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Chapter 5:
After the S. S. Caribou was sunk a number of investigations were commenced to discover why the ship was torpedoed and if anything could have been done differently to prevent a similar tragedy from reoccurring. Some newspapers were loud and clear in their condemnation of the whole affair and many of the populous were of the same opinion. Let us now examine the facts as presented by the various agencies that were involved in the safety of the ship and its crew while on duty in the Cabot Strait in the autumn of 1942.
Report of A / Captain Lay R. C. N. Department of Defense, Canada, November 20, 1942
In his secret report on the sinking of the S. S. Caribou to the Canadian Naval Services, Captain Lay reported that all Bangor Class Minesweepers, the same class as HMCS Grandmere, had not been fitted with R D F ( Radio Direction Finding) equipment and therefore could not detect U- Boats on the surface of the ocean. Ships of the Western Local Escort Force were given preference in being fitted with RDF equipment as they were involved in convoy duty in the North Atlantic. They were more likely to encounter U- Boats on the surface of the ocean, where they came periodically to charge their batteries using diesel powered generators. Another menace for all shipping was the surface raider, German cruisers or battleships that roamed the North Atlantic in search of prey. With R D F the R C N would have time to alert the convoys to scatter and meet at a predetermined location.
Captain Lay also reported the position of the sinking as 47 degrees 19 minutes North, 59 degrees 28 minutes West or 220 degrees 20 miles southwest of Channel Head, which was similar to the original report of 220 degrees 19.2 miles southwest of Channel Head, Port aux Basques.
HMCS Grandmere also reported excess smoke coming from the smokestack of S. S. Caribou. The HMCS Medicine Hat reported the S. S. Caribou as being a very bad smoke offender and did not keep good station.
The question of the S. S. Caribou sailing during the night surfaced after the sinking. H.H. Hardy of the Press Gallery in Ottawa on March 6, 1943 wrote to H. C. Howard Director of Naval Information concerning the following rumor. “Before the S.S. Caribou was sunk repeated requests had been made to naval officials that the sailing time be changed from night to day. This was refused. However the ship replacing the S. S. Caribou is sailing during daylight hours.” In his reply John J. Connolly Executive Assistant to the Minister of National Defense reported that after careful search no record written or verbal had been found that any request had ever been made and that the time of sailing would be the responsibility of the Newfoundland Railway. On March 12, 1943 Captain Lay R C N wrote, “My understanding was that the S. S. Caribou belonged to the Newfoundland Railway Company who insisted that she sail at night to fit in with their schedules.”
Naval Services of the Department of National Defense reported the following items of mail lost due to the sinking of the S. S. Caribou:
1145 bags of mail including 58 bags from the United Kingdom.
84 bags of letters.
891 bags of newspapers, prints, parcels and other items.