HMS Sunflower (K41)

Undoubtable the task faced by the Captain, Lt. Cdr. John Treasure Jones, RNR, with his new crew was the same for all corvettes which were manned mainly by volunteers: Treasure Jones writes:

"Around 90% of my crew had not been to sea before. They had been called-up, done a little training in barracks and then sent to man the ships. They were strengthened and knit together by a small number of trained ratings and naval pensioners. I had three officers plus an Engin-room Artificer, who was in charge of the engine and boiler rooms, with a Stoker Petty Officer to assist him. Of my three officers, only one had been to sea as an officer and he had just joined the Royal Naval Reserve prior to the war.^[1] My Second Officer was little older; his only sea experience was that he had served six months on the lower deck in one of the battleships, then been sent to an officers training college for 3 months; this was his first ship as an officer. My Third Officer was a young man of 19. He had joined-up straight from school, done six months on the lower deck as a rating, followed by 3 months at an officers training college before being appointed to my ship. I was daddy to these men was well as Captain, since I was 35 at the time."^[2]

"We sailed from Middlesbrough in January 1940 for Tobermory, to work-up before being sent to join a group on ocean escort of convoys. To start with I had difficulty in finding three men who could steer the ship, and as we had encountered bad weather as soon as we had put to sea, most of them were seasick."^[2]

After a few weeks working-up the ship and the crew, Admiral Stephenson would then personally inspect each escort and put the Captain and crew through a stiff test before releasing them for operational service.^[3]

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John Treasure Jones

John Treasure Jones

Captain John Treasure Jones was a British naval officer who became a well-known media figure in the mid-1960s following his appointment as the last master of the Cunard liner, RMS Queen Mary. He has been described as one of the 20th century's most distinguished mariners, in war and in peacetime. His forebears were men of the sea, who had captained sailing ships, and he elected to follow in their tradition.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough is a town in North Yorkshire, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough named after the town, which is part of the devolved Tees Valley area. The town is on the southern bank of the River Tees and near the North York Moors National Park.

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.

Gilbert Stephenson

Gilbert Stephenson

Vice Admiral Sir Gilbert Owen Stephenson, was a senior officer in the Royal Navy, a pioneer of anti-submarine techniques in the First World War, and most famous as an important naval training commandant during the Second World War.

Battle of the Atlantic

During work-up Sunflower was deployed as escort for the submarine HMS Thunderbolt and the large Free French submarine Surcouf during passage to the Firth of Clyde.

In 1941 Western Approaches Command had formed eight escort groups.^[4] The 1st Escort Group consisted of six destroyers and four Flower-class corvettes.^[5] They were soon in action with other groups between 19 July – 1 August 1941 with Convoy ON 69 defending 26 merchant ships from 8 U-boats and 2 Italian submarines.

In February and March 1942 the original eight escort groups were reorganized into the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF).

Corvettes of B7 Group moored in Londonderry. Alisma, Dianella, Sunflower & Kingcup. The white areas are where the official censor has painted out security sensitive material

Sunflower was part of Escort Group B7, one of seven such British naval groups which served with the Mid-Ocean Escort Force. It provided convoy protection in the most dangerous midsection of the North Atlantic route.^[6] B7's first convoys, in the spring of 1942, were uneventful, and as the pace of the Battle of the Atlantic hotted up in the summer and autumn, the group's charges were escorted without loss. But in December, while escorting ON 153, the convoy came under attack, and three ships were sunk. During this action, on 11 December, Firedrake was torpedoed by the U-boat U-211 and sank with the loss of 168 of her crew, including her current commander, and the group's Senior Officer – Escort (SOE), Commander Eric Tilden. Initially 35 survived the torpedoing, but only 27 managed to get on board Sunflower, which was under the command of Lieut- Commander John Treasure Jones.^[7][8]

B7 was involved in the battles for convoys ONS 20 and ON 206, ON 207 and ON 208, during which period nine U-boats were destroyed.

In February 1943 the command passed to A/Lt.Cdr. James Plomer, RCNVR and during the following nine months they would have a series of notable successes.^[9]

Convoy ONS 5, comprising 46 merchant ships, departed Liverpool on 21 April 1943. In early May they were under sustained submarine attacks. On 5 May U-638 was sunk by Sunflower. The convoy arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 12 May. This was a major convoy battle which saw the destruction of six U-boats for the loss of thirteen ships.^[10]

Convoy ON 206, comprising 68 merchant ships, departed Liverpool on 11 October 1943. It arrived in New York on 27 October 1943 without loss. On 17 October U-631 was sunk in the North Atlantic, South-east of Cape Farewell, Greenland, by depth charges from Sunflower.

On 29 October 1943 U-282, which had been shadowing Convoy ON 208, was sunk by Hedgehog attacks carried out together with HMS Duncan and HMS Vidette.^[11]

Normandy 1944

In May 1944 Sunflower was nominated for service in Force L for the Normandy Landings, code name Operation Neptune. She was assigned as part of Escort Group 154 with HM Corvettes Sweetbriar K209 and Oxlip K123.^[12] They were employed in convoy defence during the build-up operations in the English Channel and then retained in the Channel for convoy defence after termination of Neptune.

English Channel 1944–45

On 30 August Sunflower was deployed for Channel convoy defence based at Sheerness. By the beginning of October merchant convoys were being detached from joined ocean convoys in Southwestern Approaches and routed through the English Channel for passage to and from London because the air threat from bases in France had been removed by the military advance to Germany. In February 1945 she resumed Channel convoy defence. German submarines and E-Boats were active in Channel area for mine and attacks by snorkel fitted U-boats were being made on assembly points for convoys and coastal traffic in Home waters.

In May 1945 she was paid off, de-stored and reduced to 'Reserve' status.

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French submarine Surcouf

French submarine Surcouf

Surcouf was a large French gun-armed cruiser submarine of the mid 20th century. She carried two 8" guns as well as anti-aircraft guns and a floatplane. Surcouf served in the French Navy and, later, the Free French Naval Forces during the Second World War.

Firth of Clyde

Firth of Clyde

The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles. The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula, which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran. Within the Firth of Clyde is another major island – the Isle of Bute. Given its strategic location at the entrance to the middle and upper Clyde, Bute played a vital naval military role during World War II.

U-boat

U-boat

U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic-warfare role and enforcing a naval blockade against enemy shipping. The primary targets of the U-boat campaigns in both wars were the merchant convoys bringing supplies from Canada and other parts of the British Empire, and from the United States, to the United Kingdom and to the Soviet Union and the Allied territories in the Mediterranean. German submarines also targeted Brazilian merchant ships during both World Wars and, twice over, precipitated Brazil's decision to give up its neutral stance and declare war on Germany.

Italian submarines of World War II

Italian submarines of World War II

The Italian submarine fleet of World War II was the largest in the world at the time, with 116 submarines. It saw action during the Second World War, serving mainly in the Mediterranean. During the conflict 88 submarines, some two-thirds of its total strength, were lost.

Mid-Ocean Escort Force

Mid-Ocean Escort Force

Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) referred to the organisation of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and Newfoundland, and the British Isles. The allocation of United States, British, and Canadian escorts to these convoys reflected preferences of the United States upon their declaration of war, and the organisation persisted through the winter of 1942–43 despite withdrawal of United States ships from the escort groups. By the summer of 1943, United States Atlantic escorts were focused on the faster CU convoys and the UG convoys between Chesapeake Bay and the Mediterranean Sea; and only British and Canadian escorts remained on the HX, SC and ON convoys.

Escort Group B7

Escort Group B7

Escort Group B7 was a British formation of the Royal Navy which saw action during the Second World War; principally in the Battle of the Atlantic.

German submarine U-211

German submarine U-211

German submarine U-211 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 29 March 1941 by the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kiel as yard number 640, launched on 15 January 1942 and commissioned on 7 March under the command of Korvettenkapitän Karl Hause.

John Treasure Jones

John Treasure Jones

Captain John Treasure Jones was a British naval officer who became a well-known media figure in the mid-1960s following his appointment as the last master of the Cunard liner, RMS Queen Mary. He has been described as one of the 20th century's most distinguished mariners, in war and in peacetime. His forebears were men of the sea, who had captained sailing ships, and he elected to follow in their tradition.

Convoys ONS 20/ON 206

Convoys ONS 20/ON 206

ONS 20 and ON 206 were North Atlantic convoys of the ONS/ON series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were the subject of a major U-boat attack in October 1943, the third battle in the Kriegsmarine's autumn offensive.

Convoy ON 207

Convoy ON 207

ON 207 was a North Atlantic convoy of the ONS/ON series which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It was the subject of a major U-boat attack in October 1943, the fourth battle in the German autumn offensive.

Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in North West England. With a population of 486,100 in 2021, it is located within the county of Merseyside and is the principal city of the wider Liverpool City Region. Its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.24 million.

German submarine U-638

German submarine U-638

German submarine U-638 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 16 October 1941 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 614, launched on 8 July 1942 and commissioned on 3 September 1942 under Kapitänleutnant Oskar Staudinger.

HMS Sunflower remained in 'Reserve' at Harwich until placed on the 'Disposal List' in 1947. The ship was sold for demolition by Thos. W. Ward at Hayle, Cornwall later that year and arrived at the breaker's yard in August 1947.