French corvette Mimosa

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Mimosa.

Mimosa

Flower-class corvette in 1942 paint
History
Free France
Name	Mimosa
Ordered	31 August 1939 [1]
Laid down	22 April 1940
Launched	19 January 1941
Commissioned	11 May 1941
Identification	Pennant number: K11
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk on 9 June 1942 [1]
General characteristics
Class & type	Flower-class corvette
Displacement	950 tonnes
Length	62.7 m (205 ft 9 in)
Beam	10.9 m (35 ft 9 in)
Draught	2.7 m (8 ft 10 in)
Propulsion	Engine: 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine Fuel: Gazole Pressure: 225 PSI Power:2,750 hp (2,050 kW)
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range	3,450  nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) Fuel capacity: 230 tonnes
Complement	70
Sensors & processing systems	Type 271 surface radar
Armament	1 BL 4 in (102 mm) Mark IX gun 1 Mark VIII 40 mm gun 2 Mark IIA 20 mm guns 2 Hotchkiss machine guns 1 Mark III "Hedgehog" mortar (24 shells) 4 Mark I depth charge launchers 2 ramps for Mark I depth charges 60 depth charges

Mimosa (formerly HMS Mimosa) was one of the nine Flower-class corvettes lent by the Royal Navy to the Free French Naval Forces.

Construction

Mimosa was built by Charles Hill & Sons, and Richardsons Westgarth & Company. ^[1]

War service

Originally built as HMS Mimosa by the Royal Navy, she was loaned to the Free French Navy upon completion on 19 January 1941.

On 15 October 1941 the ship picked up 26 survivors from the British merchant vessel Silvercedar, later that day Mimosa rescued another 26 survivors from the Norwegian merchant vessel Ila. Both ships had been torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-553. ^[1]

Sinking

On 9 June 1942 Mimosa was sunk via torpedo by U-124 while escorting convoy ONS 100 through the Atlantic Ocean. The ship sank three minutes after being hit when the boilers exploded. 66 sailors including the commanding officer died in the attack. The rest of the convoy did not notice the sinking until the morning when Canadian destroyer HMCS Assiniboine found four survivors on a raft. ^{[1] [2]}

Citations

1. "Uboat.net". Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
2. "FFL Mimosa". Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2025.

References

• Friedman, Norman (2008). British Destroyers and Frigates: The Second World War and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84832-015-4.