the extraction.

==1944==
In 1943, the RCAF had begun to successfully harass U-boat operations in Canadian coastal waters and the RCN had grown in numbers and effectiveness to allow more resources to be dedicated to anti-submarine warfare operations in territorial waters. By early 1944, the shipping lanes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and St. Lawrence River were reopened to domestic and war-related convoys operating primarily from Quebec City to Sydney.

Late 1944 saw a resurgence of U-boat activity in the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence. German submarines were being equipped with the [[Submarine snorkel|snorkel]], a telescopic engine ventilation system that permitted continuous underwater operation without surfacing.

''U-1223'' entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence undetected in early October and is credited with seriously damaging the {{sclass2|River|frigate}} {{HMCS|Magog|K673|6}} on 14 October and sinking the Canadian freighter SS ''Fort Thompson'' on 2 November.{{sfnp|Runyan|Copes|1994|pp=204–206}} Three weeks later, ''U-1228'' attacked and sank the Flower-class corvette {{HMCS|Shawinigan|K136|6}}, a few kilometres off of Channel/Port aux Basque on the night of 24–25 November, with the loss of all 91 crew members, including former [[Toronto Maple Leafs]] hockey player [[Red Garrett|Dudley "Red" Garrett]].{{sfnp|Sarty|2012|pp=284–287}} Authorities only realized that it sank when ''Caribou''{{'}}s replacement ferry, SS ''Burgeo'', sailed into North Sydney without ''Shawinigan'' on 26 November, after it had tried numerous times to make contact by radiophone earlier that day.{{sfnp|Sarty|2012|pp=284–287}} Wreckage was discovered on 27 November, and six crewmen's bodies were recovered.{{sfnp|Sarty|2012|pp=284–287}} It was the worst case of military deaths in Canadian territory during the war.{{sfnp|Sarty|2012|pp=284–287}}

These two German attacks marked the end of the Battle of the St. Lawrence. In May 1945, following Germany's surrender, {{GS|U-889||2}} and {{GS|U-190||2}} surrendered to the RCN at [[Shelburne, Nova Scotia]], and [[Bay Bulls, Newfoundland and Labrador|Bay Bulls, Newfoundland]], respectively.

After the war, it was shown that the mingling of fresh and salt waters in the region (the world's largest [[estuary]]), plus temperature variations and sea ice, disrupted RCN anti-submarine operations and reduced the effectiveness of shipboard [[sonar]] systems that were designed to detect submarines. Fog and other weather conditions in the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence also conspired to hamper RCAF patrols.

==Order of battle==

===Canada===
'''[[Canadian Army]]'''

'''Royal Canadian Navy'''<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence|last=Veterans Affairs Canada|publisher=Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada represented by the Minister of Veterans Affairs|year=2005|location=Ottawa}}</ref>

'''Frigates'''
{{refbegin|15em}}
* {{HMCS|Antigonish}}
* {{HMCS|Coaticook|K410|6}}
* {{HMCS|Ettrick}}
* {{HMCS|Kokanee|K419|6}}
* {{HMCS|Lasalle|K519|6}}
* {{HMCS|Levis|K400|6}}
* {{HMCS|Magog|K673|6}} '''loss'''
* {{HMCS|Orkney|K448|6}}
* {{HMCS|Meon}}
* {{HMCS|Springhill|K323|6}}
* {{HMCS|Ste. Therese|K366|6}}
* {{HMCS|Stettler|K681|6}}
* {{HMCS|Thetford Mines|K459|6}}
* {{HMCS|Toronto|K538|6}}

{{refend}}

'''Corvettes'''
{{refbegin|15em}}
* {{HMCS|Agassiz}}
* {{HMCS|Amherst}}
* {{HMCS|Arrowhead}}
* {{HMCS|Brandon}}
* {{HMCS|Brantford}}
* {{HMCS|Camrose}}
* {{HMCS|Charlottetown|1941|6}} '''sunk'''
* {{HMCS|Dawson}}
* {{HMCS|Hepatica}}
* {{HMCS|Kamloops}}
* {{HMCS|Kenogami}}
* {{HMCS|Kitchener}}
* {{HMCS|La Malbaie}}
* {{HMCS|Lethbridge}}
* {{HMCS|Lunenburg}}
* {{HMCS|Matapedia}}
* {{HMCS|Midland}}
* {{HMCS|Nanaimo}}
* {{HMCS|Norsyd}}
* {{HMCS|Port Arthur}}
* {{HMCS|Prescott}}
* {{HMCS|Quesnel}}
* {{HMCS|Rivière du Loup}}
* {{HMCS|Shawinigan|K136|6}} '''sunk'''
* {{HMCS|Snowberry}}
* {{HMCS|Summerside}}
* {{HMCS|Trail}}
* {{HMCS|Ville de Québec}}
* {{HMCS|Wetaskiwin}}
* {{HMCS|Weyburn}}
* {{HMCS|Woodstock}}
{{refend}}

'''Minesweepers'''
{{refbegin|15em}}
* {{HMCS|Brockville}}
* {{HMCS|Burlington}}
* {{HMCS|Chedabucto}} '''sunk'''
* {{HMCS|Clayoquot}}
* {{HMCS|Digby}}
* {{HMCS|Drummondville}}
* {{HMCS|Esquimalt}}
* {{HMCS|Fort William}}
* {{HMCS|Gananoque}}
* {{HMCS|Georgian}}
* {{HMCS|Granby|J264|6}}
* {{HMCS|Grandmère}}
* {{HMCS|Ingonish}}
* {{HMCS|Kenora}}
* {{HMCS|Kentville}}
* {{HMCS|Lachine}}
* {{HMCS|Lockeport}}
* {{HMCS|Llewellyn}}
* {{HMCS|Lloyd George}}
* {{HMCS|Medicine Hat}}
* {{HMCS|Melville}}
* {{HMCS|Milltown}}
* {{HMCS|Mulgrave}}
* {{HMCS|Nipigon|J154|6}}
* {{HMCS|Noranda}}
* {{HMCS|Port Hope}}
* {{HMCS|Red Deer}}
* {{HMCS|Sarnia}}
* {{HMCS|Stratford}}
* {{HMCS|Swift Current}}
* {{HMCS|Trois Rivières}}
* {{HMCS|Truro}}
* {{HMCS|Ungava|J149|6}}
* {{HMCS|Vegreville}}
* {{HMCS|Westmount}}

{{refend}}
{{Col-begin|width=18%}}
{{Col-break}}
'''Armed yachts'''
* <small>{{HMCS|Elk}}</small>
* <small>{{HMCS|Raccoon}} '''sunk'''</small>
* <small>{{HMCS|Reindeer}}</small>
* <small>{{HMCS|Vison}}</small>
{{Col-break}}

'''Auxiliaries'''
* <small>{{HMCS|French}}</small>
{{col-end}}

'''Motor Launches'''
{{refbegin|15em}}
* {{ship|HMC|ML Q050}}
* {{ship|HMC|ML Q051}}
* {{ship|HMC|ML Q052}}
* {{ship|HMC|ML Q053}}
* ''[[ML 54]]''
* ''[[ML 55]]''
* ''[[ML 56]]''
* ''[[ML 57]]''
* ''[[ML 58]]''
* ''[[ML 59]]''
* ''[[ML 61]]''
* ''[[ML 62]]''
* ''[[ML 63]]''
* ''[[ML 64]]''
* ''[[ML 65]]''
* ''[[ML 66]]''
* ''[[ML 72]]''
* ''[[ML 73]]''
* ''[[ML 74]]''
* ''[[ML 75]]''
* ''[[ML 76]]''
* ''[[ML 77]]''
* ''[[ML 79]]''
* ''[[ML 80]]''
* ''[[ML 81]]''
* ''[[ML 82]]''
* ''[[ML 83]]''
* ''[[ML 84]]''
* ''[[ML 85]]''
* ''[[ML 86]]''
* ''[[ML 87]]''
* ''[[ML 90]]''
* ''[[ML 93]]''
* ''[[ML 95]]''
* ''[[ML 96]]''
* ''[[ML 98]]''
* ''[[ML 100]]''
* ''[[ML 101]]''
* ''[[ML 103]]''
* ''[[ML 110]]''
* ''[[ML 111]]''
* ''[[ML 114]]''
* ''[[ML 115]]''
* ''[[ML 117]]''
* ''[[ML 120]]''
* ''[[ML 121]]''

{{refend}}
'''[[Royal Canadian Air Force]]'''
 {{refbegin|25em}}
* [[No. 401 Squadron RCAF|No. 1 General Reconnaissance School]]
* [[No. 5 Squadron RCAF|No. 5 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
* [[No. 7 Squadron RCAF|No. 7 Operational Training Unit]]
* [[No. 8 Squadron RCAF|No. 8 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
* [[No. 10 Squadron RCAF|No. 10 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
* [[No. 11 Squadron RCAF|No. 11 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
* [[No. 113 Squadron RCAF|No. 113 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
* [[No. 116 Squadron RCAF|No. 116 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
* [[No. 117 Squadron RCAF|No. 117 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
* [[No. 119 Squadron RCAF|No. 119 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
* [[No. 130 Squadron RCAF|No. 130 (Fighter) Squadron]]
* [[No. 145 Squadron RCAF|No. 145 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
* [[No. 160 Squadron RCAF|No. 160 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
* [[No. 161 Squadron RCAF|No. 161 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
* [[No. 161 Squadron RCAF|No. 162 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron]]
{{refend}}

===United Kingdom===
{{refbegin|15em}}
* <small>{{HMS|Salisbury|I-52|6}}</small>
* <small>{{HMS|Witherington|D76|6}}</small>
* <small>{{HMS|Chelsea|I35|6}}</small>
{{refend}}

'''[[Royal Air Force]]'''
* <small>[[No. 31 Operational Training Unit RAF]]</small>
* <small>[[No. 31 GRS BCATP|No. 31 General Reconnaissance School]]</small>

===Germany===
'''''[[Kriegsmarine]]'''''

'''[[U-boat]]s'''
{{refbegin|15em}}
* {{GS|U-43|1939|2}}
* {{GS|U-69|1940|2}}
* {{GS|U-106|1940|2}}
* {{GS|U-132|1941|2}}
* {{GS|U-165|1941|2}}
* {{GS|U-213||2}}
* {{GS|U-262||2}}
* {{GS|U-517||2}}
* {{GS|U-518||2}}
* {{GS|U-536||2}}
* {{GS|U-537||2}}
* {{GS|U-538||2}}
* {{GS|U-541||2}}
* {{GS|U-553||2}}
* {{GS|U-802||2}}
* {{GS|U-1223||2}}
* {{GS|U-1228||2}}
{{refend}}

== Aftermath ==
In 1999, 55 years after the battle, the Governor General of Canada unveiled a monument to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the battle. The monument was erected in Halifax, and has the names of all the sailors that were lost in the battle. The battle is remembered in other ways, too. For example, in 2005, Veterans Affairs published a book on all the events in the battle. This book and others can educate and inform the population about the role Canadians played in the Battle of the Saint Lawrence.<ref name="battleofthegulf"/>

==Popular culture==
* In the Canadian TV series ''[[Bomb Girls]]'', the battle is mentioned several times in season 2 and seen in the newspapers. It is also mentioned and has footage shown in the TV movie ''Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy''.

==See also==
* [[Attacks on North America during World War II]]
* [[Military history of Nova Scotia]]
* [[Convoys SG-6/LN-6]]
* [[Convoy QS-33]]
* [[Convoy SQ-36]]
* [[Convoy LN-7]]

==References and further reading==
{{reflist|30em}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book
 | title      = Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942
 | last       = Blair
 | first      = Clay
 | publisher  = Random House
 | year       = 1996
 | isbn       = 0-394-58839-8
}}
* {{cite book
| title       = The Oxford Companion to Canadian Military History
| last1        = Granatstein
| first1       = J.L.
| last2       = Oliver
| first2      = Dean F.
| publisher   = Oxford University Press Canada
| year        = 2011
| isbn        = 978-0-19-543088-2
| location    = Don Mills, ON
}}
* {{cite book
 | title      = The battle of the St. Lawrence: the Second World War in Canada
 | last       = Greenfield
 | first      = Nathan M.
 | publisher  = HarperCollins
 | year       = 2004
 | isbn       = 978-0-0020-0664-4
 | location   = Toronto
 | page       = 286
}}
* {{cite book
 | url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=LJJez91DyYcC&q=0-7735-0801-5
 | title      = U-Boats Against Canada: German Submarines in Canadian Waters
 | last       = Hadley
 | first      = Michael
 | publisher  = McGill-Queen's University Press
 | year       = 1985
 | isbn       = 978-0-7735-0801-9
}}
* {{cite book
 | title      = Night of the Caribou
 | url      = https://archive.org/details/nightofcaribou0000howd
 | url-access = registration
 | last       = How
 | first      = Douglas
 | publisher  = Lancelot Press
 | year       = 1988
 | isbn       = 978-0-88999-410-2
 | location   = Hantsport, Nova Scotia
| author-link = Douglas How
 }}
* {{cite book
 | url        = https://books.google.com/books?id=afOEdO8mh1gC&q=HMCS+Protector&pg=PA379
 | title      = Canada's Navy: the first century
 | last       = Milner
 | first      = Marc
 | publisher  = University of Toronto
 | year       = 2010
 | isbn       = 978-0-8020-9604-3
 | edition    = 2nd
 | location   = Toronto
}}
* {{cite book
 | title      = Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945
 | last1       = Rohwer
 | first1      = J.
 | last2      = Hummelchen
 | first2     = G.
 | publisher  = Naval Institute Press
 | year       = 1992
 | isbn       = 1-55750-105-X
}}
* {{cite book
 | title      = To Die Gallantly
 | last1       = Runyan
 | first1      = Timothy J.
 | last2      = Copes
 | first2     = Jan M.
 | publisher  = Westview Press
 | year       = 1994
 | isbn       = 0-8133-2332-0
}}
* {{cite book
 | title      = War in the St. Lawerance: The Forgotten U-boat Battles on Canada's Shores
 | last       = Sarty
 | first      = Roger F.
 | publisher  = Allen Lane
 | year       = 2012
 | isbn       = 978-0-670-06787-9
 | location   = Toronto
}}
* {{cite book
 | url        = https://archive.org/details/guardianofgulfsy0000tenn
 | url-access = registration
 | quote      = Guardian of the Gulf : Sydney, Cape Breton, and the Atlantic wars.
 | title      = Guardian of the Gulf: Sydney, Cape Breton, and the Atlantic wars
 | last1       = Tennyson
 | first1      = Brian Douglas
 | last2      = Sarty
 | first2     = Roger F.
 | publisher  = University of Toronto Press
 | year       = 2000
 | isbn       = 978-0-8020-4492-1
 | location   = Toronto
}}
* Veterans Affairs Canada (2005). [http://www.veterans.gc.ca/public/pages/publications/system-pdfs/battlegulf_eng.pdf The Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.] Ottawa: Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada represented by the Minister of Veterans Affairs.

==External links==
* [http://uboat.net/articles/?article=29 Detailed article on Battle of the St Lawrence]
* [http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/battle-gulf-st-lawrence Canada Remembers – The Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926222857/http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/battle-gulf-st-lawrence |date=26 September 2015 }}

{{Uboat}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:St Lawrence}}
[[Category:U-boats]]
[[Category:American Theater of World War II]]
[[Category:Battle of the Atlantic]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Canada]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Germany]]
[[Category:Saint Lawrence River|Battle of]]
[[Category:1942 in Canada|Battle_of_the_St._Lawrence]]
[[Category:1943 in Canada|Battle_of_the_St._Lawrence]]
[[Category:1944 in Canada|Battle_of_the_St._Lawrence]]
[[Category:Conflicts in Quebec]]
[[Category:Conflicts in Ontario]]
[[Category:Conflicts in Canada]]
[[Category:Events of National Historic Significance (Canada)]]
[[Category:1942 in Quebec|Battle_of_the_St._Lawrence]]
[[Category:1942 in Ontario|Battle_of_the_St._Lawrence]]
[[Category:1943 in Quebec|Battle_of_the_St._Lawrence]]
[[Category:1943 in Ontario|Battle_of_the_St._Lawrence]]
[[Category:1944 in Quebec|Battle_of_the_St._Lawrence]]
[[Category:1944 in Ontario|Battle_of_the_St._Lawrence]]
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Canada]]
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving Canada]]
[[Category:Military history of Canada during World War II]]
[[Category:Naval battles and operations of World War II involving the United Kingdom|St. Lawrence]]