Canada at War: THE SERVICES: U-Boats in the River?

A lifeboat edged out of the gloom. Its frightened crew climbed ashore at Matane, Que. Able Seaman Sidney Langmead told what had happened.

A 10,000-ton British freighter was outward bound on the broad St. Lawrence River. Suddenly there was a terrific explosion. The order to abandon ship came almost immediately, and 17 men scrambled into a boat and shoved off. “We were adrift for about ten minutes when we heard a second explosion. The ship went down fast after that. We . . . didn’t see anything more of the rest of the crew.” At week’s end, more than 40 men were still missing.

Canada’s censors, usually loud in their silence about such things, passed the story. They also permitted speculation on the possibility that German U-boats had penetrated the St. Lawrence for the first time since mid-1942.