Flower-class corvette
The Flower-class corvette was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II, specifically with the Allied navies as anti-submarine convoy escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic. Royal Navy ships of this class were named after flowers, hence the name of the class.
The majority served during World War II with the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy. Several ships built largely in Canada were transferred from the RN to the United States Navy under the lend-lease programme, seeing service in both navies. Some corvettes transferred to the USN were manned 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, the Royal Indian Navy, the Royal Hellenic Navy, the Royal New Zealand Navy, the Royal Yugoslav Navy, and, immediately post-war, the South African Navy.
After World War II many surplus Flower-class vessels saw worldwide use in other navies, as well as civilian use. is the only member of the class to be preserved as a museum ship.
Class designation
The term "corvette" was originally a French name for 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 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 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 somewhat better armed.
All Flower-class vessels, of original or modified design, that saw service with the USN are known as Action-class gunboats, and carried the hull classification symbol PG.
Design
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, the Smiths Dock Company of Middlesbrough, a specialist in the design and build of fishing vessels, offered a development of its 700-ton, 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 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 common to merchant shipping meant they could be constructed in small commercial shipyards all over the United Kingdom and Canada, where larger 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. They were also very lightly armed as they were intended solely for anti-submarine warfare; many of 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 foc'sle while 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 retroactively applied to a number of 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; however, this does not seem to have been done in all of the modified builds or conversions of the original vessels.
A cruiser stern finished the appearance for all vessels in the class.
Orders
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 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 an additional two on 15 December, again from British shipbuilders. The RN ordered the last ten vessels from Canadian shipbuilders in January 1940.Thus, by the end of January 1940, a total of 116 ships were building or on order to this initial design. The 10 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 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 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 5 vessels under the 1942 Programme; however, two vessels were later cancelled. Additionally the RN ordered 15 modified Flowers from Canadian shipyards under the 1941 programme; eight of these were transferred to the USN under the Lend-Lease Programme.
The RCN ordered 70 original and 34 modified Flower-class vessels from Canadian shipbuilders. The Canadian shipbuilders also built seven original Flowers ordered by the USN; however, these vessels were transferred to the RN under the Lend-Lease Programme upon completion as 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; 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 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 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 PA-class patrol ships.
Armament
The original Flower class were fitted with a 4-inch gun on the bow, depth charge racks carrying 40 charges on the stern, a minesweeping winch, and a 2-pounder pom-pom gun on a "bandstand" over the engine room.Due to initial shortages, a pair of Lewis guns 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 fighter-bombers were rarely encountered. Vessels assigned to the Mediterranean Sea usually had their anti-aircraft capability significantly upgraded.
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 Detection Finder were later added, along with various radar systems, which proved particularly effective in low-visibility conditions in the North Atlantic.
The Flower class had been designed for inshore patrol and harbour anti-submarine defence; therefore, many required minor modifications when the Allied navies began deploying these vessels 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 different weapons systems and design modifications depending upon when and where they were refitted; there 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:
- Original twin mast configuration changed to single mast in front of the bridge, then moved behind the bridge for improved visibility.
- Heavy minesweeping gear removed for deep-sea escort work and to improve range.
- Galley relocated from the stern to midships.
- Extra depth charge storage racks were fitted at the stern. Later, more depth charges stowed along walkways.
- Hedgehog fitted to enable remote attacks while keeping ASDIC contact.
- Surface radar fitted in a "lantern" housing on the bridge.
- Forecastle lengthened to midships to provide more accommodation and better seaworthiness. Several vessels were given a "three-quarters length" extension.
- Increased flare at the bow. This and the above modification created the modified Flower design for subsequent orders.
- Various changes to the bridge, typically lowering and lengthening it. Enclosed compass house removed.
- Extra twin Lewis guns mounted on the bridge or engine room roof.
- Oerlikon 20 mm cannons fitted, usually two on the bridge wings but sometimes as many as six spread out along the engine-room roof, depending on the theatre of operations.
A major difference between the RN vessels and 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 thus 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 the technologically advanced Type 271 centimetric sets. In addition, RCN vessels were incapable of operating gyrocompasses, making ASDIC attacks more difficult.
Operations
Flower-class corvettes were used extensively by both the RN and RCN in the war-long 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, the Royal Hellenic Navy, the Free French Naval Forces, the Royal Indian Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Navy. The Belgian Navy manned some of these vessels during World War II, and have continued to use Flower names for their minehunters to this day.Most Royal Navy Flower-class ships drew their officers and crew from the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. Many RN Flowers had captains drawn from 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 to access ammunition magazines. Interior decks were constantly wet and condensation dripped from the overheads. The head 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 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 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 the submarine down and pre-occupied with avoiding depth charge attacks long enough to allow the convoy to pass safely. The top speed of the Flower-class ships made effective pursuit of a surfaced U-boat impossible, though it was adequate to manoeuvre around submerged U-boats or convoys, both of which ran at a typical maximum of 8 knots, and sometimes much less in poor weather. The low speed also made it difficult for Flowers to catch up with 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. Upgrades in 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 the tactical advantage often lay with the attackers, who could operate a cat-and-mouse series of attacks intended to draw the defending Flower off-station.
Success for the Flowers, therefore, 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 a rapid return to station as another U-boat took advantage of the initial skirmish to attack the unguarded convoy. Continuous actions of this kind against a numerically superior U-boat pack demanded considerable seamanship skills from all concerned, and were very wearing on the crews.
in Greenock, looking out to the west of the Tail of the Bank anchorage, has a plaque commemorating the loss of the corvettes Alyssa and Mimosa.
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, 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 enemy 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 s, and smaller yards on the improved design.
The Flower class represented fully half of all Allied convoy escort vessels in the North Atlantic during World War II.
Ships
The following tables list all Flower-class corvettes which served in the Allied navies during World War II.Flower-class (original)
Free French Navy
| Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Paid off | Fate |
| Ailsa Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Troon | 25 March 1940 | 31 March 1941 | 23 July 1941 | 30 April 1947 | Formerly. Transferred on 23 July 1941 to the Free French Navy. Returned to RN on 30 April 1947. Sold and rebuilt as buoy boat Terje 11 for United Whalers. 1951 converted to a whale catcher. 1960 sold and renamed Southern Terrier. 1963 sold to Norway and 1967 scrapped in Belgium. | |
| George Brown & Co., Greenock | 24 June 1940 | 3 March 1941 | 17 June 1941 | 9 February 1942 | Formerly. Transferred on 17 June 1941 to the Free French Navy. Torpedoed and sunk on 9 February 1942 by while escorting convoy ON-60 about east of Cape Race at 46-00N, 44-00W. 36 crew were killed. | |
| Charles Hill & Sons Ltd., Bristol | 26 May 1941 | 17 January 1942 | 23 May 1942 | 31 May 1947 | Formerly. Transferred on 23 May 1942 to the Free French Navy upon completion. Returned to RN on 31 May 1947 and sold. Rebuilt as buoy boat Southern Lotus for Christian Salvesen. 1953 converted to a whale catcher. 1966 in tow from Melsomvik to Bruges for scrapping stranded near Hvide Sande on the Jutland coast. | |
| Hall, Russell & Co., Aberdeen | 19 September 1940 | 9 June 1941 | 16 September 1941 | 1947 | Formerly. Transferred on 16 September 1941 to the Free French Navy. Returned to RN in 1947. | |
| Harland & Wolff Ltd., Belfast | 17 December 1940 | 11 April 1941 | 15 January 1942 | May 1947 | Formerly. Transferred on 26 January 1942 to the Free French Navy. Returned to RN in May 1947 Sold and rebuilt as buoy boat Terje 10 for United Whalers. 1959 sold to Portugal and renamed NRP Carvalho Araújo and used as survey vessel. 1975 to Angola. | |
| Smiths Dock Co., South Bank-on-Tees | 18 November 1939 | 8 April 1940 | 22 June 1940 | 22 June 1940 | First and only Flower-class corvette commissioned into the French Navy before the Fall of France. Mined during sea trials off Hartlepool on day of her commissioning. | |
| Alexander Hall & Co., Aberdeen | 27 June 1940 | 15 February 1941 | 16 July 1941 | April 1947 | Formerly. Transferred on 16 July 1941 to the Free French Navy. Returned to RN in April 1947. Sold and rebuilt as whale catcher Thorgeir for A/S Thor Dahl. Continuous upgrading after the catching seasons until 1955. 1955 steam machinery replaced by a Sulzer diesel engine. 1970 scrapped in Norway. | |
| Charles Hill & Sons Ltd., Bristol | 22 April 1940 | 18 January 1941 | 11 May 1941 | 9 June 1942 | Formerly. Transferred on 11 May 1941 to the Free French Navy. Torpedoed and sunk on 9 June 1942 by while escorting convoy ONS 100 at 52-12N, 32-37W. 58 French and 6 British crew were killed; the French crew being largely from Saint Pierre and Miquelon. 4 survivors rescued by. | |
| W. Simons & Co., Renfrew | 19 July 1940 | 25 June 1941 | 28 July 1941 | 1947 | Formerly. Transferred on 28 July 1941 to the Free French Navy. Returned to RN in 1947 and sold. Converted to buoy boat Southern Lily. 1952 rebuilt as whale catcher and used in the Antarctic until 1963. 1967 scrapped in Belgium. | |
| J. Lewis & Sons Ltd., Aberdeen | 4 November 1940 | 28 May 1941 | 19 September 1941 | 1947 | Formerly. Transferred on 19 September 1941 to the Free French Navy. Returned to RN in 1947. |
Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Navy
South African Navy
Royal Netherlands Navy
Royal Norwegian Navy
Royal Hellenic Navy
United States Navy
| Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Paid off | Fate |
| Harland & Wolff Ltd., Belfast | 14 November 1939 | 20 April 1940 | 3 April 1942 | 22 August 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 3 April 1942. Returned to RN on 23 August 1945. | |
| Fleming & Ferguson Ltd., Paisley | 26 March 1940 | 5 September 1940 | 17 March 1942 | 22 August 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 17 March 1942. Returned to RN on 22 August 1945. | |
| Cook, Welton & Gemmell, Beverley | 13 March 1940 | 18 September 1940 | 10 March 1942 | 22 August 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 10 March 1942. Returned to RN on 22 August 1945. | |
| Harland & Wolff Ltd., Belfast | 30 October 1939 | 21 March 1940 | 12 March 1942 | 23 August 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 12 March 1942. Returned to RN on 23 August 1945. | |
| Harland & Wolff Ltd., Belfast | 30 October 1939 | 24 February 1940 | 15 March 1942 | 20 August 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 15 March 1942. Returned to RN on 26 August 1945. | |
| Harland & Wolff Ltd., Belfast | 30 October 1939 | 14 February 1940 | 30 April 1942 | 20 August 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 30 April 1942. Returned to RN on 26 August 1945. | |
| Harland & Wolff Ltd., Belfast | 14 November 1939 | 6 April 1940 | 2 May 1942 | 20 August 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to the USN on 2 May 1942. Returned to RN on 26 August 1945. | |
| John Crown & Sons Ltd., Sunderland | 23 October 1939 | 5 June 1940 | 24 March 1942 | 20 August 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 24 March 1942. Returned to RN on 26 August 1945. | |
| Smiths Dock Co., South Bank-on-Tees | 9 July 1940 | 17 October 1940 | 21 March 1942 | 20 August 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 16 February 1942. Returned to RN on 26 August 1945. | |
| Grangemouth Dry Dock Co., Grangemouth | 31 October 1939 | 8 July 1940 | 11 June 1942 | 22 August 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 4 March 1942. Returned to RN on 26 August 1945. |
Flower-class (modified)
Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Indian Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
Royal Navy
United States Navy
| Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Paid off | Fate |
| Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., Collingwood, Ontario | 6 January 1942 | 28 July 1942 | 22 November 1942 | 6 September 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 22 November 1942. Sold on 6 February 1946. | |
| Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., Collingwood, Ontario | 6 January 1942 | 4 September 1942 | 10 December 1942 | 4 October 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 10 December 1942. Sold on 22 September 1945 to Italy as mercantile Rio Marina. | |
| Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., Collingwood, Ontario | 31 October 1942 | Transferred on 31 May 1943 to RN as. Returned to USN on 20 June 1946. | ||||
| Kingston Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Kingston, Ontario | 15 June 1942 | 6 December 1942 | 9 October 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 6 December 1942. Sold on 18 October 1946. | ||
| Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., Collingwood, Ontario | 31 October 1942 | Transferred to RN as. Returned to USN on 20 June 1946. | ||||
| Midland Shipyards Ltd., Midland, Ontario | 18 November 1942 | Transferred to RN as. Returned to USN on 27 July 1946. | ||||
| Morton Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Quebec City | November 1941 | 22 August 1942 | 6 April 1943 | 3 October 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 6 April 1943. Sold in 1949 to Italy as mercantile Porto Azzurro. Scrapped in 1973 at La Spezia. | |
| Morton Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Quebec City | November 1941 | 22 August 1942 | 31 March 1943 | 3 October 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 31 March 1943. Sold into mercantile service. 1950 whale catcher Olympic Promoter, 1956 resold and renamed Otori Maru No. 5 | |
| Morton Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Quebec City | 28 November 1941 | 15 July 1942 | 22 December 1942 | 9 October 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 22 December 1942. Sold into mercantile service. 1950 whale catcher Olympic Explorer, 1956 resold and renamed Otori Maru No.3, later Kyo Maru No.12 | |
| Morton Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Quebec City | 22 July 1942 | 27 November 1942 | 23 July 1943 | 3 October 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 23 July 1943. Sold on 18 October 1946 into mercantile service. 1950 whale catcher Olympic Leader, 1956 resold and renamed Otori Maru No. 1, later Kyo Maru No. 15 | |
| Morton Engineering & Dry Dock Co., Quebec City | 14 August 1942 | 4 December 1942 | 16 August 1943 | 11 October 1945 | Formerly. Transferred to USN on 16 August 1943. Sold in 1949 to Italy as mercantile Elbano. Resold in 1951 to the Italian Navy as hydrographic survey vessel Staffetta. | |
| Kingston Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Kingston, Ontario | 11 February 1943 | Transferred to RN as. Returned to USN on 20 March 1946. | ||||
| Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., Collingwood, Ontario | 24 December 1942 | Transferred to RN as. Returned to USN on 5 January 1946. | ||||
| Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., Collingwood, Ontario | 10 April 1943 | Transferred to RN as. Returned to USN on 21 June 1946. | ||||
| Midland Shipyards Ltd., Midland, Ontario | 24 March 1943 | Transferred to RN as. Returned to USN on 11 June 1946. |
Vessels lost in action
Kriegsmarine use
In 1940 four Flower-class corvettes were being built in St. Nazaire-Penhoet for the French Navy. They were seized by the Kriegsmarine. Three were completed in 1943 and 1944, while the fourth was never finished. Their designation "PA" stood for Patroullienboot Ausland.| Ship | Ordered | Launched | Intended French name | Completed | Fate |
| PA 1 | September 1939 | 16 October 1940 | Arquebuse | April 1944 | Seized in June 1940 and served in 15 Vorposten Flottille. Sunk by aerial bombing 15 June 1944 at Le Havre |
| PA 2 | September 1939 | 22 November 1940 | Hallebarde | September 1943 | Seized in June 1940 and served in 15 Vorposten Flottille. Sunk by aerial bombing 15 June 1944 at Le Havre |
| PA 3 | September 1939 | 29 November 1940 | Sabre | November 1943 | Seized in June 1940 and served in 15 Vorposten Flottille. Sunk by aerial bombing 15 June 1944 at Le Havre |
| PA 4 | September 1939 | 29 November 1940 | Poignard | Not completed | Seized in June 1940. Launched 1 September 1944 as La Télindière. Sunk uncompleted as a block ship at Nantes |
Battle credits
- was sunk by on 1 July 1940.
- Nani was sunk by on 7 January 1941
- was sunk by and on 7 March 1941
- was captured on 9 May 1941 by the destroyers and and the corvette. U-110 was sunk the next day to preserve the secret.
- was sunk by the destroyer and on 2 June 1941
- was sunk by,, and on 17 June 1941
- was sunk by the destroyers,, the corvettes and, and the minesweeper on 29 June 1941
- was sunk by the destroyers and and the corvette on 3 August 1941
- was sunk by and on 10 September 1941
- was sunk by on 28 September 1941
- was sunk by and the sloop on 19 October 1941
- was sunk by on 16 November 1941
- was sunk by the destroyers,,, the corvette, the sloop, and a Martlet aircraft from on 17 December 1941
- was sunk by the sloop and on 21 December 1941
- was sunk by the destroyer, with, and on 27 December 1942
- was sunk by on 1 September 1942
- was sunk by a US Catalina flying boat and on 28 August 1942
- was sunk by and the destroyer on 31 July 1942
- was sunk by on 8 August 1942
- Perla was captured by on 9 July 1942
- was scuttled after being damaged by and on 12 November 1942
- was sunk by and the sloop on 2 April 1942
- was sunk by the sloop and on 6 February 1942
- was sunk by the sloop and on 14 April 1942
- was sunk by the corvette on 11 March 1943
- was sunk by the destroyer and the corvette on 11 March 1943
- was sunk by the corvette on 7 February 1943
- was sunk by the frigate, with and on 20 November 1943
- was sunk by, the frigate, and a Canadian Sunderland seaplane on 13 May 1943
- Tritone was sunk by and the destroyer on 19 January 1943
- was sunk by on 13 March 1943
- Avorio was sunk by on 8 February 1943
- was sunk by and the destroyer on 4 March 1943
- was sunk by on 13 January 1943
- was sunk by the sloop, the corvettes and, and an American Consolidated PBY Catalina aircraft on 15 July 1943
- was sunk by the destroyer and on 31 October 1943
- was destroyed while grounded by and the Australian minesweeper on 12 September 1943
- was sunk by the frigate and on 26 May 1943
- was sunk by on 6 May 1943
- was sunk by the destroyer and on 6 May 1943
- was sunk by the sloop and on 30 August 1943
- was sunk by on 5 May 1943
- was sunk by on 17 October 1943
- was sunk by the destroyers and and the corvette on 29 October 1943
- was sunk by. on 25 May 1943
- was sunk by the destroyer and on 25 August 1943
- was sunk by the frigate and on 8 January 1944
- was sunk by the destroyers,,, the frigate, and the corvettes,, and on 6 March 1944
- was sunk by on 15 August 1944
- was sunk by on 19 January 1944
- was sunk by the destroyers and, the corvette and the frigate on 10 March 1944
- was sunk by the destroyer and on 21 January 1945
Post-war use
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. The fledgling navy had intended to buy three more corvettes, as well as 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 s before the building of a similar size vessel, LE Deirdre. Entry into 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. She was declared surplus by the RCN and sold as a towboat specializing in deep-sea salvage. In November 1955, she rescued 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 and were sold as mercantile freighters but were subsequently acquired in 1946 by the Mossad LeAliyah Bet, a branch of the Jewish Defense Association 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 the Mediterranean Sea during the summer of 1946 by the destroyer 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 the 1953 film production of Nicholas Monsarrat's novel The Cruel Sea. The Royal Hellenic Navy supplied for the role prior to her scrapping.
The only survivor of the entire class is, 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, 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. Sackvilles presence in Halifax is considered very appropriate, given 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 the ashes of RCN veterans of the Battle of the Atlantic at this location.
Literature
- Alex H. Cherry wrote Yankee R N, the story of a Wall Street banker who volunteered for active duty in the RN, including details of Flower operations.
- Peter Coy, who served in in the North Atlantic between June 1942 and August 1944, wrote 'The Echo of a Fighting Flower' about her and B3 Escort Group, comprising two British and four Free French corvettes.
- Hugh Garner wrote Storm Below which provides a detailed account of Flower-class corvettes and the stresses of shipboard life during World War II.
- James B. Lamb wrote The Corvette Navy, which accounts the use of these vessels by the RCN during World War II.
- Hal Lawrence wrote A Bloody War including first-hand accounts of his service aboard and.
- Nicholas Monsarrat wrote the best-known fictionalised account of Flower-class corvette operations in his novel The Cruel Sea. A less well known volume by the same author, Three Corvettes, is a collection of wartime essays of his personal experiences as an officer on board a Flower, although only the first part deals with North Atlantic convoy escort duties.
- Robert Radcliffe wrote Upon Dark Waters, a fictionalized account of Flower-class corvette Daisy, set in 1942 on the North Atlantic.
- Denys Rayner wrote Escort, a first-hand account of his experiences as an officer aboard a Flower.
- Douglas Reeman's 1969 novel To Risks Unknown features the fictional Flower-class corvette Thistle.
- Mac Johnston wrote "Corvettes Canada" aptly subtitled "Convoy Veterans of World War II Tell Their True Stories."