HMSC Oakville near Nova Scotia 1943, [Wikimedia]

Produced in both English and French while covering all three branches of the armed forces, one such poster highlighted the efforts of HMCS Oakville—particularly the heroics of seamen Hal Lawrence and Art Powell—in the attempted capture and eventual sinking of U-94 on Aug. 28, 1942.

On that fateful late summer day, the Flower-class Corvette had joined other Allied vessels, including HMCS Halifax and HMCS Snowberry, in escorting Canadian oil tankers through the Caribbean as part of convoy TAW-15.

The protected group of ships were sailing near Haiti not long beyond midnight when submarine U-94, commanded by Oberleutnant Otto Ites, slipped past Oakville and Snowberry undetected. With only the conning tower breaking the warm water surface, the experienced enemy captain prepared to fire torpedoes.

Unfortunately for Ites, luck was not on his side. It was then that a United States Navy Catalina spotted the U-boat in the darkness, perhaps assisted by the phosphorescence of its wake. Piloted by American Lieutenant Gordon Fiss, the USN flying boat dropped four depth charges that exploded around U-94.

The detonations caused considerable damage to the U-boat’s hydroplanes, hindering its ability to navigate underwater. Fiss would receive a Distinguished Flying Cross for his service, yet the battle for TAW-15 was just beginning.

Poster by Hubert Rogers, 1942-1945 [McGill WP2.V3.F1]

A language barrier caused confusion around whether these latter enemy crewmen were likewise surrendering.

Oakville lurched into action. Lieutenant-Commander Clarance King ordered the ship to turn towards the scene with the intention of ramming U-94. Due to the short distance between both vessels, the first attempt failed. So, too, did the second effort as Oakville’s guns opened against the enemy submarine.

In a most curious turn of events, the corvette’s armaments were not alone in their efforts to neutralize the threat. As Oakville passed by harmlessly a second time, idle crew members pelted their assailants with empty Coke bottles.

Finally, with U-94 stationary, the Canadian escort succeeded in ramming the submarine, albeit causing damage to itself in the process. King next ordered a boarding party to assemble in the hope of capturing the stricken U-boat.

Twelve seamen had been pre-assigned to the duty; however, only two made it aboard U-94 after issues with Oakville’s four-inch gun caused pandemonium. All that was left of the boarding party were Hal Lawrence and Art Powell.

Lawrence promptly stumbled and slipped into the sea while advancing toward the U-boat conning tower. Thankfully, his comrade dragged him back in.

Dodging the remnants of shattered Coke bottles, the Canadian pair reached the upper hatch. There, they accepted the surrender of two German submariners—one of whom was likely Oberleutnant Ites—and ushered them overboard to be picked up by Allied ships. An additional two sailors then started to emerge.

Regrettably, a language barrier caused confusion around whether these latter enemy crewmen were likewise surrendering. Lawrence and Powell pointed their pistols and demanded—in English—that they halt. When the Germans failed to do so despite physical gestures to stop, the Canadians felt compelled to fire.

Other crewmen below, indeed somewhat understandably, refused to come onto the deck when subsequently ordered. Lawrence looked down with a flashlight shining against his face, smiled, and said: “Come on up. See—no gun.”

Once the newly acquired prisoners were topside, Lawrence himself went down. Any would-be intelligence had seemingly been thrown overboard, so the gunnery officer groped through the darkness to see what could be done about saving U-94 for capture. Alas, at times treading water inside the scuttled submarine, it soon became evident that there was nothing he could do.

Most memorable of all was their likenesses featured on a “Men of Valor” poster

Together, Lawrence and Powell escaped the sinking U-boat.

Oberleutnant Ites and a handful of his crew swam for Oakville. The remaining  prisoners, alongside Powell and Lawrence, were recovered by the American destroyer USS Lea. After convincing the U.S. sailors that they weren’t Germans, the brave duo were eventually returned to their corvette.

Hal Lawrence received the Distinguished Service Cross for “His spirited and determined conduct …worthy of the highest traditions of the Royal Canadian Navy,” reads his citation. Meanwhile, his comrade Art Powell was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his own contributions aboard U-94.

Most memorable of all was their likenesses featured on a “Men of Valor” poster—even if illustrator Hubert Rogers took some artistic licence.

Back on Aug. 28, 1942, when Lawrence had first jumped onto U-94, the sheer force of his landing caused the elastic of his shorts to snap and fall down before he kicked them off. Rather than depict a naked Canadian hero, as The Ottawa Citizen reported in 1979, the artist “thoughtfully restored [Lawrence’s] pants.”