RCN Flower class Corvettes: HMCS Forest Hill (K486), HMCS Kenogami (K125), HMCS Kitchener (K225), HMCS La Malbaie (K27)
HMCS Forest Hill (K486)
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Forest Hill (K486) Flower class Corvette. Laid down and launched as HMS Ceanothus, she was transferred to the RCN and commissioned on 1 Dec 1943 as HMCS Forest Hill K486 on the Clyde, Scotland; named for a village absorbed by Toronto. Following workups at Tobermory she joined EG C-3 at Londonderry, leaving on 29 Jan 1944, to join her first convoy, ONS.28. She served as an ocean escort until late in Dec 1944, when she arrived at Liverpool, NS, for an extended refit, on the completion of which, two months later, she sailed for Bermuda to work up. Returning in Apr 1945, she joined Halifax Force for local duties. Paid off on 9 Jul 1945 and laid up at Sorel, she was sold on 17 Jul 1948 and broken up at Hamilton in 1952.
(DND Photo)
HMCS Forest Hill (K486) Flower class Corvette.
(IWM Photo FL 6270)
HMCS Forest Hill (K486) Flower class Corvette.
HMCS Kenogami (K125)
(DND Photo)
HMCS Kenogami (K125) Flower class Corvette. Built at Port Arthur, Ontario, she was commissioned at Montreal on 29 Jun 1941. HMCS Kenogami arrived at Halifax on 04 Jul 1941. She served briefly with Halifax Force before arriving at St. John’s on 24 Aug 1941 to join as convoy escort all the way to the UK, as it lost 18 ships in what proved to be one of the worst convoy battles of the war. In Feb, 1942, after five months’ ocean escort duty between St. John’s and Iceland, she made her first tip to Londonderry, joining WLEF on her return. She received an extensive refit at Halifax through Jun and Jul 1942, and in Oct 1942 resumed her ocean escort duties with EG C-1. The following month she took part in another fierce convoy battle, that of ONS.154, which lost 14 ships. In Mar 1943, she made one round trip to Gibraltar, escorting follow-up convoys to the invasion of North Africa. On 11 May 1943 she left ‘Derry for the last time, attached to EG B-4 (RN) with convoy ON.183. After a two-month refit at Liverpool, N.S., and workups at Pictou, she joined WLEF’s EG W-8. In Apr 1944, she transferred to W-4, but in Dec 1944 rejoined W-8 for the balance of the war. During this period she underwent a major refit at Liverpool, NS, between Jun and Oct 1944, including fo’c’s’le extension, followed by three weeks’ workups in Bermuda. She was paid off on 09 Jul 1945 at Sydney and broken up at Hamilton in 1950.
(DND Photo)
HMCS Kenogami (K125) Flower class Corvette.
HMCS Kitchener (K225)
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Kitchener (K225) Flower class Corvette. Laid down as HMCS Vancouver, she was renamed HMCS Kitchener prior to commissioning. She was commissioned at Quebec City on 18 June 1942. HMCS Kitchener arrived at Halifax on 16 Jul 1942 and carried out six weeks’ workups at Pictou before briefly joining WLEF in Sep 1942. It may have been during this unusually long workup that she starred in the film Corvette K-225 with Randolph Scott. In Oct 1942 she was assigned to duties in connection with Operation “Torch,” and arrived at Londonderry on 03 Nov 1942. For the next four and one-half months she escorted UK-Mediterranean convoys, returning to Halifax on 19 Apr 1943, with convoy ONS.2. In May 1943 she joined Western Support Force but in Jun 1943 transferred to EG C-5, MOEF, and during the following four months made three round trips to Londonderry. A major refit, commenced in Oct 1943 at Liverpool, NS, was completed on 28 Jan 1944, followed by two weeks’ working-up in Bermuda. In mid-Apr 1944 she arrived at Londonderry, where she was assigned to invasion duties with Western Approaches Command, based at Milford Haven. She arrived off the beaches on D-Day escorting a group of landing craft. From Aug 1944 until the end of the war she served with EG 41, Plymouth, returning home late in May 1945, to be paid off at Sorel 11 Jul 1945. She was broken up at Hamilton in 1949.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Kitchener (K225) Flower class Corvette.
(RCN Photo)
HMCS Kitchener (K225) Flower class Corvette.
(DND Photo)
HMCS Kitchener (K225) Flower class Corvette.
(DND Photo)
HMCS Kitchener (K225) Flower class Corvette.
HMCS La Malbaie (K273)
(DND Photo)
HMCS La Malbaie (K273) Flower class Corvette. Built at Sorel, Quebec, she was laid down as HMCS Fort William. Renamed in Nov 1941, she was commissioned at Sorel on 28 April 1942 as HMCS La Malbaie. She arrived at Halifax on 13 May 1942 and, after working up there and at Pictou, joined WLEF late in Jun 1942. After undergoing mechanical repairs at Halifax from 11 Aug to 20 Dec 1942, she was assigned to EG C-3, arriving at Londonderry for the first time on 12 Jan 1943, from HX.221. She served with C-3 until her final departure from ‘Derry on 26 Oct 1944. During this period she underwent a major refit at Liverpool, NS, mid-Sep to mid-Dec 1943. Late in Dec 1944, she joined Halifax Force for the duration of hostilities, was paid off on 28 Jun 1945, at Sorel, and broken up at Hamilton, Ontario, in 1951. A pre-launching photo of HMCS La Malbaie served as the model for the 20 cent Canadian stamp of 1942.
(DND Photo)
HMCS La Malbaie (K273) Flower class Corvette.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 2242400)
HMCS La Malbaie (K273) Flower class Corvette under construction, stamp study.
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 2204003)
Corvette shipbuilding, Canada 20 cent stamp, issued in 1942.