With Germany's defeat in May 1945, its U-Boats (submarines) were required to surrender to Allied forces. The Royal Canadian Navy was involved in the surrender of U-Boats in European waters, while U-190 and U-889, surrendering to Canadian forces in the Western Atlantic, were brought to ports in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
Gordon Charlebois, a Royal Canadian Naval Reserve officer serving in HMCS Niagara, kept this German sailor's cap as a souvenir of German submarine U-570's August 1941 surrender.
During the Second World War, a number of U-Boats surrendered to Allied forces or were seized by Allied boarding parties following battles. U-570, damaged by a British aircraft on 27 August 1941, surrendered to Allied forces, including HMCS Niagara. Subsequently towed to Iceland, repaired, and renamed HMS Graph, the submarine remained in British service until 1944.
Service Dress Cap
CWM 19860163-001