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81-807: The Flower-class corvette (also referred to as the Gladiolus class after the lead ship ) was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic . Royal Navy ships of this class were named after flowers. Most served during World War II with the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). Several ships built largely in Canada were transferred from

162-413: A western local escort force (WLEF) of corvettes, minesweepers, and short-range destroyers between Halifax Harbour and Newfoundland. Corvettes had adequate endurance for MOEF assignments, but the fuel economy of destroyers was poor at the speeds that convoys operated. The escort group leaders were modern destroyers with adequate endurance but, of the older destroyers allocated to trade convoy escort, only

243-517: A few weeks until they acclimatised to shipboard life. Although poor in their sea-handling characteristics, the Flowers were extremely seaworthy; no Allied sailor was ever lost overboard from a Flower during World War II, outside combat. A typical action by a Flower encountering a surfaced U-boat during convoy escort duties was to run directly at the submarine, forcing it to dive and thus limiting its speed and manoeuvrability. The corvette would then keep

324-406: A number of surplus minesweepers , but severe budget restrictions cancelled these plans, leaving the original three to serve alone through the 1950s and 1960s despite antiquated armament, poor accommodation, and maintenance problems. Taken out of service 1968–1970 and scrapped shortly afterwards. Replaced by Ton-class minesweepers before the building of a similar size vessel, LE Deirdre . Entry into

405-439: A rapid return to station as another U-boat took advantage of the skirmish to attack the unguarded convoy. Continuous actions against a numerically superior U-boat pack demanded considerable seamanship skills from all concerned and were very wearing on the crews. Thirty-six ships in the class were lost during World War II, many due to enemy action, some to collision with Allied warships and merchant ships. One, sunk in shallow water,

486-416: A reliance on preserved food such as corned-beef and powdered potato for all meals. The Flowers were nicknamed "the pekingese of the ocean". They had a reputation of having poor sea-handling characteristics, most often rolling in heavy seas, with 80-degree rolls, 40 degrees each side of upright, being fairly common; it was said they "would roll on wet grass". Many crewmen suffered severe motion sickness for

567-521: A role she served in until the early 1980s when she was acquired by the trust. She has been restored to her wartime appearance and serves in the summer months as a museum ship in Halifax , Nova Scotia , while wintering securely in the naval dockyard at CFB Halifax under the care of Maritime Forces Atlantic , Maritime Command . Sackville ' s presence in Halifax is considered very appropriate, given

648-461: A small sailing warship, intermediate between the frigate and the sloop-of-war . In the 1830s the term was adopted by the RN for sailing warships of roughly similar size, primarily operating in the shipping protection role. With the arrival of steam power, paddle- and later screw-driven corvettes were built for the same purpose, growing in power, size, and armament over the decades. In 1877 the RN abolished

729-463: Is really no such thing as a 'standard Flower-class corvette' Several of the major changes that vessels in the class underwent are indicated below, in a typical chronological order: A ship could have any mix of these, or other specialist one-off modifications. Ships allocated to other navies such as the RCN or USN usually had different armament and deck layouts. A major difference between the RN vessels and

810-958: The Adelaide class in Royal Australian Navy service. Mid-Ocean Escort Force On the basis of experience during World War I , the Admiralty instituted trade convoys in United Kingdom coastal waters from September 1939. Anti-submarine escorts were allocated on the basis of perceived threat. Early German Type II submarines from bases in Germany were unable to operate effectively beyond European coastal waters. Following acquisition of bases in Norway and France, German Type IX submarines and German Type VII submarines refuelled by German Type XIV submarines operated in

891-528: The British Isles was considered as a means of eliminating meeting point delays and reducing the number of destroyers required for escort of convoys between Canada and the United Kingdom. Initial proposals by the United States on 24 January 1942 produced an agreement in early February for a mid-ocean escort force organisation of fourteen escort groups. American-led escort groups were prefixed with

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972-721: The Clemson subgroup of the Town-class destroyers proved suitable for MOEF assignments. Wickes -class destroyers were useful for the Canadian WLEF and the American Iceland shuttle; but lacked endurance to stay with a trade convoy for the full distance covered by the MOEF Escort Groups. The Admiralty converted some V and W-class destroyers to long range escorts by removing the forward boiler and using

1053-543: The European Economic Community in 1973 assisted in funding for the building of three future ships. 110 surplus Flowers were sold for commercial use. These saw various careers as mercantile freighters, smugglers, tugs, weather ships, and whalers. The remainder were scrapped. Of particular interest is the story of HMCS  Sudbury . She was declared surplus by the RCN and sold as a towboat specializing in deep-sea salvage. In November 1955, she rescued

1134-587: The Mediterranean Sea during the summer of 1946 by the destroyer Venus and interned in Palestine. After Israel became independent in 1948, these commercial ships were commissioned into the Israeli Navy as the warships Hashomer and Hagana respectively. Allied navies disposed of their Flowers so quickly following the war, the RN could not supply a single vessel to play Compass Rose in

1215-558: The Mediterranean Sea usually had more anti-aircraft guns fitted. Underwater detection capability was provided by a fixed ASDIC dome; this was later modified to be retractable. Subsequent inventions such as the High Frequency Radio Direction Finder ( Huff-Duff ) were later added, along with various radar systems (such as the Type 271 ), which proved particularly effective in low-visibility conditions in

1296-565: The Merchant Navy . Service on Flowers in the North Atlantic was typically cold, wet, monotonous and uncomfortable. Every dip of the forecastle into an oncoming wave was followed by a cascade of water into the well deck amidships. Men at action stations were drenched with spray and water entered living spaces through hatches opened for access to ammunition magazines. Interior decks were constantly wet and condensation dripped from

1377-759: The Royal Indian Navy , the Royal Hellenic Navy , the Royal New Zealand Navy , the Royal Yugoslav Navy , and, immediately after the war, the South African Navy . After World War II many surplus Flower-class vessels were used in other navies, or for civilian use. HMCS  Sackville is the only member of the class preserved as a museum ship . The term "corvette" was originally a French name for

1458-506: The SC convoys and their slower ON counterparts. Canadian escort groups were increased from a nominal strength of four ships to six – typically one Canadian River-class destroyer with five Flower-class corvettes . The Gleaves -class destroyer Kearny was torpedoed while escorting Convoy SC 48 on 17 October 1941. Clemson -class destroyer Reuben James was torpedoed and sunk on 31 October 1941 while escorting Convoy HX 156 . When

1539-525: The Smiths Dock Company of South Bank -on-Tees , a specialist in the design and build of fishing vessels, offered a development of its 700-ton, 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h) whaler (whale catcher) Southern Pride . They were intended as small convoy escort ships that could be produced quickly and cheaply in large numbers. Despite naval planners' intentions that they be deployed for coastal convoys, their long range meant that they became

1620-621: The United Kingdom and Canada , where larger (or more sophisticated) warships could not be built. Additionally, the use of commercial triple expansion machinery instead of steam turbines meant the largely Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve crews that were manning the corvettes would be familiar with their operation. Flower-class vessels were slow for a warship, with maximum speed of 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h). They were also very lightly armed as they were intended solely for anti-submarine warfare ; many of

1701-480: The Western Approaches . In Newfoundland on 9 August 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to provide American destroyers for the Canada to Iceland portion of HX convoys and westbound ON convoys . HX 150 sailed 16 September 1941 as the first convoy with American escort. ON 18 sailed 24 September as the first westbound convoy with American escort. The Royal Canadian Navy continued to escort

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1782-548: The hull classification symbol PG ("patrol gunboat"). In early 1939, with the risk of war with Nazi Germany increasing, it was clear to the Royal Navy that it needed more escort ships to counter the threat from Kriegsmarine U-boats . One particular concern was the need to protect shipping off the east coast of Britain. What was needed was something larger and faster than trawlers , but still cheap enough to be built in large numbers, preferably at small merchant shipyards, as larger yards were already busy. To meet this requirement,

1863-401: The "corvette" as a traditional category; corvettes and frigates were then combined into a new category, " cruiser ". The months leading up to World War II saw the RN return to the concept of a small escort warship being used in the shipping protection role. The Flower class was based on the design of Southern Pride , a whale-catcher, and were labelled "corvettes", thus restoring the title for

1944-467: The 1942 Programme; two vessels (one from each year's Programme) were later cancelled. The RN ordered fifteen modified Flowers from Canadian shipyards under the 1941 programme; eight of these were transferred to the USN under reverse Lend-Lease . The RCN ordered seventy original and 34 modified Flower-class vessels from Canadian shipbuilders. The Canadian shipbuilders also built seven original Flowers ordered by

2025-564: The 1953 film production of Nicholas Monsarrat 's novel The Cruel Sea . The Royal Hellenic Navy supplied Kriezis (formerly HMS  Coreopsis ) for the role prior to her scrapping. The only survivor of the entire class is Sackville , owned by the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust. She was laid up in reserve in March 1946 and converted in 1952 to a research vessel for Canadian Department of Marine and Fisheries,

2106-582: The American east coast. Escort Groups A-1 and A-2 were disbanded when their modern American destroyer leaders were assigned elsewhere. Escort Groups A-4 and A-5 were redesignated B6 and B7, respectively, when the Royal Navy assigned F-class destroyers Fame and Firedrake as leaders. Escort Group B5 was reassigned to Caribbean trade convoys in March 1942. Beginning in April, the following eleven groups escorted HX convoys, SC convoys and ON convoys through

2187-475: The British Flower-class corvettes Kingcup and Vervain . Convoys SC 83, ON 101, SC 88, ON 111 and HX 200 were escorted without loss. Convoy ON 122 lost four ships torpedoed by U-605 , U-176 and U-438 . Convoys HX 205 and ON 132 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 104 lost seven ships. Convoy ON 144 lost five ships torpedoed by U-264 , U-184 and U-624 . Montbretia

2268-653: The E-class destroyer Escapade and the Polish destroyers Burza and Garland . Flower-class corvette Orchis replaced Heartsease and the four corvettes with Free French crews ( Aconit , Lobelia , Renoncule and Roselys ) were assigned to this group. Convoys HX 188, ON 98, HX 194, ON 110, SC 93, ON 121, HX 202, ON 126, HX 207, ON 136, SC 106, ON 146, HX 218, ON 157 and SC 117 were escorted without loss. Convoy ON 167 lost two ships. Convoy HX 228 lost four ships torpedoed by U-221 , U-757 and U-444 . U-444

2349-493: The North Atlantic. The Flower class had been designed for inshore patrol and harbour anti-submarine defence and many required minor modifications when the Allied navies began to use them as trans-Atlantic convoy escorts. These small warships could be supported by any small dockyard or naval station, so many ships came to have a variety of weapons systems and design modifications depending upon when and where they were refitted; there

2430-404: The RCN's original Flower-class ships were initially fitted with minesweeping equipment, while virtually all of the modified Flowers were fitted with a limited anti-aircraft capability. The original Flowers had the standard RN layout, consisting of a raised forecastle , a well deck , then the bridge or wheelhouse and a continuous deck running aft. The crew quarters were in the forecastle while

2511-406: The RCN, USN, and other navies' vessels was the provision of upgraded ASDIC and radar. The RN was a world leader in developing these technologies and RN Flowers were somewhat better-equipped for remote detection of enemy submarines. A good example of this is the difficulty that RCN Flowers had in intercepting U-boats with their Canadian-designed SW1C metric radar, while the RN vessels were equipped with

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2592-822: The RN to the United States Navy (USN) under the lend-lease programme, seeing service in both navies. Some corvettes transferred to the USN were crewed by the US Coast Guard . The vessels serving with the US Navy were known as Temptress- and Action -class patrol gunboats . Other Flower-class corvettes served with the Free French Naval Forces , the Royal Netherlands Navy , the Royal Norwegian Navy ,

2673-598: The RN, although the Flower-class has no connection with pre-1877 cruising vessels. There are two distinct groups of vessels in this class: the original Flower-class , 225 vessels ordered during the 1939 and 1940 building programmes; and the modified Flower-class , which followed with a further 69 vessels ordered from 1940 onward. The modified Flowers were slightly larger and better armed. Flower-class vessels, of original and modified design, in USN service were called Temptress - and Action -class gunboats; they carried

2754-865: The Royal Hellenic Navy, the Free French Naval Forces, the Royal Indian Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Navy. The Belgian Navy used some of these vessels during World War II, and have continued to use Flower names for their minehunters . Most Royal Navy Flower-class ships drew their officers and crew from the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). Many RN Flowers had captains drawn from

2835-489: The USN, which were transferred to the RN under the Lend-Lease Programme upon completion, because wartime shipbuilding production in the United States had reached the level where the USN could dispense with vessels it had ordered in Canada. The RCN vessels had several design variations from their RN counterparts: the "bandstand", where the aft pom-pom gun was mounted, was moved to the rear of the superstructure;

2916-571: The United States declared war, American escort groups typically contained five destroyers, although six United States Coast Guard Treasury-class cutters were included within the pool of ships rotating in and out of these escort groups. As the United States Navy struggled to find enough destroyers to meet escort needs for both the Pacific and the vulnerable Atlantic coastal shipping, the shorter great-circle route from Newfoundland to

2997-662: The appearance for all vessels in the class. The RN ordered 145 Flower-class corvettes in 1939, the first 26 on 25 July with a further batch of 30 on 31 August, all under the 1939 Pre-War Programme. Following the outbreak of World War II , the British Admiralty ordered another 20 on 19 September (all from Harland & Wolff ) under the 1939 War Programme. This was followed by an order for a further ten Flower-class corvettes from other British shipbuilders two days later. Another 18 were ordered on 12 December and two on 15 December, again from British shipbuilders. The RN ordered

3078-513: The ashes of RCN veterans of the Battle of the Atlantic at this location. Lead ship The lead ship , name ship , or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design . The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may take five to ten years to build. Improvements based on experience with building and operating

3159-526: The convoy after action. This technique was hampered when the Kriegsmarine began deploying its U-boats in "wolf-pack" attacks, which were intended to overwhelm the escort warships of a convoy and allow at least one of the submarines to attack the merchant vessels. Better sensors and armament for the Flowers, such as radar, HF/DF , depth charge projectors and ASDIC , meant these small warships were well equipped to detect and defend against such attacks but

3240-558: The engine room. Due to shortages, a pair of Lewis guns or quadruple Vickers HMG was sometimes substituted for the pom-pom, which would have left the ship very vulnerable to aircraft attack in its envisaged role of coastal convoy escort and patrol in the North Sea . The long-range endurance of the vessels, coupled with early war-time shortages of larger escort warships, saw Flowers assigned to trans-Atlantic convoy escort where Luftwaffe aircraft were rarely encountered. Vessels assigned to

3321-401: The fourth was never finished. Their designation "PA" stood for Patroullienboot Ausland (foreign patrol craft). The relatively small Flowers were among the first warships to be declared surplus by Allied navies following the end of World War II. They had seen years of hard service in the North Atlantic and were made obsolete by the numerous destroyer escorts and frigates that entered service in

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3402-867: The freighter Makedonia in the North Pacific , towing the vessel for over one month through severe weather, becoming one of the most famous salvage ships of all time. The surplus RCN Flowers Norsyd and Beauharnois were sold as mercantile freighters but were subsequently acquired in 1946 by the Mossad LeAliyah Bet , a branch of the Jewish Defense Association ( Haganah ) in the British Mandate for Palestine . Mossad Le'aliyah Bet organized Jewish immigration from Europe into Palestine, in violation of unilateral British restrictions. The corvettes were intercepted in

3483-479: The galley was also moved forward, immediately abaft the engine room. Shortly after the outbreak of war the French Navy ordered 18 Flower-class vessels, 12 from UK yards, two from Ateliers et Chantiers de France at Dunkirk and four from Ateliers et Chantiers de Penhoët at Saint-Nazaire . The two At. & Ch. de France ships are listed as "cancelled" but the four Penhoët ships were under construction at

3564-400: The galley was at the rear, making for poor messing arrangements. The modified Flowers saw the forecastle extended aft past the bridge to the aft end of the funnel , a variation known as the "long forecastle" design. Apart from providing a very useful space where the whole crew could gather out of the weather, the added weight improved the ships' stability and speed and was applied to a number of

3645-744: The group. The escort group was then redesignated C-5 under Canadian command after the USCG Treasury-class cutters were reassigned for conversion to amphibious force flagships. Flower-class corvettes Borage , Meadowsweet and Wallflower joined the group; and Venomous was replaced by the long-range W-class escort Watchman . Convoys HX 187, ON 96, HX 193, ON 108, SC 92, ON 119, HX 201, ON 124, HX 206, ON 134, SC 105, HX 215, ON 151, SC 114, ON 162, SC 119, ON 171 and HX 230 were escorted without loss. Convoy ON 178 lost three ships torpedoed by U-415 and U-191 . Flower-class corvettes Campanula , Heather and Mignonette joined

3726-406: The group. Convoy ON 154 lost thirteen ships. Convoy HX 222 lost one ship torpedoed by U-268 . Flower-class corvette Chilliwack was replaced by new River-class frigate Itchen . Convoys ONS 2 and SC 127 were escorted without loss. Convoys SC 84, ON 103 and SC 89 were escorted without loss. Destroyer Burnham replaced destroyer St. Laurent ; and Flower-class corvette Dauphin joined

3807-595: The group. Convoy ON 113 lost three ships torpedoed by U-552 , U-607 and U-132 while Town-class destroyer St. Croix sank U-90 . Convoys HX 201 and ON 119 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 97 lost two ships torpedoed by U-609 while Morden sank U-756 . Convoys ON 129 and SC 102 were escorted without loss. Destroyer Sherwood replaced destroyer Burnham ; and Flower-class corvettes Pictou and Primrose replaced Flower-class corvettes Dauphin and Brandon . Convoy ON 139 lost two ships torpedoed by U-443 . Flower-class corvette Orillia joined

3888-630: The group. Convoys SC 108, ON 149 and SC 113 were escorted without loss. New River-class frigates Lagan and Waveney joined the group. Convoys ON 160, HX 225 and ON 179 were escorted without loss. Convoys ON 93, HX 191, ON 104 and SC 90 were escorted without loss. Flower-class corvette Camrose was replaced by corvette Agassiz . Convoy ON 115 lost two ships torpedoed by U-552 and U-553 while Skeena and Flower-class corvette Wetaskiwin sank U-588 . Convoys HX 202, ON 121, SC 98, ON 131, HX 210 and ON 141 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 109 lost one ship torpedoed by U-43 and Saguenay

3969-468: The group; and the low-endurance destroyers Leamington and Veteran were replaced by long-range V and W-class escorts Vanessa and Whitehall . Convoys SC 81, ON 97, SC 86, ON 107, HX 198, ON 118, HX 203, ON 128, HX 208, ON 138, HX 213, ON 148, HX 219 and ON 159 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 118 lost eight ships. Convoys ON 170, SC 123 and ONS 4 were escorted without loss. Low-endurance destroyers Georgetown and Bulldog were replaced by

4050-582: The improved Castle-class corvette design. The Flower class represented fully half of all Allied convoy escort vessels in the North Atlantic during World War II. The following tables list all Flower-class corvettes which served in the Allied navies during World War II . In 1940 four Flower-class corvettes were being built in St. Nazaire-Penhoet for the French Navy. They were seized by the Kriegsmarine (German Navy). Three were completed in 1943 and 1944, while

4131-559: The last ten vessels (under the 1939 War Programme) from Canadian shipbuilders in January 1940. By the end of January 1940, 116 ships were building or on order to this initial design. The ten vessels ordered from Canadian shipbuilders were transferred to the RCN upon completion. Another four vessels were ordered at Smiths Dock Company for the French Navy , the first ship being completed for the Free French Naval Forces in mid-1940 and

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4212-647: The latter part of the war. 32 vessels from the RN, RCN, and USN were transferred to Argentina , Chile , the Dominican Republic , Greece , India , the Republic of Ireland , South Africa , and Venezuela . These were typically operated according to their original design, as coastal patrol vessels, with many serving until the 1970s. The Irish Navy bought three Flowers in 1946 ( LE  Macha , LE  Cliona , and LE  Maev ). The fledgling navy had intended to buy three more corvettes, as well as

4293-528: The lead ship are likely to be incorporated into the design or construction of later ships in the class, so it is rare to have vessels that are identical. The second and later ships are often started before the first one is completed, launched and tested. Nevertheless, building copies is still more efficient and cost effective than building prototypes , and the lead ship will usually be followed by copies with some improvements rather than radically different versions. The improvements will sometimes be retrofitted to

4374-494: The lead ship. Occasionally, the lead ship will be launched and commissioned for shakedown testing before following ships are completed, making the lead ship a combination of template and prototype, rather than expending resources on a prototype that will never see actual use. Ship classes are typically named in one of two ways; echoing the name of the lead ship, such as the Pennsylvania -class battleships , whose lead ship

4455-464: The letter "A"; while "B" indicated British-led escort groups and "C" designated Canadian-led escort groups. Fifteen United States destroyers, fifteen Royal Navy destroyers and twelve Canadian destroyers were to provide the striking power of these escort groups while 52 British and 49 Canadian Flower-class corvettes were to perform the patrolling role. Approximately one-third of the theoretical MOEF escort group strength of three destroyers and seven corvettes

4536-414: The low-endurance destroyer Roxborough was replaced by the Town-class destroyer Beverley . Convoys SC 82, ON 99, SC 87, ON 109, HX 199, ON 120, HX 204 and ON 130 were escorted without loss. Convoy HX 209 lost one ship torpedoed by U-254 . Convoys ON 140, HX 214, ON 150, HX 220, ON 161 and ON 169 were escorted without loss. Convoy HX 229 lost twelve ships. Convoy ON 176 lost one ship and Beverley

4617-517: The mainstay of Mid-Ocean Escort Force convoy protection during the first half of the war. The Flower class became an essential resource for North Atlantic convoy protection until larger vessels such as destroyer escorts and frigates could be produced in sufficient quantities. The simple design of the Flower class using parts and techniques ( scantlings ) common to merchant shipping meant they could be constructed in small commercial shipyards all over

4698-630: The mid-Atlantic beyond the range of patrolling aircraft. Many anti-submarine escorts lacked the endurance to accompany convoys through the mid-Atlantic. HX 129 left Halifax on 27 May 1941 as the first convoy to receive escort for the entire trip. Escorts based in Halifax Harbour handed HX 129 off to escorts based in Newfoundland who subsequently transferred HX 129 to escorts based in Iceland who in turn delivered HX 129 to escorts based in

4779-562: The need for most escorts to attempt maintenance in Iceland's poorly equipped Hvalfjörður anchorage; but the United States was required to maintain an additional force of five destroyers in Iceland to escort ships between trans-Atlantic convoys and United States military occupation bases. The Royal Navy continued to provide an eastern local escort force of naval trawlers in the Western Approaches while Canada continued to provide

4860-669: The new River-class frigate Swale replacing the old destroyers. Convoy ON 168 was escorted without loss. Convoy SC 122 lost eight ships. Convoy SC 126 was escorted without loss. River-class frigates brought two significant advantages to MOEF. Their numbers allowed the older escorts time to refit with modern sensors like 10-centimetre radar and modern anti-submarine weapons like the Hedgehog projector. Destroyers replaced by new frigates were formed into mobile support groups able to move rapidly to convoys coming under attack. Through 1943, new escort carriers became available to increase

4941-434: The original Flower-class vessels during the mid and latter years of the war. The original Flowers had a mast located immediately forward the bridge, a notable exception to naval practice at that time. The modified Flowers saw the mast returned to the normal position immediately aft of the bridge; this does not seem to have been done in all of the modified builds or conversions of the original vessels. A cruiser stern finished

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5022-410: The other three being taken over by the RN. Another 31 Flowers were ordered by the RN under the 1940 War Programme but six of these (ordered from Harland & Wolff) were cancelled on 23 January 1941. The RN ordered 27 modified Flower-class corvettes under the 1941 and 1942 War Programmes. British shipbuilders were contracted to build seven of these vessels under the 1941 Programme and five vessels under

5103-418: The overheads. The head (or sanitary toilet) was drained by a straight pipe to the ocean; and a reverse flow of the icy North Atlantic would cleanse the backside of those using it during rough weather. By 1941 corvettes carried twice as many crewmen as anticipated in the original design. Men slept on lockers or tabletops or in any dark place that offered a little warmth. The inability to store perishable food meant

5184-650: The port was an important North American convoy assembly port during the war. Sackville makes her first appearance each spring when she is towed by a naval tug from HMC Dockyard to a location off Point Pleasant Park on the first Sunday in May to participate in the Commemoration of the Battle of the Atlantic ceremonies held at a memorial in the park overlooking the entrance to Halifax Harbour . Sackville typically hosts several dozen RCN veterans on this day and has also participated in several burials at sea for dispersing

5265-469: The space for additional fuel tanks. Nineteen modern American destroyers left the Atlantic to escort the battleships New Mexico , Mississippi , Idaho , and North Carolina and the aircraft carriers Yorktown , Wasp , and Hornet to the Pacific. The remaining American destroyers were diverted from MOEF assignments to troop convoys and in response to the U-boat 's Second happy time off

5346-560: The submarine down and preoccupied with avoiding depth charge attacks long enough to allow the convoy to pass safely. The 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) top speed of the Flower-class ships made effective pursuit of a surfaced U-boat [about 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph)] impossible, though it was adequate to manoeuvre around submerged U-boats or convoys, both of which ran at a typical maximum of 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) and sometimes much less in poor weather. The low speed also made it difficult for Flowers to catch up with

5427-400: The tactical advantage often lay with the attackers, who could mount attacks intended to draw the defending Flower off-station. Success for the Flowers should be measured in terms of tonnage protected, rather than U-boats sunk. Typical reports of convoy actions by these craft include numerous instances of U-boat detection near a convoy, followed by brief engagements using guns or depth charges and

5508-567: The technologically advanced Type 271 centimetric sets. In addition, RCN vessels were incapable of operating gyrocompasses , making ASDIC attacks more difficult. Flower-class corvettes were used extensively by the RN and RCN in the Battle of the Atlantic . They also saw limited service elsewhere with the RN, as well as the USN and several Allied navies such as the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Norwegian Navy,

5589-541: The time of the Fall of France and were seized by Nazi Germany . Three were completed for Kriegsmarine service and commissioned in 1943–44 as the Patrouillenboot Ausland patrol ships. The original Flower class were fitted with a 4-inch (102 mm) gun on the bow, depth charge racks carrying 40 charges on the stern, a minesweeping winch and a 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom gun on a "bandstand" over

5670-484: The winter of 1942–43: Gleaves -class destroyer Gleaves left the escort group after convoy ON 92 lost seven ships. USCG Treasury-class cutters Spencer and Campbell assumed escort leader responsibility. Flower-class corvettes Mayflower and Trillium replaced Flower-class corvettes Chilliwack , Shediac and Algoma . Flower-class corvette Dianthus replaced Flower-class corvettes Mayflower and Bittersweet . Flower-class corvette Dauphin rotated into

5751-633: Was USS  Pennsylvania , and the Olympic class , whose lead ship was RMS  Olympic , or defining a theme by which vessels in the class are named, as in the Royal Navy 's Tribal-class frigates , named after tribes of the world, such as HMS  Mohawk . If a ship class is produced for another navy, the first active unit will become the lead ship for that navy; for example, the Oliver Hazard Perry -class frigates are known as

5832-563: Was escorted without loss. Convoy ON 100 lost three ships torpedoed by U-94 and U-124 . Convoys HX 195 and ON 112 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 94 lost ten ships. Group leader Assiniboine and Flower-class corvettes Dianthus , Nasturtium and Primrose were replaced by destroyer St. Laurent and Flower-class corvettes Eyebright , Napanee , Kenogami and Shediac . Convoys ON 123, SC 99, ON 133, HX 211, ON 143 and SC 110 were escorted without loss. Flower-class corvettes Orillia , Chambly and Eyebright rotated out of

5913-554: Was irreparably damaged when depth charges blew off its stern following a collision. Town-class destroyer Burnham replaced Saguenay . Flower-class corvettes Wetaskiwin , Sackville , Galt and Agassiz were replaced by corvettes Bittersweet , Eyebright , La Malbaie and Mayflower . The new River-class frigate Jed joined the group. Convoys ON 152, HX 221, ON 163, HX 226, ON 172, SC 124 and ON 180 were escorted without loss. Convoys ON 95, SC 85, ON 105, HX 197, ON 116 and SC 96 were escorted without loss. Destroyer St. Francis

5994-413: Was raised and repaired. Of the vessels lost to enemy action, 22 were torpedoed by U-boats, five were mined and four were sunk by aircraft. The Flower-class corvettes are credited with participating in the sinking of 47 German and four Italian submarines. Construction of the Flower-class was superseded toward the end of the war as larger shipyards concentrated on River-class frigates and smaller yards on

6075-406: Was rammed by the group leader Harvester . Harvester was then torpedoed by U-432 . U-432 was then sunk by Aconit . Thornycroft type leader Keppel was assigned as group leader replacement. Convoy ON 174 was escorted without loss. Convoy HX 232 lost three ships torpedoed by U-563 and U-168 . Flower-class corvettes Abelia , Clover and Snowflake joined the group; and

6156-464: Was replaced by Town-class destroyer St. Croix and Flower-class corvettes Lethbridge , Prescott and Eyebright were replaced by corvettes Amherst , Celandine and Sherbrooke . Convoy ON 127 lost six ships; and Ottawa was torpedoed by U-91 . Convoys SC 101 and ON 137 were escorted without loss. Convoy SC 107 lost fifteen ships. Destroyer St. Croix was replaced by Town-class destroyer Churchill and Flower-class corvette Arvida

6237-461: Was replaced by corvettes Brandon and Collingwood . Convoys ON 147, SC 112 and ON 158 were escorted without loss. Convoy HX 224 lost two ships torpedoed by U-456 . Convoys ON 177 and HX 235 were escorted without loss. Escort Group B-5 returned to MOEF with the H-class destroyer Havelock , the Flower-class corvettes Pimpernel , Godetia , Saxifrage , Buttercup and Lavender and with

6318-472: Was torpedoed by U-188 . Convoy HX 234 lost one ship torpedoed by U-306 . The Royal Norwegian Navy-crewed Flower-class corvettes Andenes , Eglantine , Rose , Potentilla , and Montbretia from Escort Group A4, and the new leader F-class destroyer Fame were joined by the V-class Viscount (which had been reconstructed as a long range escort), the Town-class destroyer Ramsey , and

6399-509: Was torpedoed by U-211 and sank. The D-class destroyer HMS  Duncan was assigned as replacement group leader; and the new River-class frigate Tay joined the group. Convoys SC 115, ON 164, SC 120 and ON 173 were escorted without loss. Convoy HX 231 lost three ships torpedoed by U-635 , U-630 and U-706 . Convoy ONS 5 lost eleven ships. Corvette Buctouche was replaced by Flower-class corvettes Battleford , Chilliwack , Orillia and Primrose . Convoy HX 189

6480-697: Was torpedoed by U-262 . Convoy HX 217 lost two ships torpedoed by U-524 and U-553 . Convoys ON 155, SC 116, ON 165, HX 227, ONS 1 and SC 125 were escorted without loss. The Flower-class corvette Loosestrife from Escort Group A-5, and the new leader F-class destroyer Firedrake were joined by the Town-class destroyers Chesterfield and Ripley and by the Flower-class corvettes Alisma , Coreopsis , Jonquil , Pink and Sunflower . Convoys HX 186, ON 94, HX 192, ON 106, SC 91, ON 117, SC 103, ON 142 and HX 216 were escorted without loss. Convoy ON 153 lost three ships torpedoed by U-610 , U-356 and U-621 . On 17 December 1942 HMS Firedrake

6561-569: Was unavailable at any given time. Half of the unavailable ships needed storm or battle damage repairs, and the remainder were undergoing normal refit and training. Each MOEF escort group worked in a 33-day cycle allowing nine and one-half days with a westbound ON convoy, six days in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador , nine and one-half days with an eastbound HX or SC convoy, and eight days' refit in Derry . The shorter routing away from Iceland eliminated

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