Document Archives | When World War II Came to Bell Island, Newfoundland

English translation of U-518 logbook for November 2, 1942 attacks

U-518 logbook extracts from November 2, 1942: “06.36 – On closing three steamers are in sight, they lie off the roadstead at anchor. “07.32 – Shot from tube […]

Book: The Enemy on our Doorstep by Steve Neary

The most thorough historical account of the 1942 U-boat attacks and sinkings at Bell Island is contained in this book written by the late Steve Neary and published […]

DOSCO correspondence: SS Rose Castle survivors

A letter dated August 26, 1943 from William Gilroy to J.A. Campbell, both of the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (DOSCO) in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The letter lists […]

Map of Bell Island, Newfoundland in 1942 (click to enlarge)

Map of Bell Island in Conception Bay, Newfoundland. Bell Island is roughly 10 kilometres long by 3.5 kilometres wide, and is 5 kilometres offshore of Portugal Cove. The […]

SS Lord Strathcona shipyard plans

General arrangement plans of SS Lord Strathcona from the builder: William Doxford & Sons Ltd. in Sunderland, England. Lord Strathcona was built in 1915 and was 138.7 metres […]

Bell Island Attacks: Event of Provincial Significance

The U-boat attacks on the Bell Island ore ships in 1942 were designated as an Event of Provincial Significance by the Government of Newfoundland & Labrador in June […]

Map of second U-boat attack at Bell Island

This map of the second U-boat attack at Bell Island was drawn by Canadian Army Intelligence staff who investigated the sinkings. The map (marked SECRET) shows two ships […]

Map of first U-boat attack at Bell Island

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) investigated the first U-boat attack and sinkings after September 5, 1942. This map came from RCN files on the sinking of SS Saganaga. […]

Telegram from Newfoundland Governor on defence of Bell Island

Secret telegram sent by the Governor of Newfoundland (Sir Humphrey Walwyn) on October 28, 1939 to the British Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs on the need for […]

DOSCO report on need for coastal defence of Bell Island

Extracts from a report of October 16, 1939 by J.A. Macdonald for the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (DOSCO) on the need for coastal defences at Bell Island. […]

English translation of U-513 logbook for September 5, 1942 attacks

U-513 logbook extracts from September 5, 1942: “16.02 – Two bow shots on the innermost freighter, at anchor … No detonation. Both torpedoes were not heard in the […]

Chart of numbers of German U-boats in operation and sunk in the Atlantic Ocean

A chart provided by British Naval Intelligence to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1945. The bar chart shows the estimated number of German U-boats operating in the […]