Background
Flower-class corvettes like Sherbrooke serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes. [3] [4] [5] The "corvette" designation was created by the French for classes of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877. [6] 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. [7] The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants. [8]
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. [9]
Construction
Sherbrooke was ordered 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939–1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down 5 August 1940 by Marine Industries Ltd. at Sorel, Quebec and launched 25 October 1940. [10] She was commissioned 5 June 1941 at Sorel. [11]
During her career, Sherbrooke underwent two significant refits. The first took place at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia from April to June 1943. The second major overhaul took place at Liverpool, Nova Scotia beginning in May 1944 and lasting until 22 August 1944. During this second refit, Sherbrooke had her fo'c'sle extended. She needed a further month of repairs at Halifax after completing the refit. [10] [11]
Service history
After arriving at Halifax for deployment, she was initially assigned to Halifax Force as a local escort. In September 1941 she transferred to Newfoundland Command and escorted her first convoy from St. John's to Iceland at the end of that month. She would continue to escort these convoys until January 1942 when the European destination changed to Derry and she became a member of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF). [11]
She served mainly with MOEF escort group C-4. In February 1942 Sherbrooke picked up 15 survivors from the Greek merchant Meropi that had been torpedoed and sunk off Halifax. [10] As a member of C-4 she took part in the major convoy battles for convoy ON 127 in August 1942 and HX 229 in March 1943. [11] On 10 September 1942 she picked up 39 survivors from the Norwegian tanker Sveve that had been torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic. [10]
After returning from her first major refit, Sherbrooke joined the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) which escorted convoys along the North American coast. As a member of WLEF she was initially assigned to escort group W-2, but transferred to W-7 in April 1944. After returning from her second major refit, she rejoined WLEF and was made part of escort group W-1. She remained with this group until the end of the war. [11]
Sherbrooke was paid off at Sorel on 28 June 1945. The ship was sold for scrap in May 1947 and broken up at Hamilton, Ontario. [2] [11] [12]
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 Halifax was a Royal Canadian Navy revised Flower-class corvette which took part in convoy escort duties during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Halifax, Nova Scotia.
HMCS Kenogami was a Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette that served during the Second World War. The corvette served primarily in convoy escort duties during the Battle of the Atlantic. Following the war, the ship was sold for scrap and broken up.
HMCS Kamloops 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 an ocean escort. She was named for Kamloops, British Columbia.
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 Wetaskiwin was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy that served during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named after the city of Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Wetaskiwin was the first Pacific coast built corvette to enter service with the Royal Canadian Navy.
HMCS Galt was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy that served during the Second World War. She saw action primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named after the city of Galt, Ontario.
HMCS Eyebright was a Flower-class corvette that served mainly with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named after the medicinal flowering plant genus Euphrasia.
HMCS Chilliwack was a Flower-class corvette who 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 Chilliwack, British Columbia.
HMCS Napanee was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw service primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She is named after Napanee, Ontario.
HMCS Shediac 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 after the town of Shediac, New Brunswick.
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 Brandon was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw service primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic as an ocean escort. She was named for Brandon, Manitoba.
HMCS Dunvegan 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. After the war she was sold to the Venezuelan Navy. She was named for Dunvegan, Inverness County, Nova Scotia.
HMCS Fennel was a Flower-class corvette that served primarily with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Originally commissioned into the Royal Navy, she served as an ocean escort in the Battle of the Atlantic.
HMCS Kamsack 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 Kamsack, Saskatchewan.
HMCS Lethbridge 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 Lethbridge, Alberta.
HMCS Sorel 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 is named for Sorel, Quebec.
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 Vancouver was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She saw action primarily in both Atlantic and Pacific theatres. She was named for Vancouver, British Columbia. She was the second commissioned ship and the third overall to bear the name Vancouver.
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