CAF Story | Remembering Chief Petty Officer Max Bernays
Video / January 24, 2020
Transcript
Canadian Naval Heroes
Chief Petty Officer Max Bernays
Born in 1910 in Vancouver to a seafaring family, Max Bernays joined the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve (RCNR) in 1929. He was promoted to the rank of Acting Chief Petty Officer by March 1942, when he was appointed coxswain of HMCS Assiniboine, a position usually held by an older sailor.
In August 1942, HMCS Assiniboine caught German U-boat U-210 on the surface in the Atlantic fog. During the close-range battle, Assiniboine’s bridge and wheelhouse were deluged with canon shells and machine gun bullets, and a large fire broke out on deck.
In the wheelhouse, surrounded by smoke and flames, Bernays ordered the two junior sailors working as telegraphmen to get clear, leaving him alone at the helm. Besieged by flames and enemy fire, Bernays executed all helm orders as Assiniboine manoeuvred for position against the U-boat. Doing the work of the two telegraphmen, Bernays dispatched over 130 telegraph orders to the engine room. Several bullets and shells had penetrated the wheelhouse, sending shell fragments and splinters into the small area.
As U-210 prepared to dive in an attempt to escape, HMCS Assiniboine rammed it just aft of the conning tower. The U-boat submerged to 18 metres, but water surged in through the shattered hull. The engineering officer, now in command, had no choice but to give the order to blow tanks and abandon ship. Bernays’ heroism and dedication to duty in the destruction of U-210 led him to being awarded a Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.
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