May 25, 2015
VICTORIA, B.C. – The Honourable Julian Fantino, Associate Minister of National Defence, announced today that an Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) will be named in honour of Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Max Bernays, a Canadian naval hero who served as the Coxswain of His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Assiniboine during the Battle of the Atlantic, which was the longest, largest, and most complex campaign of the Second World War.
On August 6, 1942, during intense surface gun action against the German submarine U-210, HMCS Assiniboine maneuvered in and out of a fog attempting to ram and sink the enemy submarine. Both vessels were firing high explosive shells at very close range, resulting in a fire which engulfed the bridge and wheelhouse of Assiniboine. Surrounded by smoke and flames while steering the ship, CPO Bernays ordered two junior sailors to get clear, leaving him alone at the helm and trapped by the blaze. Besieged by flames, he executed all the helm orders as Assiniboine maneuvered for position against the U-boat, and did the work of the two telegraphmen, dispatching over 130 telegraph orders to the engine room. Several bullets and shells penetrated the wheelhouse as the enemy concentrated their machine-gun and cannon fire on the bridge. Eventually Assiniboine rammed and sank U-210 in what was considered to be an extremely hard fought action, during which the Canadians suffered one fatality and 13 wounded. CPO Bernays was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his courage and dauntless devotion to duty during the battle.
For more information on the Royal Canadian Navy please visit www.navy-marine.forces.gc.ca or follow us on Twitter @RCN_MRC
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Ashlee Smith
Director of Communications
Office of the Associate Minister of National Defence
(613) 996-3100
Department of National Defence
Phone: (613) 996-2353
Toll-Free: 1 866 377-0811
