RCN Flower class Corvettes: HMCS Baddeck (K147), HMCS Barrie (K138), HMCS Battleford (K165), HMCS Beauharnois (K540)
HMCS Baddeck (K147)
(RCN Photo, 1944)
HMCS Baddeck (K147) Flower class Corvette. 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 Corvette.
HMCS Barrie (K138)
(Gail Darby Photo)
HMCS Barrie (K138) Flower class Corvette. 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 Corvette.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Barrie (K138) Flower class Corvette.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Barrie (K138) Flower class Corvette.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Barrie (K138) Flower class Corvette.
HMCS Battleford (K165)
(Jack Gibson Photo)
HMCS Battleford (K165) Flower class Corvette. 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 (K165) Flower class Corvette off the US East Coast, 5 October 1943.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Battleford (K165) Flower class Corvette off the US East Coast, 5 October 1943.
(DND Photo)
HMCS Battleford (K165) Flower class Corvette.
HMCS Beauharnois (K540)
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Beauharnois (K540) Flower class Corvette. 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.