On May 12, 1945 U-190, a Type IXC/40 Kriegsmarine U-boat, surrendered to HMCS Thorlock and HMCS Victoriaville off the coast of Newfoundland. The German U-boat was boarded by heavily-armed Canadian sailors, and shortly thereafter the majority of U-190’s crew, including their Commanding Officer Oberleutnant z.S. Reith, were removed to the two Canadian warships.

However Chief Engineer Leutnant z.S. Werner Hirschmann was instructed to remain on board to help sail U-190 to Bay Bulls, Newfoundland. In his 2004 memoir “Another Place, Another Time” he writes:

“Well – here I am, with 11 German sailors, 5 Canadian officers and about 25 Canadian sailors, aboard our U-boat – all waiting for things to happen. The two cutters with our crew have disappeared into the darkness.”

The evocative photographs that are the centrepiece of this article were provided to me by Kristian Baxter, who kindly allowed me to share them with you. They were given to him over 40 years ago by a doctor, now deceased, whose association with the photographs is unknown. The U-boat and its crew attracted a lot of attention, and so it’s not surprising that those with cameras snapped photos for their postwar albums. This included my grandfather stationed in St. John’s who took photos of U-190 after its refit in June.

Shortly after daybreak on May 14 the German and Canadian crew arrived at Bay Bulls, where they temporarily tied up to mooring buoys. U-190 had been at sea for nearly three months and it showed:

It was decided that the U-boat required repairs in St. John’s before it could sail to Halifax and it was subsequently boarded by a group of Canadian submariners. Hirschmann writes:

“In the meantime more Canadian navy personnel have come aboard. They are trained in submarine operations and, in contrast to their friends from the escort vessels, are very impressive.”

Hirschmann and his men would soon be reunited with the U-190 crewmen that boarded Thurlock and Victoriaville at sea two days earlier. Hirschmann reflects in his diary:

“Coming up to the bridge of U-190 again I find myself face to face with Herbert Rogge, the I.W.O.. After a lively exchange of greetings and backslapping he informs me that he has come aboard with a small detail to collect the belongings of the entire crew. The other crew members will not be allowed back on our boat.”

The following three images show a group of officers and men milling around the docks at Bay Bulls, prior to boarding HMCS Prestonian for their voyage to Halifax. I’ve used Hirschmann’s book, filled with photographs from his extensive personal collection, to help identify some of the officers in these photos. If you are able to identify any other German or Canadian sailors please comment below.

On May 19, 1945 U-190 was officially commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy and sent to St. John’s for a refit. In August it began a publicity tour of ports along the St. Lawrence River, where thousands of eager Canadians lined up to visit the former German U-boat.

U-190 was decommissioned in July 1947 and its periscope removed and eventually displayed in the Crow’s Nest Officers Club in St. John’s. On October 21, 1947 the U-boat was towed to the location where it torpedoed and sunk HMCS Esquimalt on April 16, 1945. It was here, during Operation Scuppered, that U-190 was sunk by the combined firepower of three Canadian destroyers (including HMCS Haida) and twenty naval aircraft.

Werner Hirschmann spent 26 months as a prisoner of war, half in Canada and half in Great Britain. He finally returned home to Germany in August 1947 where he married his girlfriend two months later. Despite being a prisoner he had fond memories of Canada, so much so that in 1952 he and his wife emigrated to this country and settled in Ontario. His marriage did not survive the turmoil of starting a new life here, however he remarried and built a successful career as a computer pioneer.

In 1993 Werner Hirschmann was asked to participate in the 50th commemorations of the Battle of the Atlantic. He later recalled:

“I was invited to speak about my wartime experiences to a large reunion of naval veterans in Halifax. During the course of that event, I was asked if I would like to meet one of the 26 survivors from HMCS Esquimalt, the Canadian ship that my boat had sunk in April 1945. I replied that I would consider it an honour and, following a somewhat hesitant handshake, which was transformed into an embrace, I met Joe Wilson, who was Esquimalt’s Asdic operator on that fateful day, 16 April 1945. It was an emotional and moving encounter for both of us, and the media, always on the look-out for stories, pounced on the event.”

The subsequent publicity led to many other events and encounters, including his being invited to Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1995 to lay a wreath at the monument dedicated to the memory of the ship he helped to sink fifty years earlier. He was made an honorary life member of the HMCS Esquimalt Memorial Association.

Werner Hirschmann’s book, “Another Place, Another Time“, is a must-read for anyone interested in the lives of those who served in the Second World War. It was co-written by author and historian Donald E. Graves and was published in Canada and the UK in 2004 by Robin Brass Studio. His photographs, diary entries and recollections offer a fascinating glimpse into a Kriegsmarine officer’s experience in the Second World War, and just as importantly, the story of a life rebuilt in its aftermath. Currently out-of-print, second-hand copies can be found for sale online (abebooks.com) or if you’re fortunate from a local second-hand bookseller.

Werner Hirschmann died in Toronto, Ontario on November 7, 2019.

Thank you again to Kristian Baxter for sharing his photographs.