Flower-class corvettes like Shawinigan serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes.[4][5][6] 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.[7] 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.[8] The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which– in the Royal Navy– were named after flowering plants.[9]
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.[10]
Construction
Shawinigan was ordered 24 January 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class building program and laid down on 4 June 1940 by Davie Shipbuilding & Repairing Co. Ltd. at Lauzon, Quebec. However she was not launched until almost a year later on 16 May 1941.[11]Shawinigan was commissioned on 19 September 1941 at Quebec City, Quebec.[12]
War service
Upon entering active service, Shawinigan joined Sydney Force in November 1941. She served there until transferring to the Newfoundland Escort Force on 13 January 1942. She made three round trips across the Atlantic before being assigned to Halifax Force in June 1942. She spent only a few months before being assigned to WLEF. Almost simultaneous with her new assignment, she went for a major refit that was completed in March 1943. In June she joined EG W-3. In April 1944 she underwent another refit and transferred to EG W-2 and worked up in Bermuda.[12]
On 24 November 1944 Shawinigan and USCGCSassafras escorted the ferry Burgeo from Sydney to Port aux Basques. Sassafrass was detached from the escort without relief and Shawinigan was left alone. Shawinigan departed on an independent anti-submarine patrol and informed the ferry that it would meet her in the morning.
The next morning Burgeo left Port aux Basques on schedule but in the fog, could not find Shawinigan. Keeping radio silence and without informing command of Shawinigan's lack of appearance, Burgeo made for Sydney unescorted. When Burgeo arrived at Sydney at 6pm that night, the navy knew that something had happened to Shawinigan.
Monument in Shawinigan in memory of the crew of HMCS Shawinigan
Over the next three days searchers looked for survivors but could find only flotsam and, eventually, six bodies. Shawinigan had been torpedoed by the German submarineU-1228 during the early morning of 25 November in Cabot Strait. All hands were lost.[12][13]
Investigation
The fate of Shawinigan was initially unknown at the time of its disappearance; however, the Royal Canadian Navy (correctly) presumed that it had been sunk by a German submarine during the night of November 24-25, 1944, as German submarines were known to be operating in the area at the time.[14]
Shawinigan's fate was ultimately confirmed following the surrender of U-1228 to United States forces in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on May 17, 1945. A review of U-1228's logs disclosed that it had sunk an Allied warship at 0230 hours on November 25, 1944 in the same area where Shawinigan was lost, allowing the Royal Canadian Navy to conclude that U-1228 had torpedoed and sank Shawinigan. Records from U-1228's commanding officer, Friedrich-Wilhelm Marienfeld, disclosed further details of the engagement, including that U-1228 fired a single T-5 GNAT torpedo at Shawinigan, striking the corvette in the stern. Marienfeld further reported that Shawinigan sank almost immediately (in only four minutes), and that two further underwater explosions were heard from Shawinigan as it sank to the ocean floor.[15][16][17]
Based on U-1228's logs, and given the area where Shawinigan was ordered to patrol on the night of November 24-25, 1944, the Royal Canadian Navy estimated that Shawinigan sank in the vicinity of the three-mile limit off of Channel Head, near Port aux Basques.[14] However, its final resting place was never found.
↑ Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. pp.117–119, 142–145, 158, 175–176, 226, 235, 285–291. ISBN978-0-87021-450-9.
↑ Macpherson, Ken; Milner, Marc (1993). Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy 1939–1945. St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN978-1-55125-052-6.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMCS Shawinigan (K 136)". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
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.85. ISBN978-0-00216-856-4.
HMCS Toronto was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War and as a Prestonian-class frigate from 1953-1956. She was named for Toronto, Ontario. She was later acquired by the Royal Norwegian Navy and renamed Garm and then again in 1965 as HNoMS Valkyrien.
HMCS Rimouski was a Royal Canadian Navy 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 after Rimouski, Quebec.
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HMCS Alberni was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. The Flower-class corvettes were warships designed for anti-submarine warfare. The ship was constructed by Yarrows Ltd. in Esquimalt, British Columbia, laid down on 19 April 1940, launched on 22 August and commissioned on 4 February 1941. The corvette sailed east to join the RCN's fleet in the Atlantic via the Panama Canal, where upon arrival, the vessel began escorting trans-atlantic convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic. Alberni took part in the key convoy battle of Convoy SC 42. In 1942, the corvette was transferred to Allied convoy assignments associated with Operation Torch in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1944, Alberni was among the Canadian naval vessels assigned to Operation Neptune, the naval component of the invasion of Normandy and escorted support ships to and from the United Kingdom on D-day.
HMCS Regina 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 Regina, Saskatchewan.
HMCS Magog was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. She was used primarily as a convoy escort. On 14 October 1944, she was torpedoed by U-1223. She survived the attack, was towed to port and declared a constructive total loss. Magog was named for the town of Magog, Quebec.
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HMCS Rosthern was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She is named for Rosthern, Saskatchewan.
HMCS Timmins was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy that served during the battle of the Atlantic from 1942 to 1945. She was ordered from Yarrows Ltd. in Esquimalt, British Columbia and laid down on 14 December 1940. She was launched on 26 June 1941 and commissioned on 10 February 1942. She was named after the community of Timmins, Ontario.
HMCS Prescott was a Flower-class corvette of 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 Prescott, Ontario.
HMCS Arrowhead was a Flower-class corvette that was originally commissioned by the Royal Navy but served primarily with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the Second World War. She fought in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence as a convoy escort. The vessel was named for sagittaria, which is an aquatic water plant that is sometimes known as arrowhead. Following the war, the ship was sold for mercantile use as a whaling ship and renamed Southern Larkspur. The vessel was broken up for scrap in 1959.
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HMCS Morden was a 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 an ocean escort.
HMCS Trail 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 a convoy escort. She was named for Trail, British Columbia.
HMCS Valleyfield was a River-class frigate 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 torpedoed and sunk in May 1944, the only River-class frigate lost by the RCN. She was named for Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec.
HMCS Lévis was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the St. Lawrence and the Battle of the Atlantic. She was the second ship to bear the name of Lévis, the first being a Flower-class corvette that had been sunk earlier in the war. She was named for Lévis, Quebec.
HMCS St. Catharines was a River-class frigate 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 named for St. Catharines, Ontario. After the war she was re-purposed as a weather ship for use by the Department of Transport of Canada.
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