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HMCS Windflower

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HMCS Windflower K155 H-762.jpg
HMCS Windflower during acceptance trials in 1940. Most of the ship's armament has not yet been fitted.
History
United Kingdom
NameWindflower
NamesakeWindflower
Ordered22 January 1940
BuilderGeorge T. Davie & Sons Ltd., Lauzon
Laid down25 February 1940
Launched4 July 1940
Commissioned20 October 1940
Out of service15 May 1941
IdentificationPennant number: K155
FateLoaned to Canada 1941; sunk 1941
Canada
NameWindflower
AcquiredLoaned from United Kingdom
Commissioned15 May 1941
Out of service7 December 1941
IdentificationPennant number: K155
Honours and
awards		Atlantic 1941[1]
FateSunk on 7 December 1941
General characteristics
Class and typeFlower-class corvette
Displacement925 long tons (940 t)
Length205 ft (62 m) o/a
Beam33 ft (10 m)
Draught11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Installed power2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Propulsion
  • 1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating engine
  • 2 × Scotch fire-tube boilers[citation needed]
  • 1 × screw
Speed16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h)
Range3,500 nmi (4,000 mi; 6,500 km) at 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Complement85
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 1 × SW1C or 2C radar
  • 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament
For other ships with the same name, see HMS Windflower.

HMCS Windflower was a Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette which took part in convoy escort duties in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War.

Discover more about HMCS Windflower related topics

Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The Royal Canadian Navy is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submarines, 12 coastal defence vessels, eight patrol class training vessels, two offshore patrol vessels, and several auxiliary vessels. The RCN consists of 8,570 Regular Force and 4,111 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by 3,800 civilians. Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee is the current commander of the Royal Canadian Navy and chief of the Naval Staff.

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.

Corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop-of-war.

Battle of the Atlantic

Battle of the Atlantic

The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. The campaign peaked from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943.

World War II

World War II

World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries, including all of the great powers, fought as part of two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. Many participants threw their economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind this total war, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and the delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war.

Background

Main article: Flower-class corvette

Flower-class corvettes like Windflower serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes.[2][3][4] The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877.[5] 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.[6] The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.[7]

Construction

Windflower was ordered on 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program and laid down at George T. Davie & Sons Ltd., Lauzon on 24 February 1940. Launched on 8 August 1940 she was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 20 October.[8] She was among the ten corvettes to be transferred to the RCN and commissioned on 15 May 1941.[9] She could be told apart from other Canadian Flowers by her lack of minesweeping gear and the siting of the after gun tub amidships.[10]

Battle of the Atlantic

Service with Royal Navy

After working up at Tobermory Windflower was assigned to Escort Group 4 with the Royal Navy escorting convoys between the United Kingdom and Iceland.[11]

Service with Royal Canadian Navy

After she was loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy Windflower transferred to Newfoundland Command after completing the voyage with OB 332. She made three round trips from St. John's to Iceland only interrupted by a short refit at Liverpool, Nova Scotia from August to mid-October.[11]

Sinking

On 7 December 1941, Windflower was escorting Convoy SC.58 when she collided with Dutch merchant Zypenberg in dense fog on the Grand Banks at 46° 19N, 49° 30W. 23 crew were lost. At the time corvettes were not outfitted with radar.[8][9]

Discover more about Battle of the Atlantic related topics

Tobermory, Mull

Tobermory, Mull

Tobermory is the capital of, and until 1973 the only burgh on, the Isle of Mull in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It is located on the east coast of Mishnish, the most northerly part of the island, near the northern entrance of the Sound of Mull. The village was founded as a fishing port in 1788; its layout was based on the designs of Dumfriesshire engineer Thomas Telford. It has a current population of about 1,000.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

Iceland

Iceland

Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which is home to about 36% of the population. Iceland is the largest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate.

ON convoys

ON convoys

The ON convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Battle of the Atlantic.

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland.

Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia.

SC convoys

SC convoys

The SC convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys that ran during the battle of the Atlantic during World War II.

Source: "HMCS Windflower", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, January 25th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Windflower.

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Further Reading

HMCS Charlottetown (1941)

HMCS Kenogami

HMCS Lévis (K115)

HMCS Kamloops

HMCS Camrose

HMCS Rosthern

HMCS Eyebright

HMCS Chilliwack

HMCS Napanee

HMCS Shediac

HMCS Spikenard

HMCS Orillia

HMCS Arrowhead

HMCS Arvida

HMCS Barrie

HMCS Collingwood

HMCS Hepatica

HMCS Lethbridge
Notes
  1. ^ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  2. ^ Ossian, Robert. "Complete List of Sailing Vessels". The Pirate King. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  3. ^ Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. (1978). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons & Warfare. Vol. 11. London: Phoebus. pp. 1137–1142.
  4. ^ Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II. New Jersey: Random House. 1996. p. 68. ISBN 0-517-67963-9.
  5. ^ Blake, Nicholas; Lawrence, Richard (2005). The Illustrated Companion to Nelson's Navy. Stackpole Books. pp. 39–63. ISBN 0-8117-3275-4.
  6. ^ Chesneau, Roger; Gardiner, Robert (June 1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946. Naval Institute Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-87021-913-8.
  7. ^ Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. pp. 117–119, 142–145, 158, 175–176, 226, 235, 285–291. ISBN 0-87021-450-0.
  8. ^ a b "HMCS Windflower (K 155)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
  9. ^ a b German, Tony (1990). The Sea is at our Gates : The History of the Canadian Navy. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Inc. pp. 110. ISBN 0-7710-3269-2.
  10. ^ Macpherson, Ken; Milner, Marc (1993). Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy 1939-1945. St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing.
  11. ^ a b Macpherson, Ken; Burgess, John (1981). The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910-1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Toronto: Collins. p. 89. ISBN 0-00216-856-1.
External links

Coordinates: 46°19′N 49°30′W / 46.317°N 49.500°W / 46.317; -49.500

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