SS Caribou

In the dark, frigid waters of the Cabot Strait, just after midnight on October 14, 1942, the passenger ferry SS Caribou was making her familiar run from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland. Onboard were soldiers heading home, mothers with children, sailors on leave, and the crew who knew every wave of that crossing. Then, from beneath the black surface, the German submarine U-69 struck. One torpedo, one flash of fire, and within minutes the Caribou was gone, taking more than half of those aboard with her. The escort, HMCS Grandmère, dropped depth charges before turning back to rescue the survivors. What followed was a night of loss, courage, and bitter questions about duty and humanity at war. This is the story of that attack, of the ship and the people who went down with her, and of a nation that learned just how close the war had come.