Daily Event for February 18

The French submarine Surcouf was a hybrid, the only one of her kind. The largest submarine built to date her dimensions were 361' long with a beam of 29.5. She displaced 4,218 tons submerged. In comparison the type IX and type XXI U-boats of World War II built fifteen years later, were only 249' long displacing 2,100 tons submerged. Only the Japanese Sen Toku Type submarines of World War II were larger (400' long and 5,223 tons).

Surcouf was armed with two 8"/203mm main guns in a turret forward of the conning tower. She also carried two 1.4"/37mm anti-aircraft cannons, four 13.2mm AA machine guns and ten torpedo tubes, six forward 21" and four stern 16". In addition the Surcouf had a hanger with a MB 411 seaplane, a 16' motor launch (for boarding parties) and had room to lock up 40 POWs. She could make over 18 knots on the surface using her two screws. All in all Surcouf was one unique boat.

When Germany invaded France in 1940 Surcouf was at Brest undergoing a refit. However before she could be captured she was sailed across the channel to Plymouth. At the time nobody was sure what to do with the sub. The final decision was to assign her to the Free French Navy. However the decision cost the lives of at four men, three British and one French. It seems there was a disagreement which turned into gunfire when the British attempted to seize the boat.

Nevertheless Surcouf served in the Free French Navy and made several Atlantic patrols. The trouble however came from the Americans and the British not the Germans. The British distrust of the French caused several accusations against the captain of the Surcouf, Capitaine de frégate Georges L. N. Blaison. He was the only remaining officer of the original crew that arrived in Plymouth and was placed in command of the boat. The British and the French both made accusations of spying and the British even claimed the Surcouf was sinking British ships instead of protecting them while in convoy. Finally two British liaison officers were put aboard.

The Surcouf along with three Free French corvettes captured and liberated the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon on December 24, 1941. This move angered the Americans who were negotiating with the Vichy French to keep them neutral. The U.S. surely did not want the Germans to have access to ports controlled by the French in the East Indies. It's even reported that a U.S. destroyer was dispatched to retake the islands and return them to Vichy control. Whether this happened or not is still in dispute. It was later decided to send her to the Pacific, however while en route to the Panama Canal, the Surcouf was lost.

Late in the evening of February 18, 1942 the American freighter Thompson Lykes was en route from Cristobal, Panama to Cuba when a collision shook the ship. It was evident that the ship had rammed something, and the master Capt. Henry Johnson, quickly made his way to the bridge. Darkness and poor visibility prevented the men on Thompson Lykes from seeing what they had hit, but later "faint cries" and a light were reported to have been seen. Johnson reported the collision to the authorities at Cristobal and circled the area until sunrise and, but nothing was found.

Johnson took his damaged ship back to Cristobal for temporary repairs. At the time of the collision his ship was making about 15 knots and his bows were badly damaged. With no doubt that his ship had hit something of substantial size the assumption was that he had hit a German U-Boat, but no U-Boats were reported lost at that time.

After the war the story of the Surcouf took on the status of a myth and a mystery, but there seems to have been no reason for this "mystery" other that perhaps the reason this always happens, money. Books have been written about the loss of this boat, and so many theories have been put forward, most of them preposterous. I have even received emails from people claiming they know what happened to the boat, it is always a conspiracy and they never have first hand knowledge.

The closest story to the truth may have been written by James Rushbridger in the book Who Sank The Surcouf. His theory is that the Thompson Lykes only damaged the Surcouf and she was later found on the surface by U.S. aircraft and bombed. While this may be a plausible theory, I feel that it is unlikely. I must admit I don't have the book and have not read it, but after reading dozens upon dozens of reports filed by air crews claiming they sank a submarine, the majority of the time they attacked a mirage. This was even known at the time when the reports were scrutinized and collated with known information. Almost every time history has born out the fact that there was no actual military target attacked.

It should be considered that there is no physical evidence that Surcouf was sunk by a U.S. bomber, but the evidence that the Thompson Lykes rammed something is clear. It is also worth noting that the loss of Surcouf was not released to the public until April 18, 1942, two months after her loss. The Free French naval headquarters released the following on that day "We regret to announce that the submarine Surcouf is considerably overdue and must be considered lost". At that time no reason for the loss was announced, but the French privately notified the British Government that Surcouf had been sunk in collision with Thompson Lykes on Feb. 18. This notification was made between Feb. 19 and Feb. 26, a month before the news was released to the public. It is therefore clear that the French believed that their submarine had been sunk by Thompson Lykes within days or even hours after her loss.

Sadly not a single man in Surcouf survived to tell the tale, all one hundred and thirty men were lost.
© 2006 Michael W. Pocock
MaritimeQuest.com