HMCS Saskatoon (K158)

Flower-class corvettes like Saskatoon serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes.^[3][4][5] The "corvette" designation was created by the French for classes of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877.^[6] 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.^[7] The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.^[8]

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.^[9]

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Flower-class corvette

Flower-class corvette

The Flower-class corvette was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic. Royal Navy ships of this class were named after flowers.

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1951 to 1955. Apart from two years between 1922 and 1924, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1964 and represented a total of five constituencies. Ideologically an economic liberal and imperialist, he was for most of his career a member of the Conservative Party, which he led from 1940 to 1955. He was a member of the Liberal Party from 1904 to 1924.

Percy W. Nelles

Percy W. Nelles

Admiral Percy Walker Nelles, was a flag officer in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the Chief of the Naval Staff from 1 January 1934 to 15 January 1944. He oversaw the massive wartime expansion of the RCN and the transformation of Canada into a major player in the Battle of the Atlantic. During his tenure U-boats raided the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canadian Northwest Atlantic command was created, and the RCN provided up to 40% of all escort forces in the North Atlantic. His handling of the RCN's war effort had its opponents however, and he was removed from his post as Chief of the Naval Staff in January 1944. He was sent to London as Overseas Naval Attaché, coordinating RCN operations for Operation Overlord. He retired in January 1945 as a full admiral.

Saskatoon was ordered on 20 January 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down on 9 August 1940 by Canadian Vickers Ltd. at Montreal and launched on 7 November later that year.^[10] She was commissioned on 9 June 1941 at Montreal.^[11]

During her career, Saskatoon had two major refits. Her first took place at Halifax from 11 August until 17 November 1942. The second overhaul took place at Pictou, Nova Scotia from mid-December 1943 until 1 April 1944. During this second refit, Saskatoon had her fo'c'sle extended.^[11]

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Canadian Vickers

Canadian Vickers

Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada during the early part of the 20th century until 1944. A subsidiary of Vickers Limited, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. Canadair absorbed the Canadian Vickers aircraft operations in November 1944.

Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is the second most populous city in Canada and the most populous city in the province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as Ville-Marie, or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill around which the early city of Ville-Marie is built. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which obtained its name from the same origin as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. The city is 196 km (122 mi) east of the national capital Ottawa, and 258 km (160 mi) southwest of the provincial capital, Quebec City.

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. Halifax is one of Canada's fastest growing municipalities, and as of 2022, it is estimated that the CMA population of Halifax was 480,582, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The regional municipality consists of four former municipalities that were amalgamated in 1996: Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and Halifax County.

After arriving at Halifax for deployment, she joined Halifax Force initially. During August–September 1941, she was sent on a mission to the Bahamas, returning to local escort duty upon her return.

She joined the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) in March 1942. She stayed with WLEF for the rest of the war. During her time with WLEF she was mainly placed on "Triangle Run" convoys; convoys that traveled between Boston, New York and Halifax. Beginning in June 1943, she was assigned to WLEF escort group W-8. In April 1944 she transferred to group W-6.^[11]

Saskatoon was paid off at Sorel, Quebec on 25 June 1945. She was sold for conversion as a whale-catcher. She reappeared in 1948 as Tra los Mortes. In 1950 she was renamed Olympic Fighter and in 1956, Otori Maru No.6.^[11] In 1961 she was renamed Kyo Maru No. 20 and last appeared on Lloyd's Register in 1978–79.^[10] Miramar Ship Index (MSI) has an entirely different post-naval career. The ship was sold for mercantile conversion and entered service as Rio Norte in 1946. The ship was renamed Mabruk in 1947 and Misr in 1948. On 16 May 1953 the vessel collided with Jaguar 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) south of Newport Rock in Suez Bay.^[12]