FLOWER Class

corvette

FLOWER Class
Characteristics:


Original 1939-1940 Programme
Original 1940-1941 Programme
Final
Displacement 950 tons
Dimensions 62.5 x 10.0 x 3.5 meters (205 x 33 x 11.5 feet)
Propulsion Single shaft;
2 fire tube Scotch boilers;
1 4-cyl. triple expansion steam engine, 2750 hp.;
16 knots
Single shaft;
2 water tube boilers;
1 4-cyl. triple expansion steam engine, 2750 hp.;
16 knots
No change from original installation.
Range 3500 nm. at 12 knots
Crew 85 95
Radar SW1C or 2C (later) Type 271 surface/air, SW2C or 2CP air warning
Sonar Type 123A, later Type 127DV Type 145
Fire Control none
EW
Armament 1 4" BL Mk.IX single
2 .50 cal mg twin
2 Lewis .303 cal mg twin
2 Mk.II depth charge throwers
2 depth charge rails with 40 depth charges.

Originally fitted with minesweeping gear, later removed.
1 4" BL Mk.IX single
1 2 Pdr. Mk.VIII single pom-pom
2 20mm Oerlikon single
1 Hedgehog ASW mortar (many)
4 MK.II depth charge throwers
2 depth charge rails with 70 depth charges.

Ships assigned to Operations Torch and Neptune gained an extra two 20mm singles.

Ships:


Name
Pendant
Commissioned
Fo'c's'le Ext.
Paid Off
Notes
1939-1940 Programme
AGASSIZ K129 23/1/41 4/3/44 14/6/45
ALBERNI K103 4/2/41
21/8/44 Sunk 21/8/44
ALGOMA K127 11/7/41 15/4/44 6/7/45 Venezuelan CONSTITUCION 1945-1962
AMHERST K148 5/8/41 1/11/43 16/7/45 Wrecked 1945 under tow.
ARROWHEAD K145 15/5/41 25/5/44 27/6/45 Southern Larkspur 1947-1959
ARVIDA K113 22/5/41 8/4/44 14/\6/45 Spanish La Ceiba 1950
BADDECK K147 18/5/41 15/11/43 4/7/45 Lost as Greek Evi, 1946
BARRIE K138 12/5/41 17/7/44 26/6/45 Argentine Gasestado 1947, 
CAPITAN CANEPA 1957-1972
BATTLEFORD K165 31/7/41 31/7/44 18/7/45 Venezuelan LIBERTAD 1945-1949
BITTERSWEET K182 15/5/41 9/11/43 22/6/45
BRANDON K149 22/7/41 16/10/43 22/6/45
BUCTOUCHE K179 5/6/41 29/1/44 15/6/45
CAMROSE K154 30/6/41 15/10/43 22/7/45
CHAMBLY K116 18/12/40 11/3/44 20/6/45 Dutch Sonja Vinke 1946-1966
CHICOUTIMI K156 12/5/41
16/6/45
CHILLIWACK K131 8/4/41 10/10/43 17/7/45
COBALT K124 25/11/40 20/7/44 17/6/45 Dutch Johanna W. Vinke 1953-1961
COLLINGWOOD K180 9/11/40 14/12/43 23/7/45
DAUPHIN K157 17/5/41 5/9/43 20/6/45 Honduran Cortes 1949, 
Ecuadorean San Antonio 1955-1988
DAWSON K104 6/10/41 29/1/44 19/6/45
DRUMHELLER K167 13/9/41 15/1/44 11/7/45
DUNVEGAN K177 9/9/41 27/12/43 3/7/45 Venezuelan INDEPENCIA 1945-1953
EDMUNDSTON K106 21/10/41 3/6/43 16/6/45 Liberian Amapala 1948-1962
EYEBRIGHT K150 15/5/41 21/8/43 17/6/45 Dutch Albert W. Vinke 1950-1964
FENNEL K194 15/5/41 6/9/43 12/6/45 Norwegian Milliam Kihl 1948-1966
GALT K163 15/5/41 8/5/44 21/6/45
HEPATICA K159 15/5/41 8/6/44 27/6/45
KAMLOOPS K176 17/3/41 25/4/44 27/6/45
KAMSACK K171 4/10/41 14/3/44 22/7/45 Venezuelan FEDERACION 1945-1956
KENOGAMI K125 29/6/41 1/10/44 9/7/45
LETHBRIDGE K160 26/6/41 27/3/44 23/7/45 Dutch Nicolaas Vinke 1955-1966
LEVIS K115 16/5/41
19/9/41 Sunk 19/9/41
LOUISBURG K143 2/10/41
6/2/43 Sunk 6/2/43
LUNENBURG K151 4/12/41 17/8/43 23/7/45
MATAPEDIA K112 9/5/41 3/2/44 16/6/45
MAYFLOWER K191 15/5/41 14/2/44 31/5/45
MONCTON K139 24/4/42 7/7/44 12/12/45 Dutch Willem Vinke 1955-1966
MOOSE JAW K164 19/6/41 23/3/44 8/7/45
MORDEN K170 6/9/41 29/1/44 29/6/45
NANAIMO K101 26/4/41
28/9/45 Dutch Rene W. Vinke 1953-1966
NAPANEE K118 12/5/41 19/10/43 12/7/45
OAKVILLE K178 18/11/41 29/3/44 20/7/45 Venezuelan PATRIA 1945-1962
ORILLIA K119 25/11/40 3/5/44 2/7/45
PICTOU K146 29/4/41 31/3/44 12/7/45 Honduran Olympic Chaser 1950, 
Otori Maru No. 7 1956-1963
PRESCOTT K161 26/6/41 27/10/43 20/7/45
QUESNEL K133 23/5/41 23/12/43 3/7/45
RIMOUSKI K121 26/4/41 24/8/43 24/7/45
ROSTHERN K169 17/6/41
19/7/45
SACKVILLE K181 30/12/41 7/5/44 8/4/46 Research ship, 1953-1982 
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic 1982-
SASKATOON K158 9/6/41 1/4/44 25/6/45 Tra Los Montes 1948, 
Olympic Fighter 1950, 
Otori Maru No. 6 1956, 
Kyo Maru No. 20 1961-1979
SHAWINIGAN K136 19/9/41 16/6/44 25/11/44 Sunk 25/11/44
SHEDIAC K110 8/7/41 18/8/44 28/8/45 Dutch Jooske W. Vinke 1954-1965
SHERBROOKE K152 5/6/41 22/8/44 28/6/45
SNOWBERRY K166 15/5/41 14/5/43 8/6/45
SOREL K153 19/8/41 5/12/42 22/6/45
SPIKENARD K198 15/5/41
10/2/42 Sunk 10/2/42
SUDBURY K162 15/10/41 10/5/44 28/8/45 Salvage Tug 1949-1967.
SUMMERSIDE K141 11/9/41 25/9/43 6/7/45
THE PAS K168 21/10/41
24/7/45
TRAIL K174 30/4/41 23/10/44 17/7/45
TRILLIUM K172 15/5/41 10/6/43 27/6/45 Honduran Olympic Runner 1950, 
Japanese Otori Maru No. 10 1956, 
Kyo Maru No. 16 1959-1973
WETASKIWIN K175 17/22/40 6/3/44 19/6/45 Venezuelan VICTORIA 1945-1962
WEYBURN K173 26/11/41
22/2/43 Sunk 22/2/43
WINDFLOWER K155 15/5/41
7/12/41 Sunk 7/12/41
1940-1941 Programme
BRANTFORD K218 15/5/42
17/8/45 Honduran Olympic Arrow 1950, 
Japanese Otori Maru No. 11 1956, 
Kyo Maru No. 21 1961-1973
DUNDAS K229 1/4/42 19/11/43 17/7/45
MIDLAND K220 17/11/41 19/11/43 15/7/45
NEW WESTMINSTER K228 31/1/42 10/12/44 21/6/45 Bahamian Azua 1954-1966
TIMMINS K223 10/2/42 16/10/44 15/7/45 Honduran Guayaquil 1948-1960
VANCOUVER K240 20/3/42 16/9/43 26/6/45



Notes:

Primarily designed to be a coastal escort, the Corvettes ended up shouldering the brunt of the escorting of Trans-Atlantic convoys. They were very wet ships to begin with, due to the short fo'c's'les that ended just short of the bridge, although the later ships were finished with an extended fo'c's'le and the original ships were mostly refitted as such (shown above). They were also extremely 'lively' ships in a heavy sea, and would "roll on wet grass". As small as they were, they were able to negotiate the waterways leading to the Great Lakes, and many were built there.

When built, they were fitted with magnetic compasses, and did not have an electrical system capable of supporting gyro compasses, which were much more reliable when the ship was being thrown about either due to wave action or the ship's own depth charges. These were later fitted to most ships. They also had an obsolete sonar with a fixed transducer, which meant that when the ship passed over the submarine to drop depth charges, sonar contact with the sub was lost. This was fixed with the Hedgehog ASW mortar, added to most ships later in the war, which allowed the ship to stand off while firing the mortar bombs and retain sonar contact with the sub. When built, early Canadian corvettes had no radar. They were later fitted with the SW1C radar, which was not all that useful, though better than nothing. The SW1C was later replaced with the SW2C and 2CP, which was only retained for aircraft detection after the British Type 271 was introduced into the RCN.

Few corvettes saw service in Canada after the war, although HMCS SUDBURY was sold and converted into a salvage tug . Others were sold foreign, either into other navies or converted for merchant service as cargo carriers or whaling ships among others.

Photos:

 Click on a thumbnail for a larger image.

The Last Corvette - HMCS SACKVILLE
Notes:
1. SACKVILLE under tow in Halifax Harbour during the Battle of the Atlantic memorial service on May 2, 2004. SACKVILLE is the last remaining example of several hundred ships built during the Second World War. Sandy McClearn photo.
2. SACKVILLE, as she appears today, at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on the Halifax waterfront. (2004)
3. SACKVILLE is shown berthed in the Dockyard in Halifax during 1997.
4. A night photo of SACKVILLE. ('96)
5. Looking forward along the port side of SACKVILLE. ('96) 
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Sackville Sackville in June, 2004
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1939-1940 Programme
Notes:
1. HMCS BARRIE illustrating why corvettes were known as lively ships. In this photo, BARRIE has received her fo'c's'le extension. DND photo, Courtesy of Bill Croshaw.
2. HMCS DAWSON after her fo'c's'le was extended. DND photo, Courtesy of Dave Shirlaw.
3. NANAIMO is seen here at speed. When this photo was taken, she still retained the short fo'c's'le with which she was built. In fact, NANAIMO was one of the few corvettes which never underwent the fo'c's'le extension refit. Photo courtesy of Trevor Patterson.
4. This photo was taken from CHAMBLY looking aft at the 1st Canadian Corvette Flotilla as they approached St. John's on May 23, 1941. Photo courtesy of Corvus Publishing Group./Canada's Navy.
5. SUMMERSIDE.  She is shown towards the end of the war, with the Type 271 radar and the fo'c's'le extension. Photo courtesy of James Doiron.
6. WETASKIWIN was sold post-war and served the Venezuelan Navy as VICTORIA until 1962. Roberto Perez Lecuna collection, courtesy of Jorge Alvarez.
7. ALBERNI with a short foc'st'le. DND photo, courtesy RCL White Ensign.
8. ARROWHEAD. Courtesy Patrick Turner.
9. CAMROSE. DND photo, courtesy RCL White Ensign.
10. Probably CHILLIWACK. Courtesy Jim Allison.
11. KENOGAMI. Victor Borushynski photo.
12. LEVIS sinking, with her bow blown off by a torpedo. DND photo, courtesy RCL White Ensign.
13. LOUISBURG. DND photo, courtesy RCL White Ensign.
14. SHAWINIGAN with a short foc'st'le. DND photo, courtesy RCL White Ensign.
15. SPIKENARD with a short foc'st'le. DND photo, courtesy RCL White Ensign.
16. WEYBURN with a short foc'st'le. DND photo, courtesy RCL White Ensign.
17. WINDFLOWER with a short foc'st'le. DND photo, courtesy RCL White Ensign.
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Venezuelan VICTORIA
Alberni
Arrowhead
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12
Camrose
Chilliwack
Kenogami1.jpg
Levis
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14
15
16
Louisburg
Shawinigan
Spikenard
Weyburn
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20
Windflower



1940-1941 Programme
Notes:
1. VANCOUVER.  DND photo, courtesy RCL White Ensign.
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Vancouver



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Sources:

Barrie, Ron and Macpherson, Ken. (2002). This Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910-2002. Vanwell Publishing Ltd. St. Catherines, Ont.

Lynch, Thomas G. (1981). Canada's Flowers - History of the Corvettes of Canada 1939-1945. Nimbus Publishing Ltd. Halifax, NS.

Macpherson, Ken and Milner, Marc. (1993). Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy 1939-1945. Vanwell Publishing Ltd. St. Catherines, Ont.

Jane's Fighting Ships, Various Editions 

Correspondence with Dr. Hal Smith (for radar and sonar fits).

Back to the Canadian Navy - WW2 Fleet

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