War service
At the outbreak of World War II the Marine nationale (French Navy) needed urgently ships for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) convoy escort and placed orders from Smiths Dock in South Bank, Middlesbrough for four Flower-class corvettes. Following this the Marine nationale ordered a further 18 ships, to be built both in British and French shipyards. These French Flower-class ships were identical to the British "Flowers" except that French 100 mm (3.9 in) and 13.2 mm AA guns were to be fitted.
On 22 June 1940, the day of France's capitulation, La Bastiase was undergoing sea trials in the North Sea when she struck a mine off Hartlepool and sank. The night before Luftwaffe planes had been dropping magnetic mines into the shallow coastal waters. Forty-three French sailors died, along with at least 18 British shipyard workers. La Bastiase was not part of FFL Navy as she was serving under the Marine nationale flag but France surrendered on the day of her loss. Her commander, Lieutenant de Vaisseau Georges Albert Lacombe, died in the sinking. [4]
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.
The Romanian Naval Forces is the principal naval branch of the Romanian Armed Forces and operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860.
HMS Berkeley Castle was a Castle-class corvette of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. Built and commissioned in 1943, she escorted convoys from 1944 to 1945. She later served as an air-sea rescue ship until being placed in reserve. Damaged beyond repair in the North Sea flood of 1953 while at a dry dock in Sheerness, she was scrapped a few years later. She was named after Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire.
Smith's Dock Company, Limited, often referred to simply as Smith's Dock, was a British shipbuilding company.
HMS La Malouine was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy, serving during the Second World War. Originally ordered by the French Navy under the same name, following the fall of France, the ship was seized by the United Kingdom and commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1940. The corvette remained in service until being broken up in 1947.
When the United States entered World War II at the end of 1941, the United States Navy found itself deficient in ocean escort-type vessels. A crash building program was instituted; but, to meet more immediate needs, the government contracted with shipbuilding firms in England and Canada to build Flower-class corvettes. Vim (PG-99) was one of those British-type escorts. She was launched on 1 April 1943 at the Collingwood Shipyard in Collingwood, Ontario. Nine days later, however, she was transferred to the Royal Navy under the terms of the lend-lease agreement in return for another Flower-class corvette then under construction in Canada. The British renamed her HMS Statice, and she served the Royal Navy under the name through World War II. On 21 June 1946, she was returned to the United States Navy. Though carried on the Navy list as PG-99, the corvette never saw active service with the United States Navy. She was sold on 7 May 1947. To whom she was sold and to what purpose she was put is unknown.
French Flower-class corvettes were those ships of the Flower class built for, or operated by, the French Navy and Free French Naval Forces in World War II. At the outbreak of the war, four anti-submarine warfare ships were ordered from a British shipyard, and a further 18 ships were later ordered from several British and French shipyards. Following the Fall of France in June 1940, the ships in Britain were taken over by the Royal Navy, while those in France fell into German hands. Eight other Flowers were later transferred to the Free French Naval Forces.
The Patrouillenboot Ausland (PA)-class patrol ships were a class of vessels commissioned into the Kriegsmarine in the Second World War.
HMCS Collingwood was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic though also saw service as a training vessel. She was named for Collingwood, Ontario.
HMCS Louisburg was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought mainly as an ocean escort during the Battle of the Atlantic. She was sunk in 1943. She was named for Louisburg, Nova Scotia.
HMCS La Malbaie was a Royal Canadian Navy revised Flower-class corvette which took part in convoy escort duties during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for La Malbaie, Quebec. She was originally named Fort William but her name was changed before commissioning.
HMS Tamworth Castle was a Castle-class corvette that was ordered for the British Royal Navy during the Second World War. Before completion, the ship was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy and renamed HMCS Kincardine, which used the corvette as a convoy escort for the rest of the war. Following the war, the ship was sold for mercantile use to French, then Moroccan interests and was renamed Saada in 1947.
HMS Erica was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by Harland and Wolff in 1941. She was named after Erica. Commissioned in 1940 and sunk by a mine on 9 February 1943.
HMS Pink was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy. She was built by Henry Robb in Leith in 1941 and named after the flower nicknamed garden pink. She was commissioned in 1942 and scrapped in 1947.
HMS Snapdragon was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by Smith's Dock Company in 1940. She was named after Snapdragon. Commissioned in 1940 and sunk by Luftwaffe on 19 December 1942.
HMS Auricula was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by George Brown and Company in 1940. She was named after Auricula. Commissioned in 1941 and sunk by a mine on 6 May 1942.
HMS Asphodel was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by George Brown and Company in 1940. She was named after Asphodel. Commissioned in 1940 and sunk by U-575 on 10 March 1944.
HMS Gardenia was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by William Simons and Company in 1940. She was named after Gardenia. Commissioned in 1940, rammed and sunk by HMS Fluellen on 9 November 1942.
HMS Fleur de Lys was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by Smith's Dock Company in 1940. She was named after Fleur de Lys. Commissioned in 1940, rammed and sunk by U-206 on 14 October 1941. Her name was originally La Dieppoise and built for the French Navy but was later changed.
HMS Petunia (K79) was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by Henry Robb in 1940. She was named after Petunia. Commissioned in 1940, rammed and sold to the Chinese Nationalist Government and renamed ROCS Fu Bo.
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