More information : Wreck Remains:
QUALITY OF FIX: PA
Two wrecks located and assumed to be HMCS REGINA and EZRA WESTON. Position 50 40.12N 005 01.00W assumed to be REGINA but could also be EZRA WESTON or RISOY.
Plymouth list accepted putting original sinking position (Jan 1945), although it may be EZRA WESTON, 50 42.00N 005 03.00W.
08-08-1944: Sonar contact. (1)
The wreck of the REGINA lies next to the bow section of the EZRA WESTON, which itself lies in a general depth of 55m. (2)
Torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine while on escort duty. Wreck lies in 30m depth: Decca Position (SW Chain) Green (H) 34.35; Purple (E) 58.05. NB: There is a second wreck in the immediate vicinity, the SS EZRA WESTON, and the remains of the two vessels may possibly merge. (3)(4)
Wreck investigated by Phil Durbin, who was fascinated by the story of the REGINA. On an earlier visit he had seen the wreck of the REGINA, and was struck by her small size. She was covered in white plumose anemones. Both the EZRA WESTON and the REGINA showed signs of extensive and catastrophic damage. There was a trail of debris, including unexploded depth charges, leading away to a dark shadow in the background. He wondered what else was there, but at the depth of 200 feet it was too dangerous at the time to investigate further.
A side scan sonar recording of the site was made by Bill Smith for the programme. The REGINA was located a few hundred metres away from the EZRA WESTON, with her bow and deck structure intact, proud of the seabed, with her boilers visible.
On the second pass the mystery shape was located 70 metres to the right of the REGINA. It was described as a "big lump of hard reflective stuff" and assumed to be a piece of the EZRA WESTON or a plate from either vessel; if from the REGINA, possibly the middle section.
It was then dived and investigated, and seen to be a keel section, the stern of the REGINA, with the bottom of the hull sticking out. It looked as if the REGINA had exploded in situ, not on the surface, where the wreckage would have sunk and been scattered over a much wider area. The metal was twisted, again indicating blast damage. Ballast and parts of the engine were seen. A trail of unexploded depth charges was seen leading away from the site.
One depth charge was shown with the outer case eaten away, and anemones and starfish settled on it.
However, the depth charges were seen to be unexploded, confirming the fact that they had been set to "safe" as described by the surviving witnesses. The "explosion" was then thought more likely to have been an implosion of the vessel, as she sank rapidly, and would have created an air bubble. (8)
A commemorative plaque has been affixed to the REGINA by divers, with text in English and French. (10)
Wreck Event and Documentary Evidence:
The Canadian corvette REGINA was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine on 08-AUG-1944 between Trevose Head and Hartland Point. 60 men saved; normal crew compleement 85. (5)
REGINA - British corvette, torpedoed and sunk by U-Boat between Trevose Head and Hartland Point on 08-AUG-1944, in approximate position 50 42N 005 03.00W. (6)
When the EZRA WESTON was hit the master originally signalled that they had been mined; Lt Radford of the REGINA considered this a viable possibility as the EZRA WESTON was slightly outside the channel swept for mines, and advised the master of the EZRA WESTON to try and make for Padstow to beach his stricken vessel, and LCT 644 also approached the EZRA WESTON. By now the latter was sinking and LCT 644 took off the crew, and started to take her in tow, while REGINA stayed within hailing distance.
REGINA was hit by a torpedo at 2248hrs, although at the time no one was certain whether it was a torpedo or another mine, and she sank within seconds. Since most of the crew were already on the upper deck watching developments with the EZRA WESTON. Fortunately one of the crew had set the depth charges to "safe" just before the ship was struck which saved many lives, since rapid sinkings often involved explosions of depth charges.
30 crew were lost, mostly from the engine and boiler room, as the ship "reared up" and sank stem first. 66 survivors and the four officers who had remained on board the EZRA WESTON were also saved by LCT 644 and HM Trawler JACQUES MORGAND.
REGINA was sunk with a GNAT from U667. (7)
NB: The position given in (7) above is consistent with the area between Trevose Head and Hartland Point in (5) and (6).
REGINA was a Canadian "Flower" class corvette, whose sister ship SACKVILLE is still extant and displayed with her pennant number K181 [see source (9) for further details of the SACKVILLE], small ships 200 feet long x 45 feet wide, designed essentially as "sheepdogs" for the convoys, according to naval historian Marc Milner. In the computer-generated reconstructions of her sinking she was shown with the pennant number K234.
After D-day she was involved in regular supply runs out of Avonmouth to France, which by then had become routine. On the day of loss she was acting as the headship for the convoy. Several survivors were interviewed for the programme and described the weather conditions as "millpond calm". They stated that they were zigzagging in the swept channel.
These eyewitnesses then described hearing the explosion on the WESTON and watched her sink by the bows, described as "slow-mo", and "barely detectable". The order was given to signal the EZRA WESTON and conduct a complete sonar sweep round the convoy but no trace was detected of the attacker. The EZRA WESTON's crew were in the lifeboat and rowing towards them. The order was given for "all stop", which puzzled the crew of the REGINA. There was then an explosion as they were torpedoed on the port side, right amidships, where the munitions [80 depth charges] were. One survivor described being thrown up past the yardarm, and thinking it was a ridiculous way to die, another saw a great white flash, while a third described preparing to jump into the sea, but the ship had sunk so quickly that he found himself already in the sea. She in fact sank in 28 seconds.
The survivors described themselves as floating in the sea, but their next worry was the depth charges, which had been set to 50 feet. Their concern was that they would explode as the ship went down. What they did not know at the time was that one of the crew, named as Tom Malone, had been on watch, and on seeing the EZRA WESTON being attacked, had telephoned the bridge and asked permission to set the depth charges to "safe". This conversation was heard by a witness, and the ship's surgeon confirmed that he had taken the call and granted permission. 66 men on board therefore owed their lives to Tom Malone, but he was one of those killed in the attack on the REGINA.
Three bodies were washed up 15 miles up the coast, and buried in the local churchyard, one of those being Tom Malone. No other victims were recovered. (8)
The court martial of Lieut. Radford of the REGINA was described. It was described as a "natural assumption" that where the ship was close to a declared minefield with few submarine strikes, that an explosion on board would be due to a mine, not a torpedo, although an Admiralty directive of 15-JUL-1944 had stated that when a ship was unaccountably blown up a mine should not automatically be assumed.
However, the channel had been swept in the previous 24 hours and German tactics had changed, to attack from the landward side of the swept channel. The convoy was moving in two lines of five, and the blast hit the EZRA WESTON on the inshore side, so it would have appeared to be more consistent with a mine strike to the commander of the REGINA, since a torpedo strike would have been expected to come from deep water to the seaward.
Additionally the technology had changed from thermal torpedoes, which left a track, to electric torpedoes, which did not betray their position on being fired. Lieut. Radford then followed the correct procedure for a mine strike - all stop. However, survivors stated that they were "like a sitting duck at twilight" for the next torpedo. (10)
Built: 1943 (3)(4)(5)
Propulsion: 2 x screw driven, triple expansion engines (3)(4)(5)
Boilers: 3 (3)(4)
HP: 2800 (3)(4)(5)
Armament: 1 x 4in AA gun; 1 pom-pom; 2 x 20mm AA guns (3)(4); 80 depth charges (8)
Commanding Officer: Lt Jack Radford, RCNR (7)
Crew: 85 (3)(4)(5); 96 (7)(8)
Crew Lost: 25 (3)(4)(5); 30 (7)(8)
Owner: Royal Canadian Navy [all sources]
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss |