General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Re: u-boat Lake Ontario???
Posted by:
Nathan M. Greenfield
()
Date: September 18, 2002 09:57AM
<HTML>Boy, you go away for a few days and suddenly there are U-boats running up the Lachine Rapids as far as Kingston, Ontario....
Don't have much to add to what Rainer and Steve have already written.
But for the record, the locks on the Lachine Canal -- which runs through downtown Montreal -- are only 4 m deep, barely enough for a corvette to float in. The ones built in Kingston, Collingwood and Midland (these last on Lake Huron) came down to Quebec to be fitted with their guns etc so they could fit into the locks.
Seems as if a U-Boat's connning tower would have been a bit obvious.
South of the Canal are the Lachine Rapids (today, south of them is the St. Lawrence Seaway) which, as had been pointed out, was the main portage route during the French Regime. But, again, seems a bit unlikely that any U-boat crew could have portaged over it. U-boat's weigh a bit more than birch bark canoes.
What is important about the Canal, however, is the fact that because of its dimensions, frigates could not be built by the yards on Lake Ontario. This meant that many new yards had to be built and other enlarged during the war, which, of course, delayed the deployment of ships for the better part of a year.
Finally, it's highly unlike that a U-boat could have gotten past Ile Orleans, some 5 miles east of Quebec City, which itself is about 200 miles east of Montreal. Shortly after the war broke out, the Navy installed an ASDIC loop under the shipping channel. (I've been to the site of the command centre and seen some of the equipment used) Patrol boats plied the river there and several miles up river, right before Quebec, large guns were positioned AT THE RIVER ready to fire at any and all intruders.
NMG</HTML>
Don't have much to add to what Rainer and Steve have already written.
But for the record, the locks on the Lachine Canal -- which runs through downtown Montreal -- are only 4 m deep, barely enough for a corvette to float in. The ones built in Kingston, Collingwood and Midland (these last on Lake Huron) came down to Quebec to be fitted with their guns etc so they could fit into the locks.
Seems as if a U-Boat's connning tower would have been a bit obvious.
South of the Canal are the Lachine Rapids (today, south of them is the St. Lawrence Seaway) which, as had been pointed out, was the main portage route during the French Regime. But, again, seems a bit unlikely that any U-boat crew could have portaged over it. U-boat's weigh a bit more than birch bark canoes.
What is important about the Canal, however, is the fact that because of its dimensions, frigates could not be built by the yards on Lake Ontario. This meant that many new yards had to be built and other enlarged during the war, which, of course, delayed the deployment of ships for the better part of a year.
Finally, it's highly unlike that a U-boat could have gotten past Ile Orleans, some 5 miles east of Quebec City, which itself is about 200 miles east of Montreal. Shortly after the war broke out, the Navy installed an ASDIC loop under the shipping channel. (I've been to the site of the command centre and seen some of the equipment used) Patrol boats plied the river there and several miles up river, right before Quebec, large guns were positioned AT THE RIVER ready to fire at any and all intruders.
NMG</HTML>
