Canada's Naval History

Second World War
Battle of the Atlantic - Lost at Sea: HMCS St. Croix

In September 1943, in a battle surrounding two convoys in the North Atlantic, German submarines sank the Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Croix and eight other Allied warships and merchant vessels. The loss of St. Croix, like the loss of many Canadian ships during the battle of the Atlantic was felt across the country.

Artifact Record

HMCS St. Croix and U-Boat in North Atlantic

Ronald Weyman's painting depicts the cramped bridge of the destroyer HMCS St. Croix - a veteran of the battle of the Atlantic - during an attack on a German submarine (upper right).

Weyman was in St. Croix as the ship's gunnery officer for much of 1943, and his work most likely shows the 24 July 1942 sinking of U-90. As part of a destroyer screen operating ahead of a convoy, St. Croix sighted the surfaced U-90, forced it to dive, and then destroyed it with depth charges. In March 1943, St. Croix and the Canadian corvette HMCS Shediac destroyed the German submarine U-87.

HMCS St. Croix and U-Boat in North Atlantic
Painted by Ronald Weyman in 1943
Beaverbrook Collection of War Art
CWM 19710261-5628