Holy cow! Just heard a local radio report that stated:
“For years, there have been rumours that a WWII German U-boat may be at the bottom of the Churchill River in Labrador. Now through sonar imaging, there is some evidence that the legend may be true. It’s a claim the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs is taking seriously. It’s contacted the German government about it.”. Full radio report can be heard here: http://www.cbc.ca/labradormorning/episodes/2012/07/25/finding-a-german-u-boat-in-the-churchill-river/
Another interesting fact is that the desolate reaches of Northern Labrador was also host to a WWII Meteorological Station that was erected with the use of a U-Boat during the war. The weather station was not discovered until the 1980s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Station_Kurt
Thought this was a neat little news item for all you sub buffs!
Interesting point bondoman. There was, and still is, a very large airbase at Goose Bay at the mouth of the Churchill River that was quite active during the Cold War with respect to low level flight training for NATO allies. The topography of this region of Labrador was very similar to that of Eastern Europe and so why it was such a popular flight training area.
Whether German or Russian (I am leaning towards German however) it is going to be an interesting find if indeed true. I will post any additional info once it becomes available. Of course, if it exists, it will be declared a war grave and little will be done to examine the wreck which in my opinion is probably deeply buried in river silt anyway!
Also, of interest is a fictional novel written in 1992 about a sunk German sub…you guessed it…sunk in Churchill River. Apparently this rumour goes back to WW2 days when people living on the Churchill River claimed to have heard the sound of diesel engines that they said were from a submarine.
The novel was written in 1992 by a gentleman named Walter Sellars and titled Hard Aground published by Breakwater Books. He claims it was a fictional story based on actual facts. I just hope that the divers go in and actually see if it is really a U-Boat.
That could just as easily be a fishing boat. It’s pretty intact, and I’d expect it to have laid over on it’s side after all these years. But that’s just me.