Original caption: 3/25/1943-Miami, FL–American and Cuban crews line the rails as ten U.S. Coast Guard submarine chasers are transferred to the Cuban Navy under lend-lease deal. As the American flags were lowered and Cuban ensigns hoisted, crewmen of both nationalities heard Captain H.J. Benson call upon Cuba for assistance in driving the Axis submarines from the Caribbean. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS
Miami – The Coast Guard 7th District will join the City of Miami and the Association for Research and Dissemination of Cuban Naval History to pay tribute to WWII veterans who served in the American and Cuban armed forces Saturday at the Manuel Artime Theater in Miami at 12:00 noon. Among the WWII veterans expected to attend is the commanding officer of a WWII Cuban sub chaser.
The event will also commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the sinking of the Axis Submarine U-176 by the Cuban sub chaser Caza Submarino 13 (CS-13) becoming the only non-American Allied ship to sink an enemy U-boat in the Caribbean.
In the early years of , Axis submarine activity was significantly impacting vital Allied shipping including in the waters of South Florida and the Caribbean. Substantial efforts were made to establish effective counter-submarine tactics and, train and arm Allied navies to expand anti-submarine warfare capabilities. The U.S. Navy Sub Chaser Training Center (SCTC) was established here in Miami to provide that training in the waters of Biscayne Bay; the pier next to the American Airlines Arena is the last of four piers that existed during the war to support the Navy’s training efforts.
In Miami in March of 1943, ten 83-foot wooden patrol boats were transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Cuban Navy under the Lend-Lease Program to expand Cuba’s capability to combat Axis U-Boat operations. One of these vessels, the CG-83338, was was renamed under Cuban service as the CS-13. On May 15th, 1943, the CS-13 engaged and sank the German U-boat U-176, becoming the only non-American Allied ship to sink an enemy U-boat in the Caribbean.
CS-13 (ex-USCG 83338), responsible for the sinking of U-176
