Flower-class corvettes like Hawkesbury 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]
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.[8]
Construction
Hawkesbury was ordered April 1942 as part of the 1942-43 modified Flower-class building programme. This programme was known as the Increased Endurance (IE). Many changes were made, all from lessons that had been learned in previous versions of the Flower-class. The bridge was made a full deck higher and built to naval standards instead of the more civilian-like bridges of previous versions. The platform for the 4-inch main gun was raised to minimize the amount of spray over it and to provide a better field of fire. It was also connected to the wheelhouse by a wide platform that was now the base for the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar that this version was armed with. Along with the new Hedgehog, this version got the new QF 4-inch Mk XIX main gun, which was semi-automatic, used fixed ammunition and had the ability to elevate higher giving it an anti-aircraft ability.[8]
Other superficial changes to this version include an upright funnel and pressurized boiler rooms which eliminated the need for hooded ventilators around the base of the funnel. This changes the silhouette of the corvette and made it more difficult for submariners to tell which way the corvette was laying.[8]
Hawkesbury was laid down by Morton Engineering and Dry Dock Co. at Quebec City, Quebec 20 July 1943 and was launched 16 November 1943. She was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy 14 June 1944 at Quebec.[9] Due to her late arrival into the war Hawkesbury never had a refit.[10]
Service history
After workups Hawkesbury joined the Mid-Ocean Escort Force as a trans-Atlantic convoy escort. She was assigned to escort group C-7 in September 1944. She served with the group for the rest of the war. She returned to Canada in June 1945.[10]
Hawkesbury was paid off at Sydney, Nova Scotia 10 July 1945. She was transferred to the War Assets Corporation and laid up at Sorel, Quebec. She was sold for mercantile conversion and reappeared in 1950 as Campuchea under a Cambodian flag. In December 1956 she was broken up at Hong Kong by Hong Kong Chiap Hua Manufactory Co.[10][11] The ship's bell that was used during her service with the Royal Canadian Navy was donated to her namesake town of Hawkesbury as part of the Canadian Naval Centennial.[12]
1 2 3 Macpherson, Ken; Burgess, John (1981). The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910–1981: a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Toronto: Collins. p.96. ISBN0-00216-856-1.
HMCS Riviere du Loup was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec.
HMCS Asbestos was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Asbestos, Quebec.
HMCS Lachute was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Lachute, Quebec. After the war she was sold to the Dominican Navy.
HMCS Beauharnois was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. After the war it was sold to a Jewish resettlement movement and eventually made its way into the nascent Israeli Navy.
HMCS Chicoutimi 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 as an ocean escort. She was named for Chicoutimi, Quebec.
HMCS Atholl was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Campbellton, New Brunswick; however, as there was a Royal Navy ship with the same name, her name was chosen to commemorate the town instead of being named for it directly.
HMCS Cobourg was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Cobourg, Ontario.
HMCS Fergus was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Fergus, Ontario. She was originally named Fort Frances but was renamed before launching. She was the last corvette launched by the Royal Canadian Navy.
HMCS Frontenac was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Kingston, Ontario, but due to a naming conflict with a Royal Navy vessel, the name Frontenac was chosen to commemorate the city instead of naming it directly. Kingston is the county seat of Frontenac County, Ontario and the site of Fort Frontenac.
HMCS Guelph was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Guelph, Ontario.
HMCS Lindsay was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Lindsay, Ontario.
HMCS Louisburg was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Louisburg, Nova Scotia. She was the second ship named for the town, the first having been sunk earlier in the war. She was sold to the Dominican Navy after the war.
HMCS Norsyd was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for North Sydney, Nova Scotia, her name being a contraction of the city's name. This was due to a naming conflict with a Royal Australian Navy vessel. After the war she served as a merchant ship and then as a corvette in the Israeli Navy.
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HMCS Owen Sound was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Owen Sound, Ontario.
HMCS St. Lambert was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Saint-Lambert, Quebec.
HMCS Whitby was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Whitby, Ontario.
HMCS Merrittonia was a modified Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Merritton, Ontario. Her name was altered at the request of the town council. She was originally named HMCS Pointe Claire but it was changed March 1944 before commissioning.
HMCS Stellarton was a modified Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for Stellarton, Nova Scotia. After the war she was sold to the Chilean Navy.
HMCS Giffard was a modified Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was originally laid down by the British Royal Navy as HMS Buddleia but was never commissioned into the former, being transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy before completion. She is named for Giffard, Quebec, which at the time was a small village, but was eventually amalgamated into first, Beauport Quebec and then finally, Quebec City.
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