RCN Corvettes (Flower class)
HMCS Agassiz (K129)
(DND Photo via the CFB Esquimalt Naval Museum)
HMCS Agassiz (K129) Flower class Corvette. 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 Corvette.
(Ron Bell Photo)
HMCS Agassiz (K129) Flower class Corvette.
(John Sl Photo)
HMCS Agassiz (K129) Flower class Corvette. Photo taken from HMS Forester cSep 1943 while both were in Escort Group C1.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Agassiz (K129) Flower class Corvette.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Agassiz (K129) Flower class Corvette.
HMCS Alberni (K103)
(DND Photo, c 1943-44)
HMCS Alberni (K103) Flower class Corvette. 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 torpedo boats (MTB).
(DND Photo)
HMCS Alberni (K103) Flower class Corvette.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3304841)
HMCS Alberni (K103) Flower class Corvette, RCN crew preparing to launch a minesweeping float, off the BC coast, March 1941.
HMCS Algoma (K127)
(DND Photo)
HMCS Algoma (K127) Flower class Corvette. 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 Corvette. 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.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Amherst (K148) Flower class Corvette.