RCN Corvettes (Flower Class): HMCS Agassiz K129/HMCS Alberni K103/HMCS Algoma K127/HMCS Amherst K148/HMCS Arrowhead K145/HMCS Arvida K113/HMCS Asbestos K358/HMCS Atholl K15/HMCS Baddeck K147/HMCS Barrie K138/HMCS Battleford K165/HMCS Beauharnois K540

RCN Corvettes (Flower Class), HMCS Agassiz K129 to HMCS Chambly (K116)

Flower Class Corvettes

The Flower-class corvette was a British class of 294 corvettes used during the Second World War, specifically with the Allied navies as anti-submarine convoy escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic.  RN ships of this class were named after such as the lead ship  HMS Gladiolus, hence the name of the class.  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.

The original Flower class were fitted with a 4-inch (102-mm) gun on the bow, depth charge racks carrying 40 charges on the stern, a minesweeping winch, and a 2-pounder (40-mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft gun mounted on a "bandstand" over the engine room.  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 (Huff-Duff) were later added, along with various radar systems (such as the Type 271), which proved particularly effective in low-visibility conditions in the North Atlantic.

The majority served during the Second World War with the RN and RCN.  Many of the corvettes were built in Canada, and a number were transferred from the RN to the USN under the lend-lease program, seeing service in both navies.  Post war, many surplus Flower-class vessels saw worldwide use in other navies, as well as civilian use.  HMCS Sackville (K181) is the only member of the class to be preserved as a museum ship at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

HMCS Agassiz (K129) (Flower-class); HMCS Alberni (K103) (Flower-class); HMCS Algoma (K127) (Flower-class); HMCS Amherst (K148) (Flower-class); HMCS Arrowhead (K145) (Flower-class); HMCS Arvida (K113) (Flower-class); HMCS Asbestos (K358) (Flower-class); HMCS Atholl (K15) (Flower-class); HMCS Baddeck (K147) (Flower-class); HMCS Barrie (K138) (Flower-class); HMCS Battleford (K165) (Flower-class); HMCS Beauharnois (K540) (Flower-class); HMCS Belleville (K332) (Flower-class); HMCS Bittersweet (K182) (Flower-class); HMCS Brandon (K149) (Flower-class); HMCS Brantford (K218) (Flower-class); HMCS Buctouche (K179) (Flower-class); HMCS Calgary (K231) (Flower-class); HMCS Camrose (K154) (Flower-class); HMCS Chambly (K116) (Flower-class); HMCS Charlottetown (K244) (Flower-class); HMCS Chicoutimi (K156) (Flower-class); HMCS Chilliwack (K131) (Flower-class); HMCS Cobalt (K124) (Flower-class); HMCS Cobourg (K333) (Flower-class); HMCS Collingwood (K180) (Flower-class); HMCS Dauphin (K157) (Flower-class); HMCS Dawson (K104) (Flower-class); HMCS Drumheller (K167) (Flower-class); HMCS Dundas (K229) (Flower-class); HMCS Dunvegan (K177) (Flower-class); HMCS Edmundston (K106) (Flower-class); HMCS Eyebright (K150) (Flower-class); HMCS Fennel (K194) (Flower-class); HMCS Fergus (K686) (Flower-class); HMCS Forest Hill (K486) (Flower-class); HMCS Fredericton (K245) (Flower-class); HMCS Frontenac (K335) (Flower-class); HMCS Galt (K163) (Flower-class); HMCS Giffard (K402) (Flower-class); HMCS Guelph (K687) (Flower-class); HMCS Halifax (K237) (Flower-class); HMCS Hawkesbury (K415) (Flower-class); HMCS Hepatica (K159) (Flower-class); HMCS Kamloops (K176) (Flower-class); HMCS Kamsack (K171) (Flower-class); HMCS Kenogami (K125) (Flower-class); HMCS Kitchener (K225) (Flower-class); HMCS La Malbaie (K273) (Flower-class); HMCS Lachute (K440) (Flower-class); HMCS Lethbridge (K160) (Flower-class); HMCS Levis (K115) (Flower-class); HMCS Lindsay (K338) (Flower-class); HMCS Long Branch (K487) (Flower-class); HMCS Louisburg (K143) (Flower-class); HMCS Louisburg (K401) (Flower-class); HMCS Lunenburg (K151) (Flower-class); HMCS Matapedia (K112) (Flower-class); HMCS Mayflower (K191) (Flower-class); HMCS Merrittonia (K688) (Flower-class); HMCS Midland (K220) (Flower-class); HMCS Mimico (K485) (Flower-class); HMCS Moncton (K139) (Flower-class); HMCS Moose Jaw (K164) (Flower-class); HMCS Morden (K170) (Flower-class); HMCS Nanaimo (K101) (Flower-class); HMCS Napanee (K118) (Flower-class); HMCS New Westminster (K228)  (Flower-class); HMCS Norsyd (K520) (Flower-class); HMCS North Bay (K339) (Flower-class); HMCS Oakville (K178) (Flower-class); HMCS Orillia (K119) (Flower-class); HMCS Owen Sound (K340) (Flower-class); HMCS Parry Sound (K341) (Flower-class); HMCS Peterborough (K342) (Flower-class); HMCS Pictou (K146) (Flower-class); HMCS Port Arthur (K233) (Flower-class); HMCS Prescott (K161) (Flower-class); HMCS Quesnel (K133) (Flower-class); HMCS Regina (K234) (Flower-class); HMCS Rimouski (K121) (Flower-class); HMCS Rivière du Loup (K357) (Flower-class); HMCS Rosthern (K169) (Flower-class); HMCS St. Lambert (K343) (Flower-class); HMCS Sackville (K181) (Flower-class); HMCS Saskatoon (K158) (Flower-class); HMCS Shawinigan (K136) (Flower-class); HMCS Shediac (K110) (Flower-class); HMCS Sherbrooke (K152) (Flower-class); HMCS Smiths Falls (K345) (Flower-class); HMCS Snowberry (K166) (Flower-class); HMCS Sorel (K153) (Flower-class); HMCS Spikenard (K198) (Flower-class); HMCS Stellarton (K457) (Flower-class); HMCS Strathroy (K455) (Flower-class); HMCS Sudbury (K162) (Flower-class); HMCS Summerside (K141) (Flower-class); HMCS The Pas (K168) (Flower-class); HMCS Thorlock (K394) (Flower-class); HMCS Timmins (K223) (Flower-class); HMCS Trail (K174) (Flower-class); HMCS Trentonian (K368) (Flower-class); HMCS Trillium (K172) (Flower-class); HMCS Vancouver (K240) (Flower-class); HMCS Ville de Québec (K242) (Flower-class); HMCS Wetaskiwin (K175) (Flower-class); HMCS Weyburn (K173) (Flower-class); HMCS West York (K369) (Flower-class); HMCS Whitby (K346) (Flower-class); HMCS Windflower (K155) (Flower-class); HMCS Woodstock (K238) (Flower-class)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3554046)

Canadian Vickers Ltd., RCN Corvette just completed, Montréal, Quebec.

HMCS Agassiz (K129)

(DND Photo via the CFB Esquimalt Naval Museum)

HMCS Agassiz (K129) (Flower-class).  Built by Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd., Vancouver, BC, HMCS Agassiz was commissioned at Vancouver on 23 Jan 1941.  On 17 Mar 1941, HMCS Alberni, HMCS Agassiz and HMCS Wetaskiwin departed Esquimalt for Halifax.  Enroute they stopped at San Pedro, California for fuel, where a party for the crew, hosted by actress Mary Pickford and her husband Douglas Fairbanks, was held for them . They arrived at Halifax on 13 Apr 1941.  On 23 May 1941, HMCS Alberni, HMCS Agassiz and HMCS Wetaskiwin left Halifax for St. John's, Newfoundland, to join the recently formed NEF.  She sailed early in Jun 1941 with a convoy for Iceland and was thereafter in continuous service as an ocean escort until the end of 1943.  On 18 Jun 1942, HMCS Agassiz picked up 51 survivors from the American merchant Seattle Spirit that was torpedoed and sunk by U-124 in the North Atlantic.  In Sep 1941, she took part in a major battle around convoy SC.44, rescuing survivors of her torpedoed sister, HMCS Lévis.  She was also part of the escort of the hard-pressed convoy ON.115 in July 1942.  On 5 Jan 1943, she commenced a major refit at Liverpool, NS, completing in mid-Mar 1943, and in Apr 1943 was assigned to newly designated EG-C-1.  She arrived at New York on 16 Dec1943 for another major refit, including extension of her fo'c's'le, completing 4 Mar 1944.  After working up in St. Margaret's Bay in Apr 1944, she joined EG W-2 of WEF, transferring in Aug 1944 to W-7.  She spent the remainder of the war with W-7, being paid off on 14 Jun 1945, at Sydney, and was broken up in 1946.

(Dave Chamberlain Photo)

HMCS Agassiz (K129) (Flower-class).

(Ron Bell Photo)

HMCS Agassiz (K129) (Flower-class).

HMCS Alberni (K103)

(DND Photo)

HMCS Alberni (K103) (Flower-class).  Built at Esquimalt, British Columbia, she was commissioned there on 4 Feb 1941.  On 17 Mar 1941, HMCS Alberni, HMCS Agassiz and HMCS Wetaskiwin departed Esquimalt for Halifax.  Enroute they stopped at San Pedro, California for fuel, where a party for the crew, hosted by actress Mary Pickford and her husband Douglas Fairbanks, was held for them.  They arrived at Halifax on 13 Apr 1941.  On 23 May 1941, Alberni, Agassiz and Wetaskiwin left Halifax for St. John's to join the recently formed NEF.  Alberni left the following month with a convoy for Iceland, serving as mid-ocean escort until May 1942, when she was taken out of service to have a new boiler installed.  In Sep 1941, she had taken part in the defence of convoy SC.42, which lost 18 ships to as many U-boats.  Assigned to duties in connection with the invasion of North Africa, she sailed for the UK in Oct 1942 with convoy HX.212, and until Feb 1943, escorted convoys between the UK and the Mediterranean.  HMCS Alberni took part in Operation Torch duties in March 1943 and then briefly served with the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF), before an assignment with Quebec Force in May 1943.  For the next five months she escorted Quebec-Labrador convoys, leaving Gaspé on 6 Nov1943 to undergo repairs at Liverpool, Nova Scotia.  With repairs completed early in Feb 1944, she proceeded to Bermuda to work up, and on her return to Halifax joined EG W-4.  On 24 Apr 1944 she was reassigned to Western Approaches Command (WAC) for a part in Operation Neptune, the naval participation in the D-Day landings.  While taking part in her duties connected with the invasion on 21 Aug 1944, she was torpedoed and sunk by U 480, southeast of the Isle of Wight.  Fifty-nine of her ship's company lost their lives after the torpedo struck the warship on her port side immediately aft of the engine room, causing her to sink in less than a minute.  (Acting) Lt. Frank. Williams was awarded the Royal Humane Society's bronze medal for his work in saving members of the crew.  31 crew members were rescued by Royal Navy motor toerpedo boats (MTB).

(DND Photo)

HMCS Alberni (K103) (Flower-class).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3304841)

HMCS Alberni (K103) (Flower-class), RCN crew preparing to launch a minesweeping float, off the BC coast, March 1941.

HMCS Algoma (K127)

(DND Photo)

HMCS Algoma (K127) (Flower-class).  Built by Port Arthur Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., she was commissioned at Montreal on 11 Jul 1941.  HMCS Algoma arrived at Halifax 18 Jul 1941.  She escorted her first convoy to Iceland in Sep 1941, and was thereafter employed as an ocean escort until the end of May 1942.  During this period she was involved in two major convoy actions: ONS.67 (Feb 1942) and ONS.92 (May 1942).  In Jul 1942, after six weeks' repairs at Liverpool, Nova Scotia, she joined WLEF.  In Oct 1942, allocated to duties connected with the invasion of North Africa, she left for Britain with convoy SC.107, which lost fifteen ships to U-boat attacks.  Algoma served under RN orders the next few months, escorting convoys between Britain and the Mediterranean.  In Feb 1943 she was based at Bone, Algeria, but returned to St. John's via the U.K in on 30 Apr 1943 in company with HMCS Calgary K231 as escort for convoy ON.179.   She served briefly with Western Support Force which, based at St. John's, existed only during May 1943, and with WLEF, before joining Quebec Force in Jun 1943.  HMCS Algoma escorted Quebec-Labrador convoys until mid-November, when she was lent to EG C-4 for one round trip to the UK.  She arrived at Liverpool, NS, late in Dec 1943 for a major refit, which included extending her fo'c's'le and was not completed until mid-Apr 1944.  In May she joined EG C-5 and arrived in Bermuda on 1 June 1944 to work up.  Returning to St. John's on 27 Jun 1944, she made three round trips to the UK before joining EG 41 (RN), Plymouth Command, in Sep 1944.  She was employed on patrol and escort duties in the Channel until the end of May 1945, when she returned to Canada and was paid off 6 Jul 1945 for disposal at Sydney.  In 1946 she was sold to the Venezuelan Navy, being renamed Constitucion, and was not discarded until 1962.

HMCS Amherst (K148)

(RCN Photo via the CFB Esquimalt Naval Museum)

HMCS Amherst (K148) (Flower-class).  Built by Saint John Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., HMCS Amherst was commissioned on 5 Aug 1941 at Saint John, New Brunswick.  She arrived at Halifax on 22 Aug 1941 and after working up, joined Newfoundland command in Oct 1941.  She was steadily employed as an ocean escort for the succeeding three years, during which time she was involved in two particularly hard-fought convoy battles: ON.127 (Aug 1942) and SC.107 (Oct 1942).  She had joined EG C-4 in Aug 1942.  Her only real respite was between May and Nov 1943, when she under went a major refit at Charlottetown, PEI, including the extension of her fo'c's'le.  After workups at Pictou, NS, she returned to the North Atlantic grind until Sep 1944, when she began another long refit, this time at Liverpool, NS.  Following workups in Bermuda in Jan 1945, she joined Halifax Force, but in Mar 1945 was lent to EG C-7 for one round trip to the UK.  She was paid off 11 Jul 1945 at Sydney, and placed in reserve at Sorel.  Sold in 1946, she served in the Venezuelan Navy as Federacion until broken up in 1956.

HMCS Arrowhead (K145)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4821042)

HMCS Arrowhead (K145).  Built for the RN, she was commissioned at Sorel on 22 Nov 1940 as HMS Arrowhead K145.  After arriving  at Halifax on 3 Dec 1940 she carried out workups and sailed on 21 Jan 1941, with convoy HX.104 for Sunderland.  There she was in dockyard hands for the two months' work required to complete her fully.  After working up at Tobermory HMS Arrowhead joined EG 4, Iceland Command (RN).  On 15 May 1941, she was transferred to the RCN and commissioned as HMCS Arrowhead K145.  In Jun 1941 she transferred to the newly formed NEF.  For the rest of 1941 she escorted convoys between St. John's and Iceland, proceeding early in Dec 1941 to Charleston, SC, for refit.  Returning to Halifax in Feb 1942, she made one round trip to Londonderry before joining WLEF.  In Jul 1942 she transferred to Gulf Escort Force, escorting Quebec/Gaspé-Sydney convoys, and in Oct 1942 joined Halifax Force and for two months escorted Quebec-Labrador convoys.  On 30 Nov 1942 she rejoined WLEF at Halifax, to remain with it until Aug 1944.  When this escort force was divided into escort groups in Jun 1943, HMCS Arrowhead became a member of EG W-7, transferring to W-1 in Dec 1943.  During this period she underwent two major refits: at Charleston, SC, in the spring of 1943, and at Baltimore, Maryland, a year later.  During the latter refit her fo'c's'le was extended.  In Sep 1944, she joined Quebec Force and was again employed escorting Quebec-Labrador convoys.  In De 1944 she transferred to EG W-8, WEF, and served on the "triangle run" (Halifax, St. John's, New York/Boston) for the balance of the war.  On 27 May 1945, HMCS Arrowhead left St. John's to join convoy HX.358 for passage to Britain, where she was paid off and returned to the RN on 27 Jun 1945, at Milford Haven.  Sold in 1947 for conversion to a whale-catcher and renamed Southern Larkspur, she was finally broken up at Odense, Denmark, in 1959.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Arrowhead (K145).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3199166)

HMCS Arrowhead (K145), June 1945.

HMCS Arvida (K113)

(Ron Bell Photo)

HMCS Arvida (K113) (Flower-class).  Built at Quebec City, she was commissioned there on 22 May 1941 and arrived at Halifax on 06 Jun 1941.  She joined Sydney Force in Jul 1941 acting as escort to local sections of transatlantic convoys until Sep 1941, when she joined Newfoundland Command.  She left Sydney on 05 Sep 1941 to join her maiden ocean convoy, SC.43, and was thereafter in almost continuous service as an ocean escort until the end of 1943 . In Jun 1942, she became a member of EG C-4 and, in May 1943, of C-5.  While escorting convoy ON.188 in mid-Jun, 1943, she was damaged by her own depth charges and arrived at Iceland on 16 Jun 1943 for repairs that took a week to complete.  Three of HMCS Arvida's convoys received particularly rough handling by U-boats: ONS.92 (May 1942), ON.127 (Sep 1942), and SC.107 (Nov 1942).  While with ON.127 she rescued survivors of the torpedoed HMCS Ottawa on 13 Sep 1942.  She had major refits at Saint John (Jan - Apr 1942); Lunenburg/Saint John (Dec 1942 - Mar 1943); and Baltimore, MD. (Jan - Apr 1944).  While at Baltimore she was given her extended fo'c's'le, afterward joining EG W-7 of WLEF.  In mid-May, 1944, she was sent to Bermuda to work up, returned to Halifax on 09 Jun 1944, and in Aug 1944 joined EG W-2.  In Dec 1944 she transferred to W-8, remaining with that group until the end of the war.  HMCS Arvida was paid off on 14 Jun 1945, at Sorel and later sold for commercial use, entering service in 1950 as the Spanish-flag La Ceiba.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Arvida (K113) (Flower-class).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3204126)

Survivors of a torpedoed merchant ship aboard HMCS Arvida, St. John's, Newfoundland, 15 September 1942.

HMCS Asbestos (K358)

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Asbestos (K358) (Flower-class).  Commissioned at Quebec City on 16 Jun 1944, she arrived at Halifax on 09 Jul 1944 and later that month proceeded to Bermuda to work up.  HMCS Asbestos left Bermuda on 21 Aug 1944 for St. John's, where she joined EG C-2, and left on 10 Sep 1944 for HFX.307, her maiden convoy to Britain.  For the rest of the war she was steadily employed as a North Atlantic escort and left Londonderry for the last time at the beginning of Jun 1945.  Paid off on 08 Jul 1945, she was laid up at Sorel for disposal.  In 1947 she was sold to the Dominican Republic but was wrecked on the Cuban coast en route there.  She was later salvaged and taken to New Orleans for scrapping.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Asbestos (K358) (Flower-class).  

HMCS Atholl (K15)

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Atholl (K15) (Flower-class).  Commissioned on 14 Oct 1943, at Quebec City, HMCS Atholl arrived at Halifax in Nov 1943 and returned there in mid-Dec 1943 for two months' repairs after working up at Pictou, Nova Scotia.  In Feb1944, she was assigned to EG 9, Londonderry, and made her passage there in March as escort to convoy HX.281.  She had scarcely arrived when it was decided that the group should consist only of frigates, and she returned to Canada in Apr 1944 with ONM.231, joining EG C-4 at St. John's.  She served the rest of the war as a mid-ocean escort except for time out under refit at Sydney and Halifax (Dec 1944 - Apr 1945).  Early in Jun 1945, she left Londonderry for the last time, and was paid off on 17 Jul 1945 at Sydney and laid up at Sorel.  She was broken up at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1952.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Atholl (K15) (Flower-class).

(DND Photo via CFB Esquimalt Naval Museum)

HMCS Atholl (K15) (Flower-class).

HMCS Baddeck (K147)

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Baddeck (K147) (Flower-class).  Commissioned at Quebec City on 18 May 1941, HMCS Baddeck arrived at Halifax on 29 May 1941.  She again left Quebec City late in Jun 1941 for Halifax, escorting SS Lady Rodney, but had to return to her builder's at Lauzon owing to an engine breakdown.  In Sep 1941 the two set out from Halifax for Jamaica, but again HMCS Baddeck's engine failed, and she reached her destination only with difficulty.  When further repairs had been completed, she was assigned to Newfoundland Command, leaving Sydney on 5 Oct 1941 for Iceland as ocean escort to convoy SC.48, which lost nine ships to U-boats.  Engine repairs kept her at Hvalfjord, Iceland, until mid-Dec 1941 but failed to cure the problem and she was in dock at Halifax for the first six months of 1942.  She worked up at Pictou in Jul 1942, then joined WLEF until allocated to duties in connection with the invasion of North Africa, arriving at Londonderry on 1 Nov 1942.  For the next four months she escorted UK-Mediterranean convoys, returning to Halifax on 4 Apr 1943.  Later that month HMCS Baddeck was assigned to ERG C-4 for two round trips to Londonderry, then in mid-Jul 1943 went to EG W-2, WLEF.  In Aug 1943 she underwent a major refit at Liverpool, NS, including fo'c's'le extension and, after working up in St. Margaret's Bay in Jan 1944, sailed in Mar 1944 to join EG 9, Londonderry.  In Apr 1944 she transferred to Western Approaches Command for invasion escort duties, based at Portsmouth, and on 13 Jun 1944 beat off an attack by motor torpedo boats while so employed.  In Sep 1944 she was transferred to Northern Command, based at Sheerness, escorting local convoys until her departure for home on 24 May 1945.  She was paid off at Sorel on 4 Jul 1945 and sold for mercantile purposes in 1946, and renamed Efthalia.  After a number of name-changes, she was lost ashore near Jeddah as the Greek-flag Evi on 11 Mar 1966.

(Stephen Boyd Photo)

HMCS Baddeck (K147) (Flower-class).

HMCS Barrie (K138)

(Gail Darby Photo)

HMCS Barrie (K138) (Flower-class).  Commissioned at Montreal on 12 May 1941, HMCS Barrie arrived at Halifax on 24 May 1941 and was initially employed as a local escort out of Sydney.  On 5 Sep 1941 she left Sydney to join convoy SC.43 for Iceland, but defects necessitated her sailing on to Belfast for two months' refit.  She served as a mid-ocean escort until May 1942, when she was assigned to WLEF on her return from Londonderry with ON.91, and she remained with this force until the end of the war.  When individual escort groups were formed by WLEF in Jun 1943, she became a member of EG W-1, and continued so except for brief service with EG W-8 in the fall of 1944.  In mid-Mar 1944, she commenced a long refit, including fo'c's'le extension, at Liverpool, NS, working up at Bermuda afterward in August.  On 19 May 1945, she left New York with HX.357, her last convoy, and was paid off on 26 Jun 1945 at Sorel.  Sold for merchant service in 1947, she became the Argentinean Gasestado but was taken over by the Argentinean Navy in 1957.  Converted to a hydrographic survey vessel she was renamed Capitan Canepa.  One of Capitan Canepa's most important tasks was a survey in 1967 to delineate the contested territorial waters between Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil.  The survey quite possibly averted war.  After more than 30 years service to two navies, she was paid off and broken up in 1972.

(Gail Darby Photo)

HMCS Barrie (K138) (Flower-class).

HMCS Battleford (K165)

(Jack Gibson Photo)

HMCS Battleford (K165) (Flower-class).  Built at Collingwood, Ontario, she was launched on 15 Apr 1941.  Commissioned at Montreal on 31 Jul 1941, she arrived at Halifax on 04 Aug 1941, remaining there for six weeks while undergoing repairs, radar installation, and workups.  Briefly a member of Sydney Force, HMCS Battleford transferred to NEW and left Sydney on 28 Nov 1941 to escort convoy SC.57 to Iceland.  Returning to Halifax on 07 Jan 1942, she went to Liverpool, NS, for a refit that kept her idle until the end of Mar 1942.  Arriving in the UK with a convoy early in May 1942, she completed further repairs at Cardiff in mid-Jun 1942, then carried out workups at Tobermory.  From July 1942 to May 1943 she was a member of EG C-1, and in Dec 1942 was escort to convoy ONS.154, which was badly mauled, losing 14 ships.  She participated with other RCN escorts in the destruction of U-356 north of the Azores on 27 Dec 1942.  The German submarine was sunk by depth charges with a loss of all 46 crew members. Arriving at Halifax on 23 Apr 1943, with her last ocean convoy, ONS.2, she commenced a two-month refit at Liverpool, NS, joining EG W-4 of WLEF in mid-Jun 1943.  Early in Apr 1944, she commenced a long refit at Sydney, including fo'c's'le extension, which was completed 31 Jul 1944, following which she proceeded to Bermuda to work up.  Returning to Halifax, she was employed for the balance of the war as a local escort with EG W-3 and was paid off at Sorel 18 Jul 1945.  Sold to the Venezuelan Navy in 1946 and renamed Libertad, she was wrecked 12 Apr 1949.

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Battleford off the US East Coast, 5 October 1943.

(DND Photo)

HMCS Battleford (K165) (Flower-class).

HMCS Beauharnois (K540)

(RCN Photo)

HMCS Beauharnois (K540) (Flower-class).  Built at Quebec City, HMCS Beauharnois was commissioned there on 25 Sep 1944.  She arrived at Halifax on 20 Oct 1944 and left for Bermuda on 06 Nov 1944 to work up.  On 30 Nov 1944 she sailed from Bermuda for St. John's where she joined EG C-4, leaving on 09 Dec 1944 to pick up her first convoy, HX.324.  She was employed on North Atlantic convoys for the next few months, the last one being ONS.45, for which she left Londonderry on 23 Mar 1945.  Among her last duties was acting as escort to the cable vessel Lord Kelvin off Cape Race in May.  She was paid off on 12 Jul 1945 and laid up at Sorel.  Sold for mercantile purposes in 1946, she was renamed Colon, but became a warship again when she was acquired by the Israeli navy.  HMCS Beauharnois was sold to the Israeli Navy in 1948.  Commissioned as INS Wedgewood K18 on 09 Jun 1948, she was later renamed INS HaShomer.   She was paid off by the Israeli Navy in 1954 and broken up in Israel in 1956.