World War II Album: The War in View #9: Canadian Naval Power

HMCS Calgary (K231).

HMCS Camrose (K154).HMCS Camrose was a Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette which took part in convoy escort duties during the Second World War. She was named for Camrose, Alberta.

Flower-class corvettes like Camrose serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes. The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877. During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design. The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.

Corvettes commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were named after communities for the most part, to better represent the people who took part in building them. This idea was put forth by Admiral Percy W. Nelles. Sponsors were commonly associated with the community for which the ship was named. Royal Navy corvettes were designed as open sea escorts, while Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles which was exemplified by their minesweeping gear. Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified to allow them to perform better on the open seas.

Camrose was ordered on 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. It was laid down by Marine Industries Ltd. at Sorel on 17 September 1940. She was launched on 16 November 1940 and commissioned 30 June 1941 at Sorel. Camrose had three refits during her career, the first being at Lunenburg in February 1942 until May 1942. The second refit took place at Pictou in April 1943 and took five and a half months to complete, among the work being done was an extension to the fo'c'sle. Her final major refit took place again at Pictou in September 1944.

Initially assigned to Halifax Force in July 1941, she was transferred to Newfoundland Command in October of that year. She worked as an ocean escort on convoys from St. John's to Iceland until February 1942 when she was laid up for a refit. Upon her return to active service, she returned to Newfoundland Command.

In June 1942 she was reassigned to the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF). In October that year she was sent to the United Kingdom to take on escort duties for convoys supplying Operation Torch. Camrose would spend five months escorting convoys from the UK to Gibraltar. In April she was sent for another refit, only returning to active service after five months. Upon completion of her workups, she was assigned to escort group EG-6 with the Royal Navy.

During this time she escorted convoys from the UK to Gibraltar or Freetown. While on escort duty in the North Atlantic on 8 January 1944, Camrose was involved in the sinking of U-757 alongside HMS Bayntun.

In May 1944 she was assigned to Western Approaches Command at Greenock. As part of her invasion duties, she escorted convoys to and from Normandy. In September 1944 she returned to Canada and went for another refit. Upon her resumption of duties in January 1945 she was made part of escort group EG 41 of the Royal Navy out of Plymouth. She served with that group until VE-Day. Camrose took part in the reoccupation of St. Helier in the Channel Islands.

In June 1945 she returned to Canada for good and on 22 July 1945 she was paid off at Sydney, Nova Scotia. After the war she was sold for scrapping in June 1947 and broken up at Hamilton.

Unknown corvette, HMCS Camrose (K154) and HMCS Collingwood (K180), circa 1945.

HMCS Camrose (K154).

HMCS Chambly (K116). HMCS Chambly was a Flower-class corvette serving in the Royal Canadian Navy. She was ordered from Canadian Vickers Ltd. in Montreal, laid down on 20 February 1940, launched on 29 July, and commissioned on 18 December 1940, named after the city of Chambly, Quebec. Chambly escorted trade convoys between Halifax Harbour and the Western Approaches through the battle of the Atlantic and, together with HMCS Moose Jaw, achieved the RCN's first U-boat kill of the war.

Flower-class corvettes like Chambly serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes. The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877. During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design. The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.

Corvettes commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were named after communities for the most part, to better represent the people who took part in building them. This idea was put forth by Admiral Percy W. Nelles. Sponsors were commonly associated with the community for which the ship was named. Royal Navy corvettes were designed as open sea escorts, while Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles which was exemplified by their minesweeping gear. Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified to allow them to perform better on the open seas.

Chambly was one of the first three Royal Canadian Navy corvettes available for Atlantic service when the St. Lawrence River froze in late 1940. Her commanding officer, Commander James D. Prentice, RCN, was designated Senior Officer, Canadian corvettes, and was responsible for organizing operational training of the remaining corvettes as they were completed and commissioned through 1942. Commander Prentice's training exercises often took the form of a support group able to reinforce the escort of convoys coming under attack.

In May 1941 she took part in the Canadian Navy's secret trials of diffused lighting camouflage, a technology for concealing ships from submarines at night. On 12 May, she was fitted with an experimental anti-submarine radar, CSC, and used for experiments over the next week. On 13 May she gave an excellent demonstration of the usefulness of the system when fog made visibility 0.1 miles (0.16 km). She was able to give steering instructions that found the submarine dead ahead when the traditional plotters were convinced it was 28 degrees to one side. This resulted in widespread availability of production SW-1C sets to escorts in 1942.

On 23 June 1941, Chambly participated in defense of convoy HX 133, during the first battle of the Newfoundland Escort Force. A similar training exercise in September produced the first Canadian U-boat sinking when U-501 was destroyed during the battle for convoy SC 42.

Commander Prentice in Chambly became the senior officer of Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) group C1 in August 1942 and remained in that position until assigned to Admiral Leonard W. Murray's staff when Chambly commenced yard overhaul in November. Following overhaul, Chambly participated in the battles for convoy KMS 11G and convoy MKS 10 with MOEF group C2 before assignment to Support Group 9. With Support Group 9, she narrowly avoided destruction when an acoustic torpedo exploded in the propeller wash of her wake during the battle for convoys ONS 18/ON 202. After another yard overhaul in early 1944, Chambly escorted 16 trans-Atlantic convoys without loss before the end of the war.

Chambly was decommissioned at the end of hostilities on 20 June 1945. After being refitted in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, she was sold in 1946; the buyer planned to convert her into a whaling ship. The next available record from the Government of Canada states that she entered service as a Dutch civilian in 1954 as the Sonia Vinke.

The ship was broken up by Recuperaciones Submarinas S.A beginning on 10 October 1966 in Santander, Spain.

HMCS Chambly (K116) and HMCS Orillia (K119).

This photo was taken from Chambly looking aft at the 1st Canadian Corvette Flotilla as they approached St. John's on May 23, 1941.

HMCS Charlottetown (K244). HMCS Charlottetown was a Flower-class corvette that served the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Charlottetown's pennant number K244 is unique in that it was also used for HMCS Charlottetown, a River-class frigate.

Flower-class corvettes like Charlottetown serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes. The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877. During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design. The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.

Corvettes commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were named after communities for the most part, to better represent the people who took part in building them. This idea was put forth by Admiral Percy W. Nelles. Sponsors were commonly associated with the community for which the ship was named. Royal Navy corvettes were designed as open sea escorts, while Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles which was exemplified by their minesweeping gear. Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified for better performance on open seas.

Charlottetown was laid down at Kingston Shipbuilding Ltd., Kingston on 7 June 1941 and launched on 10 September of that year. She was commissioned into the RCN at Quebec City on 13 December and arrived at her home port of Halifax, Nova Scotia on 18 December 1941.

Charlottetown served with the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) until mid-July 1942 when she was transferred to the Gulf Escort Force (GEF), serving in what is now referred to as the Battle of the St. Lawrence. She escorted Quebec City - Sydney convoys until her sinking.

Charlottetown was torpedoed and sunk on 11 September 1942 by the U-517 6 nautical miles (11 km) off Cap Chat in the St. Lawrence River along the northern shore of the Gaspé Peninsula. She had been returning to base with the minesweeper HMCS Clayoquot after escorting convoy SQ-35 and was not zigzagging. She was struck aft by two torpedoes. She went down fast and though most of her crew got off the ship, some died in the water when her depth charges went off as she sank. Her captain, Lieutenant Commander John W. Bonner, RCNR and 8 other crew were killed out of her crew of 64. The survivors were picked up by Clayoquot.

HMCS Charlottetown (K244).

HMCS Chilliwack (K131). HMCS Chilliwack was a Flower-class corvette who served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Chilliwack was ordered on 14 February 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. At Burrard Dry Dock in North Vancouver, British Columbia she was laid down on 3 July 1940. Chilliwack was launched on 14 September 1940 and commissioned on 8 April 1941 at Vancouver. She is named after the city of Chilliwack, British Columbia. In April 1943 until October 1943, Chilliwack was refitting at Dartmouth, where her fo'c'sle was extended.

After commissioning she was sent to Halifax, arriving on 19 June 1941. She was assigned to Newfoundland Command in July and spent the rest of the year escorting convoys between St. John's and Iceland. In February 1942 she began work as an ocean escort, a position she continued with few interruptions until November 1944.

Chilliwack participated in the battle for convoy SC 67 before assignment to Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) group C1 in June 1942. With group C1, she shared credit for sinking U-356 during the battle for convoy ON 154, and participated in the battles for convoy SC 94 and convoy HX 222. Chilliwack then joined MOEF group A3 in the battle for convoy ON 166. In December 1943 after completing her refit and work up, Chilliwack joined escort group W-8 of Western Escort Force. In March 1944, she assisted in the sinking of U-744 along with several other escorts while escorting convoy HX 280. Chilliwack escorted fourteen trans-Atlantic convoys without loss in 1944 and spent 1945 escorting North American coastal convoys with the Western Local Escort Force.

In April 1945 she was reassigned to Halifax Force before being lent to escort group C-1 again for one round trip in May. Chilliwack was paid off on 14 July 1945 at Sorel, Quebec. The ship was sold after the war and scrapped in 1946.

HMCS Chilliwack (K131).

Capture of U-744, taken from HMCS Chilliwack, 6 March 1944.

HMCS Chilliwack (K131).

HMCS Cobalt (K124). HMCS Cobalt was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy which took part in convoy escort duties during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Cobalt, Ontario.

Cobalt was ordered 1 February 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class shipbuilding program from Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. in Port Arthur, Ontario. She was laid down on 1 April 1940 and launched 17 August later that year. Cobalt was commissioned at Port Arthur on 25 November 1940, however Cobalt was taken to Halifax in advance of completion to beat the St. Lawrence freeze-up, arriving 24 December. In mid-November Cobalt was sent to Liverpool, Nova Scotia for three months' refit. During the second of two other extensive refits at Liverpool from April to 20 July 1944 her fo'c'sle was lengthened.

Cobalt was completed early in January 1941. On 22 January 1941 she took part in the Canadian Navy's first secret trial of diffused lighting camouflage, a technology for concealing ships from submarines at night.

She worked up and joined Halifax Force, but left on 23 May 1941 with the six other corvettes that were the nucleus of the new Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF). For the next six months she operated as an ocean escort between St. John's and Iceland.

Following completion of her first refit, Cobalt made two round trips to Derry before being assigned in May 1942 to the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF), with which she was to spend the balance of the war. During her time with WLEF she served with escort groups EG W-6 from June 1943; with W-5 from April 1944; and with W-7 from February 1945. She finished the war with group W-7.

Cobalt was paid off at Sorel, Quebec on 17 June 1945 and subsequently sold for conversion to a whale-catcher, entering service in 1953 as the Dutch Johanna W. Vinke. On 31 December 1961 she suffered a boiler explosion while whaling, and was declared a constructive total loss. She was broken up at Cape Town beginning on 6 June 1963 by South African Metal & Machinery Pty Ltd.

HMCS Cobalt (K124).

HMCS Cobourg (K333). HMCS Cobourg was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Cobourg, Ontario.

Cobourg was ordered April 1942 as part of the 1942-43 modified Flower-class building program. This program was known as the Increased Endurance (IE). Many changes were made, all from lessons that had been learned in previous versions of the Flower-class. The bridge was made a full deck higher and built to naval standards instead of the more civilian-like bridges of previous versions. The platform for the 4-inch main gun was raised to minimize the amount of spray over it and to provide a better field of fire. It was also connected to the wheelhouse by a wide platform that was now the base for the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar that this version was now armed with. Along with the new Hedgehog, this version got the new QF 4-inch Mk XIX main gun, which was semi-automatic, used fixed ammunition and had the ability to elevate higher giving it an anti-aircraft ability.

Other superficial changes to this version include an upright funnel and pressurized boiler rooms which eliminated the need for hooded ventilators around the base of the funnel. This changes the silhouette of the corvette and made it more difficult for submariners to tell which way the corvette was laying.

Cobourg was laid down by Midland Shipyards Ltd. at Midland, Ontario 25 November 1942. She was launched 14 July 1943 and commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy 11 May 1944 at Midland. During her service, Cobourg underwent one refit. This took place near the end of the war beginning on 2 May 1945. She did not return to service before the war ended.

After commissioning, Cobourg visited her namesake en route to Halifax. After workups, she was assigned to the Mid-Ocean Escort Force as a trans-Atlantic convoy escort. She was ordered to join escort group C-6 and spent the rest of the war serving with them.

Cobourg was paid off at Sorel, Quebec 15 June 1945. She was transferred to the War Assets Corporation who promptly sold her later that year for mercantile use.[10] She reappeared after conversion as Camco (1,087 GRT) in 1946. In 1947, the ship was renamed Dundas Kent. In 1956 she was sold and renamed Puerto del Sol and operated under a Panamanian flag. On 1 July 1971, Puerto del Sol burned and sank at New Orleans. She was later raised and scrapped at Bowmansville, Texas in December 1972.

HMCS Collingwood (K180). HMCS Collingwood was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic though also saw service as a training vessel. She was named for Collingwood, Ontario.

Collingwood was ordered on 1 November 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down on 2 March 1940 by Collingwood Shipbuilding at Collingwood, Ontario and launched 27 July later that year. She was commissioned on 9 November 1940 at Collingwood, the first corvette to enter Canadian service.

In early December 1941 she went on a two-month refit at Halifax. Between 1942 and 1944 Collingwood had three minor refits. In October 1943, she was sent to New York for a major refit that lasted until December of that year, during which her fo'c'sle was extended.

After arriving at Halifax and completing her work up, Collingwood joined Halifax Force in January 1941. She worked with them until 23 May when she transferred to Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF). Beginning in June she spent the next six months escorting convoys from St. John's to Iceland. The first NEF convoy to face battle, HX 113, had three corvettes as part of the escort. However, none of them had adequate communications equipment as they were only able to communicate through signals and not radio. This led to six losses and the escorts were only able to stop the attacks due to a reinforcement of Royal Navy escorts out of Iceland.

After completing her working up after her first refit, Collingwood was assigned to the "Newfie" – Derry run, which were the Atlantic convoys that no longer switched escort groups near Iceland, but went all the way to the United Kingdom. She spent 1942 through to 1944 escorting convoys on this run. From December 1942 onward, Collingwood was a member of escort group EG C-4. From April 1945 until June 1945, Collingwood served as a training ship at Digby, Nova Scotia.

Collingwood was paid off on 23 July 1945 at Sorel, Quebec. She was sold for scrapping in July 1950 and broken up at Hamilton.

HMCS Collingwood, the first Canadian corvette.

HMCS Dauphin (K157). HMCS Dauphin was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Dauphin, Manitoba.

Dauphin was ordered 20 January 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class shipbuilding program. She was laid down 6 July 1940 by Canadian Vickers Ltd. at Montreal, Quebec and launched on 24 October later that year. She was commissioned on 17 May 1941 at Montreal. From April to September 1943, Dauphin was refitted at Pictou. During this time her fo'c'sle was extended. In August 1944 she underwent another refit at Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

In late June 1941 Dauphin joined Sydney Force. In September of that year she transferred to Newfoundland Command. However she was sent for further workups at Tobermory and returned to service as an ocean escort in mid-October.

From October 1941 to August 1944 she was an ocean escort. After December 1942 she was assigned to escort group EG A-3, which was re-designated C-5 in June 1943. Dauphin was involved in three major convoy battles during that time; SC 100 in September 1942, ON 166 in February 1943 and SC 121 in March 1943.

U-boats repeatedly attacked SC 121 from 6 to 10 March. On the night of 9–10 March U-229 torpedoed the tramp steamers Nailsea Court, which sank, and Colmore, which was damaged and abandoned. Dauphin tried to reach a lifeboat containing 37 men from the two ships. She got within 250 yards of the boat when her steering gear failed, forcing her to stop. It took Dauphin four hours to repair her steering gear and return to the boat. By then it had capsized and she rescued only three survivors who were clinging to the keel.

Daulhin was removed from convoy duty from April to September 1943 for a refit. In January 1945 she was reassigned to the Western Local Escort Force escort group W-7. She remained with the group until the end of the war.

Following the end of hostilities, Dauphin was paid off on 20 June 1945 at Sorel, Quebec. She was sold for conversion to a merchant ship and in 1949 entered service as Cortes under a Honduran flag. In 1955 she was renamed San Antonio and was registered under an Ecuadorean flag. The ship was deleted in 1992.

HMCS Dawson (K104). HMCS Dawson was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. She was one of the few Canadian corvettes to serve in action in both oceans. She was named for Dawson City, Yukon.

Dawson was ordered on 14 February 1940 from Victoria Machinery Depot, Victoria, British Columbia as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down on 7 September 1940 and was launched on 8 February 1941. She was commissioned into the RCN on 6 October 1941 at Victoria. In September 1943 Dawson began a major refit at Vancouver that saw her fo'c'sle extended. She had a second refit at Dartmouth that began in January 1945 that lasted until April.

Dawson was one of the few RCN ships that played an active role in both the Pacific War and the Battle of the Atlantic. After initial workups, she was assigned to Esquimalt Force. From 1942 to 1944 Dawson was deployed in an anti-submarine role on the Pacific coast as a local escort. In August 1942 she and her sister, HMCS Vancouver were assigned to the American invasion of the Aleutian Islands. There was little risk to the corvettes as they met very little resistance at sea. On 4 November 1942 she returned to Esquimalt. In February 1943 she returned to work with the United States Navy in Alaska until the end of May.

After completing her major refit Dawson transferred to the Atlantic in February 1944. Upon arrival in March she joined escort group W-7 as part of the Western Escort Force. She escorted convoys from North America to the UK for the remainder of her war. After undergoing a second major refit, Dawson worked up in Bermuda in April 1945 but did not return to active service before the European part of the war ended.

Dawson was paid off on 19 June 1945 at Sorel, Quebec. The ship was sold for scrap on 5 October 1945. On the way to the breakers, she foundered near Hamilton, Ontario on 22 March 1946. She was raised and broken up.

HMCS Dawson.

HMCS Drumheller (K167). HMCS Drumheller was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served in several theatres, including the Battle of the Atlantic as an ocean escort. She was named for Drumheller, Alberta.

Drumheller was ordered 1 February 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. in Collingwood, Ontario on 4 December 1940 and launched 5 July 1941. Drumheller was commissioned at Montreal on 13 September 1941. She underwent two major refits during her career. The first came after developing mechanical defects during an ocean crossing. This led to a spell in 1942 at Southampton refitting. The second refit that Drumheller underwent took place at New York from mid-November 1943 until mid-January 1944 where her fo'c'sle was extended.

After arrival at Halifax for workups, Drumheller was assigned to Sydney Force in November 1941. She was transferred to Newfoundland Command soon after and spent two months beginning in December 1941 as an ocean escort.

In February 1942, Drumheller began the "Newfie" - Derry run, one of the first Canadian ships to do so. While on a return trip to St. John's, Drumheller developed mechanical defects and was forced to return to the United Kingdom for repairs. After completion of the repairs, she was assigned to Tobermory, the escort ship training site, for workups. She resumed her ocean escort duties at the end of April.

In April 1942 after her return to active service, she was assigned to Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) escort group C-2 and served with it until April 1944. In May 1943 Drumheller as escort to Convoy HX 237 teamed with an RAF Sunderland and HMS Lagan to sink U-753. Also during this time Drumheller was involved in the severe battle surrounding Convoys ONS 18/ON 202 in September 1943 which lost six merchant ships and three escorts.

In April 1944, she was assigned to Western Approaches Command for invasion duties. She took part in the invasion of Normandy and afterwards, in September of that year, transferred to Portsmouth Command. After a short stay, Drumheller transferred one last time, this time to Nore Command in November 1944. She stayed with them until the end of the war, when in mid-May 1945, she was sent home to Canada. Drumheller was paid off 11 July 1945. The ship was sold for scrapping on 30 August 1946 and was broken up in Hamilton in 1949.

HMCS Drumheller (K167).

HMCS Dundas (K229). HMCS Dundas was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action in both Atlantic and Pacific theatres of the war. She was named for Dundas, Ontario.

Dundas was ordered as part of the 1940–1941 Flower-class building program. She was identical to the 1939–1940 program except for a few changes. The 1940–41 program had water-tube boilers, which were less responsive but had more reliability in providing a consistent supply of steam. The second significant change was that no minesweeping gear was ever installed, as the role of the corvette had changed from coastal auxiliary to convoy escort.

Dundas was laid down 19 March 1941 by Victoria Machinery Depot Co. Ltd. at Victoria, British Columbia and launched 25 July 1941. She was commissioned at Victoria 1 April 1942. During her career, Dundas had two major refits. The first took place at Montreal beginning on 13 June 1943 and finishing 19 November 1943. During this refit, among other changes, she had her fo'c'sle extended. Her second overhaul took place at Liverpool, Nova Scotia beginning in January 1945 and taking two months to complete.

After workups, Dundas joined Esquimalt Force at Esquimalt, British Columbia. In August 1942 she escorted convoys to Alaska as part of the American-led Aleutian Islands Campaign. After completing those duties, she was reassigned to the east coast in September as a replacement for the corvettes departing for Operation Torch.

Dundas arrived at Halifax 13 October 1942, joining the Western Local Escort Force upon her arrival. When WLEF adopted convoy escort groups in June 1943, Dundas was initially assigned to group W-7. In September 1943 she joined W-5 and in April 1944, W-4. After her final refit at the beginning of 1945 she resumed service with W-4 and remained with them until the end of the war.

Dundas was paid off 17 July 1945 at Sorel, Quebec and transferred to the War Assets Corporation. She was sold 23 October 1945 for scrapping and broken up in 1946 at Hamilton, Ontario.

HMCS Dundas (K229).

HMCS Dunvegan (K177). HMCS Dunvegan was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. After the war she was sold to the Venezuelan Navy. She was named for Dunvegan, Inverness County, Nova Scotia.

Dunvegan was ordered 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down on 30 August 1940 by Marine Industries Ltd. at Sorel and launched 11 December of that year. Dunvegan was commissioned 9 September 1941 at Sorel. She went in for her first refit in December 1941 for repairs which took until January 1942. A second refit took place in October 1943 where, in Baltimore, her fo'c'sle was extended. The refit took until December 1943 to complete.

After workups, Dunvegan joined Sydney Force. In November 1941 she transferred to Newfoundland Command where she was placed in unit N16 as an ocean escort for a short period. After returning from one of her first convoys, she was sent on to Halifax for repairs. Dunvegan returned to service with N12 of Newfoundland Command before joining Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) group C-2 in March 1942.

In June 1942 she joined Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) and in June 1943, assigned to escort group W-8. She served with that group until a major refit took her off duty. After workups in Bermuda, she returned to service with WLEF as a member of escort group W-6 which she served with until the end of the war. On 7 May 1945, Dunvegan was detached from convoy SC 175 to help HMCS Rockcliffe escort the captured German submarine U-889 back to port.

Dunvegan was paid off on 3 July 1945 at Sorel. In 1946 she was sold to Venezuela and renamed ARV Independencia. She served with the Venezuelan Navy into the 1950s until she was broken up in 1953.

HMCS Dunvegan (K177).

HMCS Edmundston (K106). HMCS Edmundston was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Edmundston, New Brunswick.

Edmundston was ordered on 14 February 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down 23 August 1940 by Yarrows Ltd. at Esquimalt, British Columbia and launched 22 February 1941. Edmundston was commissioned at Esquimalt on 21 October 1941.

During her career, Edmundston underwent two significant refits. The first took place beginning in January 1943 at Halifax, Nova Scotia where her fo'c'sle was extended. The refit was finished in May 1943. The second major refit was done at Liverpool, Nova Scotia from May to July 1944.

After workups, Edmundston was assigned to Esquimalt Force. The Japanese submarine I-26 sank the American cargo ship SS Coast Trader 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) southwest of Cape Flattery, Washington on 7 June 1942, and over the next two days Edmundston and the fishing schooner Virginia I rescued all but one of her survivors.[12] On 20 June 1942, Edmundston rescued 31 crew of SS Fort Camosun, which had been torpedoed off Cape Flattery by the Japanese submarine I-25. Fort Camosun herself was towed into Victoria Harbour by HMCS Quesnel.

On 13 September 1942, Edmundston was reassigned to the Atlantic. She arrived at Halifax in October. Upon arrival she was assigned to the Western Local Escort Force. After workups following her first major refit, she joined the Royal Navy-controlled escort group EG 5, which protected convoys in the Atlantic and on routes to and from Gibraltar and Sierra Leone. She spent the next ten months as an ocean escort.

On 25 August 1943 EG 5, consisting of the British frigates Nene and Tweed and the Canadian corvettes Calgary, Snowberry and Edmundston were sent to relieve the 40th Escort Group which had been deployed on a U-boat hunt off Cape Ortegal. While this was in progress the ships were attacked at 14:15 by 14 Dornier Do 217s and 7 Junkers Ju 88s with the new German glide bomb weapon, the Henschel Hs293 A-1. The sloops Landguard and Bideford, who were part of the 40th Escort Group, were the first of the Allied and Royal Navy ships to be attacked and damaged by them. Several sailors were injured in Bideford and one sailor was killed. Two days later the force sent to relieve Edmundston's group was also attacked and suffered losses.

After her second refit and workups in Bermuda, she joined Mid-Ocean Escort Force escort group C-8 in August 1944. She served with this group until the end of the war.

Edmundston was paid off at Sorel, Quebec on 16 June 1945. She was sold for mercantile use in 1948 and converted to a cargo ship of 939 GRT. Under the new name Amepala she was last on Lloyd's Register in 1961–62. The ship was broken up in 1961.

Able Seaman Enio Girardo of the corvette HMCS Edmundston, who was rescued by his shipmates after being washed overboard in a storm at sea. At .St. John's, Newfoundland, 13 October 1943.

HMCS Edmundston (K106).

HMCS Eyebright (K150). HMCS Eyebright was a Flower-class corvette that served mainly with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named after the medicinal flowering plant genus Euphrasia.

She was ordered for the Royal Navy (RN) as HMS Eyebright as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down by Canadian Vickers Ltd. in Montreal, Quebec on 20 February 1940 and launched on 22 July 1940. Eyebright was commissioned into the RN on 26 November 1940 in Montreal. She was towed to Halifax and was finished enough to make an ocean crossing, which she did in January 1941 with HX 104. However she was not completed until 16 April 1941 after she had arrived at Sunderland in the United Kingdom. On 15 May 1941 Eyebright was one of ten corvettes loaned to Canada. She could be told apart from other Canadian Flowers by her lack of minesweeping gear and the siting of the after gun tub amidships.

Eyebright underwent two major refits during her career. Beginning in November 1941, Eyebright refitted in Charlottetown. The refit took two months to complete. The second refit took place in Baltimore, beginning in July 1943 and taking two months to complete.

Royal Navy

After completing Eyebright was sent to work up at Tobermory, where the escort training facilities were located. Once those were finished she was assigned to the RN escort group EG-4 based in Iceland in May 1941.

Eyebright was loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy in May 1941. Upon arrival, she was assigned to Newfoundland Command as an ocean escort. There she was placed in the escort group 18N and then beginning in October 1941, group N16. In December 1941 she left for a two-month refit returning in January to serve briefly with escort groups N14 and N13. Eyebright participated in the battle for convoy SC 44 in September 1941. It was to be the only convoy she escorted to lose ships to submarine torpedoes.

Eyebright served with Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) groups C1, C3 and C4 from April 1942 through to November 1944. After returning from her second refit, Eyebright transferred to the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) in November 1944 as part of escort group W-3. She stayed with that group until the end of the war with two exceptions, one trip with MOEF group C-5 and escorting the last HX convoy of the war to the United Kingdom.

On 17 July 1945 she was returned to the Royal Navy. Laid up, she was and sold for civilian use in 1947 and converted into the Dutch whale-catcher Albert W. Vinke of 717 GRT in 1950. Albert W. Vinke last appeared on Lloyd's Register in 1964–65. The ship was broken up by South African Metal & Machinery Pty Ltd in Cape Town in February 1965.

HMCS Eyebright (K150).

HMCS Fennel (K194). HMCS Fennel was a Flower-class corvette that served primarily with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Originally commissioned into the Royal Navy, she served as an ocean escort in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Fennel was ordered by the Royal Navy on 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down 29 March 1940 by Marine Industries Ltd. at Sorel, Quebec and launched 20 August later that year. Fennel was towed to Liverpool, Nova Scotia and was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 16 January 1941. She was finished enough to make an ocean crossing as part of HX 113 and was completed at Greenock, United Kingdom. On 15 May 1941 Fennel was one of ten corvettes loaned to Canada. She could be told apart from other Canadian Flowers by her lack of minesweeping gear and the siting of the after gun tub amidships.

Fennel had four major refits during her career as a warship. The first took place at Halifax for a brief two-month refit beginning in October 1941. The second took place at New York from mid-July 1942 until late September 1942. The third major refit took place at Baltimore that began in June 1943 and lasted until September of that year. During this refit, the fo'c'sle was extended. Fennel's final refit took place in August 1944 at Pictou, Nova Scotia and took two months to complete.

Royal Navy

After completing at Greenock, Fennel was sent to Tobermory, the site of the ocean escort training facilities, to work up. Upon completion, she was assigned to Western Approaches Command until June 1941 when she was reassigned to Newfoundland Command. This was after being loaned to Canada in May 1941.

Royal Canadian Navy

Joining Newfoundland Command in June, Fennel was assigned to escort group 22N until September 1941 and then group N11 from December 1941 until March 1942 as an ocean escort. Beginning in April 1942 she had a brief spell as a member of Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) escort group C-1 before transferring to the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) in June of that year. She remained a part of WLEF until June 1943.

In June 1943, Fennel joined MOEF group C-2 for one escort assignment before heading off for a refit. Upon completion of workups, she returned to C-2. She remained with this group until December 1944.

On 6 March 1944, after unsuccessful attempts at towing the boat to port U-744 was sunk in the North Atlantic, in position 52°01′N, 22°37′W, after being torpedoed by the British destroyer HMS Icarus. U-744 was attacked for over 30 hours by depth charges from the Fennel, along with HMS Icarus, the frigate HMCS St. Catharines, corvettes HMCS Chilliwack and HMS Kenilworth Castle, destroyers HMCS Chaudiere and HMCS Gatineau. Not all these ships fought at the same time, as Gatineau and Kenilworth Castle both had to leave with mechanical defects during the battle.

In December 1944, Fennel transferred to MOEF escort group C-1. She remained with that group for the rest of the war. On 12 June 1945, Fennel was paid off and returned to the Royal Navy.

After lay up, Fennel was sold for mercantile conversion in 1946. In 1948 she was registered under a Norwegian flag as Milliam Kihl. She was rebuilt as buoy-boat in October 1948. She was refitted as whaler in 1951 in Kiel, West Germany. Laid up in 1960/1961, her last drifting season was in 1964/1965. She was laid up again in Sandefjord and sold to Norwegian shipbreakers in Grimstad in 1966.

HMCS Fennel (K194).

HMCS Fergus (K686). HMCS Fergus was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Fergus, Ontario. She was originally named Fort Frances but was renamed before launching. She was the last corvette launched by the Royal Canadian Navy.

Fergus was ordered 2 January 1942 as part of the 1942-43 modified Flower-class building program. This program was known as the Increased Endurance (IE). Many changes were made, all from lessons that had been learned in previous versions of the Flower-class. The bridge was made a full deck higher and built to naval standards instead of the more civilian-like bridges of previous versions. The platform for the 4-inch main gun was raised to minimize the amount of spray over it and to provide a better field of fire. It was also connected to the wheelhouse by a wide platform that was now the base for the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar that this version was armed with. Along with the new Hedgehog, this version got the new QF 4-inch Mk XIX main gun, which was semi-automatic, used fixed ammunition and had the ability to elevate higher giving it an anti-aircraft ability.

Other superficial changes to this version include an upright funnel and pressurized boiler rooms which eliminated the need for hooded ventilators around the base of the funnel. This changes the silhouette of the corvette and made it more difficult for submariners to tell which way the corvette was laying.

She was laid down as Fort Francis before being renamed Fergus. The keel was laid by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. at Collingwood, Ontario on 10 December 1943 and was launched 30 August 1944. She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy 18 November 1944 at Collingwood. Due to her late arrival into the war Fergus never had a refit.

After working up in Bermuda, Fergus joined the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) as a trans-Atlantic convoy escort. She was assigned to MOEF escort group C-9 and remained with them until the end of the war. She returned to Canada in June 1945.

Fergus was paid off at Sydney, Nova Scotia 14 July 1945 and was placed in reserve at Sorel, Quebec. She was transferred to the War Assets Corporation later that year and sold for mercantile conversion. She reappeared as Camco II (1,076 GRT) in 1945. In 1948 she was sold to the Kent Steamship Company and renamed Harcourt Kent. On 22 November 1949, while carrying a load of coal from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, Harcourt Kent wrecked 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km; 2.9 mi) west of St. Shott's, Newfoundland and Labrador. She went down in a storm but all eighteen of her crew were saved.

HMCS Fergus (K686).

HMCS Forest Hill (K486). HMCS Forest Hill (a.k.a. HMCS Forrest Hill) was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was originally laid down by the Royal Navy as HMS Ceanothos but was never commissioned into the RN, being transferred to the RCN before completion. She is named for Forest Hill, Ontario, a town that was eventually amalgamated into the larger city Toronto, Ontario.

Ceanothos was ordered 22 July 1942 as part of the Royal Navy 1942–43 Increased Endurance Flower-class building program. She was laid down 5 February 1943 by Ferguson Bros. Ltd. at Port Glasgow, Scotland and launched 30 August 1943. As part of an exchange for Algerine-class minesweepers that the RCN intended to use as convoy escorts, the Royal Navy transferred four Flower-class corvettes and twelve Castle-class corvettes to Canada in order to acquire them. Ceanothos was transferred on 1 December 1943 and commissioned as HMCS Forrest Hill into the RCN on the River Clyde. The only significant differences between the RCN and RN 1942–43 Flower classes was a shortened mainmast and varying anti-aircraft armament.

During her career, Forrest Hill had one significant refit. It took place at Liverpool, Nova Scotia from December 1944 until February 1945.

After commissioning, Forrest Hill was sent to work up at Tobermory, the location of the Royal Navy's convoy escort training center. After working up, she was assigned to the Mid-Ocean Escort Force as a trans-Atlantic convoy escort. She was allocated to escort group C-4 and served with the group until departing for refit in December 1944.

After the refit she worked up in Bermuda. Upon her return she was assigned to Halifax Force in April 1945 as a local escort and patrol duty. She remained with the unit until the end of the war.

Forrest Hill was paid off 9 July 1945 at Sorel, Quebec. She was transferred to the War Assets Corporation and sold for scrapping. She was broken up in 1948 at Hamilton, Ontario.

HMCS Forest Hill (K486).

Forest Hill's ship's mascots, "Sad-Sad" the kitten and "Screech" the dog.

HMCS Fredericton (K245). HMCS Fredericton was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy. She was ordered from Marine Industries Ltd. in Sorel, Quebec and laid down on 22 March 1941. She was launched on 2 September 1941 and commissioned on 8 December 1941. She was named after the community of Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Fredericton's design was slightly revised from the earlier Flower-class ships. Corvettes built before 1941 behaved poorly in heavy seas, so her length and weight were increased. She was also outfitted with a water-tube boiler which was more powerful and stable than earlier models. Her armament was limited to a 4-inch (100 mm) gun forward and a 2-pound (0.9 kg) pom-pom gun aft gun as well as depth charge throwers which suited her escort duties and anti-submarine capabilities. Later on she was outfitted with the improved Hedgehog anti-submarine device. She was manned by a crew of 85 which included six officers. Her unofficial emblem was a badge emblazoned with a flying tiger dropping a depth charge on a U-boat.

Fredericton served during the Battle of the Atlantic from 1941 to 1945. During 1942 she escorted oil tankers from the Caribbean to New York City. From 1943 to 1945 she escorted convoys in the Western Atlantic and then later on across the Atlantic to Northern Ireland. She was decommissioned on 14 July 1945. Some question as to her final disposition lies with a possible error in Lloyd's Register. Either she was sold for scrap in 1946 or ended up as a Panamanian-flagged Japanese whaler which was used until 1979.

At the advent of World War II, the Royal Canadian Navy greatly desired to build naval class warships. However, Canadian ship building yards were not capable of building such vessels and at the time it was impossible to buy such ships from Britain as its capacity was taken up entirely by its own defense needs. It was decided that a modified whale catcher design could be built by Canadian yards which could later be traded with Britain for Tribal-class destroyers. The barter scheme eventually failed, but the Canadian Navy had already ordered the whale catchers. Sixty-four ships were originally ordered and these were built between 1939–1940, becoming the basis of the RCN corvette fleet.

It was initially expected that the corvette fleet would be superseded by a line of larger frigates and destroyers, but the narrowness of Montreal's Lachine Canal prevented larger ships from getting to Atlantic Ocean from Great Lake shipyards. The corvette fleet stayed. Eventually 123 were built, the largest class of ships ever used by the Canadian Navy. The corvettes were dubbed the Flower class after a similar British design. The British gave them names of flowers such as Begonia and Gladiolus. The Canadian Navy decided to name their ships after Canadian towns. While they should have been called the Town class, a line of American destroyers was already using that name so the term "flower" was retained for Canadian corvettes.

Fredericton was laid down by Marine Industries on 22 March 1941 and completed five months and 11 days later on 2 September 1941. The total cost for construction was about $600,000 CAN. She was commissioned for active duty on 8 December 1941.

Fredericton was part of the Revised Flower class built between 1940 and 1941. There were 10 ships in this class including HMCS Calgary, HMCS Charlottetown and HMCS Halifax. Improvements on the original design included a lengthened forecastle and the foremast was moved behind the main bridge to improve forward vision. The sheer and flare of the bow was increased to improve performance in heavy seas. Earlier Flowers had twin 0.5 inches (12.7 mm) machine guns, which proved ineffective. The revised Flowers were built with single Oerlikon 20 mm (0.8 in) cannon mounted on either side of the bridge.

Fredericton was built with a water-tube boiler. Ships built from 1939–1940 used a Scotch marine boiler. The revised design used a water-tube boiler that had not been available earlier. These boilers subsequently became standard in future ships as they were smaller, safer and easier to maintain than the Scotch marine, and produced a more reliable supply of steam. Fredericton was 208 feet 4 inches (63.50 m) long, which was about 3 feet (0.91 m) longer than earlier designs. This allowed for a longer forecastle that added more living space and dry quarters. She was 33 ft 1 in (10.08 m) wide and she had a draft of 11 ft (3.35 m) forward and 15 ft 7 in (4.75 m) aft. She was driven by a single-screw, triple-expansion reciprocating engine of 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW), which gave her a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h).

Like most corvettes, Fredericton was installed with a Type 123A ASDIC detection system. This technology was designed in 1934 for armed trawlers and minesweepers of the Royal Navy. The system was outdated but was the best system available to the Canadian Navy at the time. Type 123A could detect the distance to underwater sounds but could not determine the depth.

Fredericton was armed with one 4-inch (101.6 mm) gun forward and a 2-pound (0.9 kg) pom-pom gun mounted aft. Two Oerlikon 20 mm (0.8 in) cannon were mounted on the bridge wings for air defense. Depth charges, which were rolled from the stern through two ports or thrown from four launchers aft were used for anti-submarine warfare. Later in the war, she was outfitted with the more effective Hedgehog depth bomb throwers.

Fredericton was built for a crew of 85 including the commanding officer and five other officers. From 8 December 1941 to 1 July 1942 she was commanded by Acting Lieutenant Commander (LCdr) J.H.S. MacDonald of the RCNR. LCdr J.E. Harrington of the RCNVR commanded her from 2 July 1942 to 20 July 1944 and Lieutenant J.C. Smythe of the RCN commanded her from 21 July 1944 until she was decommissioned on 14 July 1945. MacDonald also served on two other corvettes, HMCS Windflower from February to December 1941 and HMCS Timmins from March to April 1943.

Many Canadian naval ships of World War II adopted an unofficial coat of arms, and Fredericton was no exception. Her badge, which was displayed on the front of the bridge, was a flying tiger dropping a depth charge on a U-boat.

Fredericton served during the Battle of the Atlantic from December 1941 to the end of the war in May 1945. After Fredericton was launched she spent a short time undergoing sea trials. From January to July 1942 she escorted convoys between Halifax, St. John's, New York City and Boston.

In 1942 there was an increased U-boat threat in the Caribbean against oil shipments. After Halifax and the UK started experiencing oil shortages, tanker convoys were organized between Caribbean ports and Halifax and New York City. In July, Fredericton was assigned to escort convoy HA002/AH002 from Halifax to Aruba and back. Since the U.S. Navy had insufficient ships for these convoys, Fredericton along with six other Canadian corvettes was temporarily transferred to American naval operational command for convoy escort between Guantánamo Bay and New York City. She participated in these oil convoy escorts from September until February 1943.

After the Caribbean duty she was transferred to Western Local Escort Force for duty between New York City and St. John's, Newfoundland. Fredericton came close to seeing action when she was assigned to convoy HX229 on 8 March 1943, but she turned back at St. John's on 14 March.[19] Two days later the convoy was attacked by a wolf pack of nearly 40 U-boats, which resulted in the sinking of 22 ships.

After a major refit she was reassigned to the Mid-Ocean Escort Force in October 1943 escorting convoys between St. John's and Derry, Northern Ireland. Fredericton spent 11 months in this capacity before undergoing a second refit in September 1944. For the remainder of the war, she served as an ocean escort.

During her time in the Battle of the Atlantic she was never fired upon nor had cause to use her own weapons in anger. This earned her the reputation as the "luckiest ship in the Royal Canadian Navy".

Several sources (Lenton, Lynch, Macpherson) show that in July 1945 Fredericton was transferred to Sydney, Nova Scotia to be decommissioned for disposal and scrapping. Other sources (uboat.net, Royal Canadian Navy) claim that a mistake in Lloyd's Register switched its records with HMCS Saskatoon (K158). The alternative information shows that Fredericton was sold in 1948. She was registered under the Panamanian flag as Tra los Montes. In 1950 she was renamed as Olympic Fighter for use as a whaler. Subsequent names included Otori Maru No. 6 in 1956 and Kyo Maru No. 20 in 1961. The last notation in Lloyd's Register was for 1978–79.

HMCS Fredericton (K245).

Unofficial crest of HMCS Fredericton (K245): flying tiger dropping a depth charge on a U-boat.

HMCS Galt (K163). HMCS Galt was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy that served during the Second World War. She saw action primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named after the city of Galt, Ontario.

She was ordered 1 February 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down by Collingwood Shipyards at Collingwood, Ontario on 27 May 1940 and was launched on 28 December 1940. Galt was commissioned on 15 May 1941 at Montreal, Quebec.

During her career, Galt had three major refits. The first began in February 1942 at Liverpool, Nova Scotia and took until May of that year to complete. Her second began January 1943, this time begun at Liverpool, but completed at Halifax in mid-April 1943. Her final refit, begun in March 1944 at New York saw Galt's fo'c'sle extended. This took until May 1944 to complete.

Galt was initially assigned to the Newfoundland Escort Force after workups. Galt escorted six trans-Atlantic convoys without loss before being assigned to Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) group C3 in June 1942. With group C3, she participated in the battles for convoy ON 115 and convoy SC 109. After a yard overhaul in early 1943, Galt escorted 12 trans-Atlantic convoys without loss before another yard overhaul in January 1944. During that time, she was assigned mainly to MOEF group C1. After that refit, Galt escorted North American coastal convoys with the Western Local Escort Force from July 1944 until May 1945 as part of group W-5.

HMCS Galt (K163).

HMCS Galt circa August 1944, after completion of the foc'sle extension undertaken in New York that started in May 1944.

HMCS Giffard (K402). HMCS Giffard was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was originally laid down by the British Royal Navy as HMS Buddleia but was never commissioned into the former, being transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy before completion. She is named for Giffard, Quebec, which at the time was a small village, but was eventually amalgamated into first, Beauport Quebec and then finally, Quebec City.

Buddleia was ordered 2 February 1942 as part of the Royal Navy 1942–43 Increased Endurance Flower-class building program. She was laid down 30 November 1942 by Alexander Hall & Co. Ltd. at Aberdeen, Scotland and launched 19 June 1943. As part of an exchange for Algerine-class minesweepers that the RCN intended to use as convoy escorts, the Royal Navy transferred four Flower-class corvettes and twelve Castle-class corvettes to Canada in order to acquire them. Buddleia was transferred on 10 November 1943 and commissioned as HMCS Giffard into the RCN at Aberdeen. The only significant differences between the RCN and RN 1942–43 Flower classes was a shortened mainmast and varying anti-aircraft armament.

During her career, Giffard underwent one major refit. This took place at Liverpool, Nova Scotia which began in December 1944 and was completed in March 1945.

After working up at Tobermory, Giffard joined the Mid-Ocean Escort Force as a trans-Atlantic convoy escort. She was assigned to escort group C-1 and escorted her first convoy in February 1944. In May 1944 she rescued 43 survivors of HMCS Valleyfield after the frigate had been torpedoed sunk about 50 miles south of Cape Race, Newfoundland and Labrador. She remained an ocean escort until 27 November 1944 when she departed for refit. After completing the refit and working up in Bermuda, Giffard was employed locally beginning April 1945 around St. John's until her departure with convoy HX 335 in mid-May. She returned to Canada for the final time in June 1945.

Giffard was paid off 5 July 1945 at Sorel, Quebec. She was transferred to the War Assets Corporation and sold for scrapping. She was broken up in October 1952 at Hamilton, Ontario by Steel Co of Canada.

HMCS Giffard (K402).

HMCS Frontenac (K335). HMCS Frontenac was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Kingston, Ontario, but due to a naming conflict with a Royal Navy vessel, the name Frontenac was chosen to commemorate the city instead of naming it directly. Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County, Ontario and the site of Fort Frontenac.

Frontenac was ordered April 1942 as part of the 1942-43 modified Flower-class building programme. This program was known as the Increased Endurance (IE). Many changes were made, all from lessons that had been learned in previous versions of the Flower-class. The bridge was made a full deck higher and built to naval standards instead of the more civilian-like bridges of previous versions. The platform for the 4-inch main gun was raised to minimize the amount of spray over it and to provide a better field of fire. It was also connected to the wheelhouse by a wide platform that was now the base for the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar that this version was armed with. Along with the new Hedgehog, this version got the new QF 4-inch Mk XIX main gun, which was semi-automatic, used fixed ammunition and had the ability to elevate higher giving it an anti-aircraft ability.

Other superficial changes to this version include an upright funnel and pressurized boiler rooms which eliminated the need for hooded ventilators around the base of the funnel. This changes the silhouette of the corvette and made it more difficult for submariners to tell which way the corvette was laying.

She was laid down by Kingston Shipbuilding Co. at Kingston, Ontario 19 February 1943 and was launched 2 June 1943. She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy 26 October at Kingston. During her career, Frontenac had one significant refit. This took place at Liverpool, Nova Scotia beginning in January 1945 and taking three months to complete.

After workups, Frontenac was assigned to the Royal Navy controlled convoy escort group EG 9 operating out of Derry. She crossed the Atlantic in March 1944 with SC 154 and arrived just as the decision to replace the corvettes in the group with frigates had been made. She returned to Canada in April.

In May 1944 Frontenac joined the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) as a trans-Atlantic convoy escort. She was assigned to escort group C-1 operating out of St. John's. She escorted her last convoy in December 1944 before departing for a refit. After workups she was assigned to Halifax Force who she remained with for the rest of the war.

Frontenac was paid off at Halifax, Nova Scotia 22 July 1945 and transferred to the War Assets Corporation. She was laid up at Sorel, Quebec until she was sold in October 1945 to the United Ship Corporation.

Modified Flower class corvette HMCS Frontenac.

HMCS Frontenac (K335).

WASPS preparing to make a ferry trip with a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. Dawn Seymour is the pilot.

Unidentified U.S. Army Air Forces crewman poses inside a Consolidated B-24 Liberator to demonstrate use of a portable oxygen unit, known as a walk-around bottle, designed for use while moving about in a plane at high altitude. The equipment is used with the A-10 mask and provides a 4- to 8-minute supply of oxygen, depending on the altitude and the activity of the user.

HMCS Guelph (K687).

HMCS Halifax (K237).

HMCS Hawkesbury (K415).

HMCS Hepatica (K159).

HMCS Kamloops (K176).

HMCS Kamloops (K176), Halifax, 1941.

HMCS Kamsack (K171).

HMCS Kenogami (K125).

HMCS Kitchener (K225).

HMCS La Malbaie (K273).

HMCS La Malbaie (K273) under construction.

Corvette shipbuilding, Canada 20 cent stamp, issued in 1942. The previous photo was used as the basis for this stamp.

HMCS Lachute (K440).

HMCS Lethbridge (K160).

HMCS Lévis (K115).

HMCS Lévis (K115) shortly after she was torpedoed by U-74. She sank off Greenland, 19 September 1941.

HMCS Lindsay (K338).

HMCS Long Branch (K487).

HMCS Long Branch (K487), 5-inch gun and shell, 1944.

HMCS Louisburg (K143).

HMCS Louisburg (K401).

HMCS Lunenburg (K151).

HMCS Lunenburg (K151) in the English Channel off Portland 10 June 1944.

HMCS Matapedia K112.

The Seasick Stoker on the HCMS Matapedia

by John R. Sturdy

This is the story of the part played by a Canadian corvette, Matapedia, in ending the suffering of countless Allied seamen during the war. In fact, there are ex-crewmen who firmly believe that they were responsible for winning the war! Personally I would have given a medal to our Stoker Maloney. But I was only a sub-lieutenant (temporary), and the credit went to others-including two doctors named Best and Penfield. They developed Pill No. 2-183. But we made it possible.

This was no ordinary pill. Until what was officially known as the Royal Canadian Navy Seasickness Remedy emerged from the laboratory in 1943, there were times when some doubt existed as to which was the greater menace in the Battle of the Atlantic: the enemy or the heaving innards of Allied seamen. Pill No. 2-183 settled stomachs in many a rolling ship and no doubt helped bring victory.

Giving credit where credit is due, a number of eminent medical men and scientists were connected with its development. They included Dr. C. H. Best, co-discoverer in insulin, who during the war was a surgeon captain in the Navy; Dr. Wilder Penfield, head of the Montreal Neurological Institute, and Dr. R. L. Noble.

The remarkable thing is that the doctors were searching for a cure to an ailment that, until a short time before did not officially exist! Through the centuries, the medical profession had maintained a strange attitude towards seasickness. A man might lie moaning in a ship’s bunk, or be too weak to crawl to the rail, but actually nothing was wrong with him ‘medically.’ Until, that is, Matapedia made her determined stand in the winter of 1941.

Matapedia, launched in Lauzon, Quebec, was one of the early convoy escort vessels built to combat the U-boat menace. Her western base was St. John’s, Newfoundland; the eastern terminus was a forsaken Icelandic fjord. A round trip took almost a month. No Canadian corvette had a doctor and we had to rely for medical advice on the odd Royal Navy destroyer that we met.

Stoker Maloney, the reluctant hero of this story, joined Matapedia in December 1941. He was trying desperately to get to sea, and this was his first ship. He was a proud man when Matapedia left St. John’s. Ten minutes later he was violently ill.

Of course, he was by no means alone in his suffering. By the time the little ship had settled into her familiar corkscrew motion, a large percentage of her crew and officers were sick, but where most found their “sea legs” within a short few days, it became apparent that Maloney was a chronic case. The chief engineer had told him to remain in his bunk, he was so weak.

The captain agreed with the chief, and as the voyage progressed, the stoker’s condition became alarming. His face was gray and he had lost considerable body weight. Worse, he had given up any interest in anything, including life.
Matapedia arrived in Iceland sixteen and a half days later, and Maloney was sent aboard the British depot ship to see one of the medical doctors. We assumed his sea days were at an end.

I was delegated to go aboard the depot ship and obtain a medical report. The medical officer informed me: “I suppose you’ve heard about Maloney. There’s nothing wrong with him.”

“He’s a seasick case,” I said.

“Nonsense. Lots of chappies get seasick,” the surgeon commander said. “He’ll joggle out of it in a few days.”

I informed the surgeon that Maloney was a chronic case and would probably die before “joggling” out of it, and was informed that Maloney had nothing wrong with him, other than he was underweight and could not be released without a just cause!

When we sailed for St. John’s, the poor man was still aboard, sicker than ever.

Off Iceland an 80-mile-an-hour gale smashed the bridge, forcing us into Halifax for repairs. But the only thought of the skipper was to get Maloney to Halifax before he died. He was rapidly dying from starvation and weakness, and the voyage turned into a race for life. Once in port, Maloney recovered enough to be able to keep some food down, before being packed off to the base hospital, and to some land assignment-or so we thought.

Two hours later he was back. He had been sent back to rejoin the ship! The medical officer had declared that he was fit, other than underweight!

The captain was informed and a grim conference of officers was gathered in the wardroom. Obviously Maloney could not continue this way, and action was to be taken.

Starting with the M.O., the chain of command was approached to solve the problem, which was then handed off to the next most senior officer, until only the Admiral, Commanding Officer, Atlantic Coast (Halifax), was left. An interview with Rear Adm. George C. Jones was granted and the captain and a select group of the wardroom accompanied him. The admiral listened sympathetically to our presentation. From my back seat, where my one gold ring was not too conspicuous, I chose the opportunity to enlarge on the theme. It was unfortunate that the RCN was a navy of small ships which did not rate medical officers. Young medical officers were being drafted into the service, yet only destroyers rated them; the rest were sent to British units or shore establishments. This undoubtedly denied them the opportunity of seeing the North Atlantic from a small naval unit.

The admiral seemed aware that many medical officers were arriving in Halifax at that moment. He confirmed this by consulting his chief-of-staff, who advised that a new draft of surgeon lieutenants had recently arrived.

“Very good,” said the admiral. “What’s the weather forecast for tomorrow?”
“Strong easterly winds, sir.”

“Right,” the admiral said. “Arrange for a ship to take all available medical officers on maneuvers tomorrow. Nothing like a little sea time to clear away the cobwebs.”

The ship assigned for this duty was a tiny Bangor minesweeper, which, if anything, was even more uncomfortable than a corvette. She cleared the harbor at 0600 hours, crowded with men wearing the red and gold of the medical branch. That evening she returned.

Next morning I went to see the first lieutenant of the minesweeper. He told me the journey had been a “bloody shambles,” with them (the crew) having to organize the medical officers into “seasick parties,” to keep them from puking on the decks.

Meanwhile, the crew had worked fast, getting Maloney to the sick bay of the hospital, before the thing opened. Maloney was made to sit on the steps, with his case history in his hand. He was first in line for the medical officers, who arrived at 0800 hours, some of them still a little green in the face.

Within a half-hour, Maloney returned, with a smile on his face. Across the front of his file was stamped “Unfit for Seaduty”, and underneath-in shaky handwriting-”Chronic Seasickness”.

That night saw a party to end all parties; we had put seasickness on the map.

We make no boastful claims about subsequent events. Suffice to say, when the medical profession accepts that a condition exists, it usually loses no time in seeking a cure. So finally in 1943, the laboratories produced a mixture of three chemicals: hyoscine HBr, Hyoscyamine HBr, and ethyl B-methyl allyl thiobarbituric acid-or Pill No. 2 183.

HMCS Matapedia K112.

HMCS Matapedia K112 conducting a stern fueling from a tanker while in convoy.

World War II Album

The War in View #9: Canadian Naval Power

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