Under the heading “Other U-Boat Encounters” on the webpage “Government and Politics,” — http://www.heritage.nf.ca/law/uboat.html — part of the text, which is credited to Paul Collins, reads as follows:

The operation of the Torbay airbase coincided with greater U-boat activity in local Newfoundland waters. On 3 March 1942, for example, U587 fired three torpedoes at St. John's. One hit Fort Amherst, one hit the net protecting the Harbour entrance, and the other hit below Cabot Tower, according to reports, breaking every window in the building. Two days previous, a Liberator aircraft out of Argentia flown by Ensign William Tepune [sic] caught U656, under Kaptänleutnant Ernst Kröning, on the surface in broad daylight a mere 40 kilometres south of Trepassey and destroyed it. This [sic] sinking gave rise to one of the most famous radio signals [sic] of the war - “Sighted Sub, Sank Same.” [sic]

American newspapers reported that after Ensign Tepune [sic] disposed of U656, he transmitted the famous message to Argentia. In fact, he did not. The story was a fabrication, and “Sighted Sub, Sank Same” actually appeared in other news stories at various times in different theatres throughout the war. But it made good press and, at the time, American morale needed encouragement. The devastating attack at Pearl Harbour had occurred in December, and the Japanese were running unchecked throughout most of the Western Pacific. At the same time, German U-boats were ravaging shipping all along the eastern seaboard of the United States. The public clamoured for action and Ensign Tepune's [sic] sinking of U656 confirmed that American forces were fighting back. That the attack occurred off the coast of Newfoundland rather than New Jersey was immaterial. Indeed, some evidence suggests that destroyers called to the scene by Tepune [sic] actually sank U656. Regardless, he is given credit and it was the start of a long string of victories by the USN over the U-boats in the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite stories to the contrary, very few civilians in Newfoundland actually encountered U-boats or their personnel during the Second World War. Local stories chronicle people encountering strange men on deserted roads who smelled of diesel fumes, or of U-boats surfacing next to fishing boats to buy fresh fish. Likewise, personal and newspaper accounts suggest that a large number of U-boats were destroyed in the waters surrounding Newfoundland. The truth is that less than a half dozen lie in what are now Canadian waters, and one of those was expended after the war as a target. Evidence suggests, however, that one encounter actually did occur and involved a small schooner from the Southern Shore.

On 1 May 1944, a Liberator [sic] aircraft from No. 10 Squadron sighted U548 under Kaptänleutnant Heinrich Zimmermann east of Conception Bay. The plane attacked, and Zimmermann returned fire and escaped under cover of darkness. However, an alert was broadcast, and when U548 surfaced off Cape Broyle two days later, HMS Hargood was waiting. Zimmermann took refuge close to the cliffs and while the British warship was conducting its search for the U-boat, the schooner Mary Coady, homeward bound from St. John's, entered the search area. The Hargood intercepted the Mary Coady and ordered its captain Tom Coady to spend the night out at sea while they hunted the U-boat. Coady complied and left the area. After approximately an hour, one of the crew happened to look over the side of the boat and saw a dark shape underneath keeping pace. The Mary Coady did not have a radio or any way of calling for help, so the captain maintained his course, hoping that in the coming darkness the U-boat would move off. This was the case and, in the morning, the U-boat was gone.

A couple of days later, Zimmermann and U548 encountered HMCS Valleyfield [sic] off the South Coast on its way to Halifax having escorted a convoy. Valleyfield [sic] was not as vigilant as it could have been, and Zimmermann attacked it with an acoustic torpedo. The warship went under so quickly that the other two ships in company did not realize the frigate was lost until 30 minutes later. By the time they returned and located the survivors, only 38 [sic] of Valleyfield's [sic] 165-man crew were still alive. Most had died of exposure.

Newfoundland and Labrador [sic] was in the war zone despite being thousands of miles away from the main battlefields of Europe. Ships and U-boats alike were sunk off the coast and there was always the threat of a direct enemy attack. Blackout regulations were instituted soon after the war began, and provisions were actually made to burn St. John's to the ground rather than let it fall into enemy hands. Furthermore, thousands of Allied troops were stationed in Newfoundland and Labrador [sic] during the Second World War, both to protect it and bring the fight to the enemy. Newfoundland and Labrador [sic] not only played an important part in North American defence and the Battle of the Atlantic but also experienced the war first hand.

Repudiation of Erroneous Information by Paul Collins

First of all, Collins made a major error — like many writers and orators do while referring to Newfoundland prior to 2005 — when he wrote “Newfoundland and Labrador was in the war zone.” Newfoundland was a country during World War II. There was no such political entity as "Newfoundland and Labrador" during World War II. The move to change the name of Canada's tenth province began in the early-1990s to provide symbolic recognition of Labrador's status as a full and vital partner within the province … but distinct with its unique geography, history, and culture. It was on Thursday December 6, 2001, that an amendment to Canada's federal Constitution Act officially approved a name change from Newfoundland to “Newfoundland and Labrador.” Consequently, all references to the province prior to that date should be “Newfoundland,” otherwise the information is factually and historically incorrect.

The names of ships and planes should be written in italics.

Paul Collins was correct in stating “… very few civilians in Newfoundland actually encountered U-boats or their personnel during the Second World War. Local stories chronicle people encountering strange men on deserted roads who smelled of diesel fumes, or of U-boats surfacing next to fishing boats to buy fresh fish. Likewise, personal and newspaper accounts suggest that a large number of U-boats were destroyed in the waters surrounding Newfoundland. The truth is that less than a half dozen lie in what are now Canadian waters, and one of those was expended after the war as a target.” Refer to Misconceptions and Fabrications of Bob Noseworthy and “Lighthouse Keeper Gets US Medal” in Misconceptions and Fabrications Propagated By Jack Fitzgerald for more details about U-boat sightings and sinkings.

His account of U-548 being detected and escaping from an area near Cape Broyle is fairly accurate. However, since he took the time to mention the HMCS Valleyfield, he should have added a little basic information about the vessel and shown the correct number of crewmembers and survivors.

At 301.5 feet long and weighing 1,445 tons, the HMCS Valleyfield was a River Class frigate and under the command of Lieutenant Commander D. T. English, RCNR. It was torpedoed and sunk by U-548 in an area approximately 50 miles south of Cape Race on Sunday, May 7, 1944. It carried a crew of 133 men, not 165, and 125 were lost. That meant there were 8, not 38, survivors.

The information presented in the first two paragraphs was not correct. Indeed, Collins used information from two separate events and wove them into a contorted account. Firstly, the surname of the pilot to whom he referred was Tepuni, not “ Tepune.”

Collins gave readers the impression that Ensign Tepuni was credited with the radio message “Sighted Sub, Sank Same” and then wrote, “American newspapers reported that after Ensign Tepune [sic] disposed of U656, he transmitted the famous message to Argentia. In fact, he did not. The story was a fabrication, and “Sighted Sub, Sank Same” actually appeared in other news stories at various times in different theatres throughout the war. But it made good press and, at the time, American morale needed encouragement.”

Collins was correct in stating Ensign Tepuni did not send that message to Argentia. Tepuni had absolutely no connection with that message. Contrary to what Collins wrote, though, “Sighted sub, sank same!” was an actual message that was sent to Argentia by aircraft radio … and it was, indeed, repeated by other pilots who sank U-boats from the air at later dates during the war.

The now famous and often quoted phrase, “Sighted sub, sank same” was radioed to Argentia Air Traffic Control by Aviation Machinist Mate Donald F. Mason, a member of Squadron 52, at 1427 hours on Friday, February 27, 1942. His message was a little premature, however, because “he missed the target and the unidentified U-boat escaped unscathed.”

In reality, it was doubtful that Mason ever saw a submarine. He was flying over the rugged coastline of the southern end of the western Avalon Peninsula at the time and he most likely mistook water breaking over a sunker — which is a very common sight along the entire Newfoundland coastline — as the backwash of a submarine's conning tower.

For those who are not familiar with the Newfoundland term, a sunker is a rock that lies just below the surface and over which the water breaks.

The first German submarine to be sunk by American forces during World War II was U-boat 656 … in an area 29.6 miles off Cape Race, Newfoundland. More specifically, the sinking took place at coordinates 46° 15' N by 53° 15' W. Ensign William Tepuni, USNR destroyed U-656 — under the command of Captain Ernst Kröning — on Sunday, March 1, 1942. At the time, he was piloting a Lockheed Hudson bomber, a unit of Argentia-based Squadron VP-82.

On Sunday, March 15, 1942, Aviation Machinist Mate Mason sank the second German U-boat that was destroyed by American forces during the war. The event was monitored by radio from Argentia and several destroyers that were heading south through Placentia Bay. Seeing the explosive results of his attack must have created an adrenalin rush, because Mason did not repeat “Sighted sub, sank same,” which he had so casually done on February 27. His excited comment after seeing the results of his work was “Got that sucker, no sign of survivors!”

Mason sank U-503 off the Grand Banks — and not off the Virgin Rocks near Big Barasway — as some writers and speakers have claimed over the years. Several different websites that are being maintained by other Americans also contain that same inaccurate information. The incorrect information on those sites obviously came from the same defective source because it reads, “Chief Aviation Machinist's Mate Donald Mason sank U-503 southeast of the Virgin Rocks.” For the record, there were never any German submarines sunk in Placentia Bay. The destruction of U-503 occurred while it was sailing on the surface approximately 85 miles east of Bonavista … in the area defined by coordinates 45° 50' N by 48° 50' W.

Most likely, the captain of U-503 was on the surface in order to clear the stale air and diesel fumes that had built up when the vessel was submerged. Normally, that procedure was carried out under the cover of darkness, but the commanding officer of the U-boat broke the cardinal rule by rising in daylight. Consequently, he and his crew paid the ultimate price for their mistake.