Pinned post for Q&A :)

The Flower Class is much like the Hawker Hurricane. It never got the publicity of more glamorous machines, but it stopped Britain crashing out of the war in the first few years.

“The Cruel Sea,” gives a fictional account of duty on a Flower Class Corvette. I can’t speak to its accuracy, but it’s a very good book.

Fun Fact: There was indeed an HMS Pansy completed under that name, she was a WW1 Cabbage-class minesweeper.

Little cute warships screaming WAAAGH at any uboat they find

I live in Nova Scotia and have been aboard the Sackville several times. Late in the season, hardly a soul aboard I roamed the ship alone quietly listening to her as she moved beneath my feet. She is Canada's official naval memorial and the RCN takes her from the Maritime Museum of the North Atlantic to the naval dockyard every winter where she receives the care she so richly deserves.

On a side note , yesterday the 24 of May , Texas State House has approved $ 35,000,000 US for the restoration of the USS Texas BB35 . Governor Abbott is expected to sign the bill .

Unsung heroes of the war. It's hard to imagine a more perfect counterpart to the liberty ships they were escorting.

Good to see one of the most important classes of ship during WW2 getting some attention, nice one Drac.

My dad served on a Flower class Corvette during the Battle of The Atlantic. His station was in the boiler/engine room. He didn’t talk about it a lot. My father passed in 1993. In around 2012 I toured the Sackville in Halifax and they let me go down below. What a hell of a scary way to spend your late teens and early twenties.

I'm putting a model of a flower class corvette together for a wargame. it will now be call HMS Pansy.

The USN officially received nine Flower class corvettes from Canadian dockyards and ten directly from RN service in 1942 and early 1943, all to fill in dire shortages of convoy escorts across the Atlantic and from the Caribbean to New York and Canada. The British built ships served as transatlantic convoy escorts through early 1944. Eight Canadian built vessels actually served in the USN while one, USS Beacon, assigned to the USN and commissioned as a USN ship, never actively serving. She was transferred the RN as the HMS Dittany in May, 1943. These modified Flowers were classed as patrol gunboats in USN service, a role the Canadian built ships actually performed. All eight vessels escorted coastal convoys up and down the US coast, to and from the Caribbean and sometimes as far north as Newfoundland. The British built ships were taken in hand as soon as they could get to a US dockyard. The British 4" was replaced with US 4"/50 and the aft Vickers 2 pdr pom pom or twin Lewis guns replaced with a 3"/50. The other Lewis guns were either replaced or augmented with 20mm Oerlikons. The Canadian built ships came with a standard armament of two 3"/50 and 2-4 20mm guns. The USS Pert, maintaining the USN tradition of placing a gun everywhere there was an empty space, had, in addition to the 3" guns, at least seven 20mm, three twin Lewis gun, and a single Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun mounted on top of the bridge. There was a good reason for all these gun, beyond the enjoyment US sailors took firing guns. Coastal convoys were often attacked by U-boats running on the surface. Because the PGs retained their British Type 271 radar, the rest of the war up to about 1944, they were able to detect submarines up to 3,500 yards, or about 2 miles. This was often more than the U-boat lookouts could see in the typical haze and fog of the coast, especially at night. Once detected, the PG would call for flank speed and charge the U-boat with guns blazing, the hail of fire forcing the U-boat to dive with alacrity. Once it was down, the PG would track the sub with its ASDIC (also British) and hold it down until faster escorts could arrive to attack it. The PG would then sprint back to the convoy and take up the escort role again. U-boats attacked East Coast convoys in wolf packs, and each PG would often have to perform their cavalry charge attacks five or six times during a single escort voyage. The little PG/Flower class corvettes were roundly hated by US sailors for the rolling Drach mentioned, lack of berthing accommodations, and the constant wetness of the ship. Since the ships were built with North Atlantic duty in mind, one can only imagine the torture of being below decks in tropical waters. Nevertheless, the plucky little ships plugged a hole in US escort capabilities during the first two years of the US war, and their presence saved many a merchant ship and the lives of many merchant sailors.

The Flower Class corvettes were definitely the _cutest_ ships of World War Two, if not the most powerful. 😍

Imagine what a moral boost HMS Pansy would have been to all those in the Navy, not serving on her.

A couple of Flowers in formation with the Royal Oak had she survived to see the Flowers launched could have been called "The Flowers of the Forest" formation.

My father served on the K-136, HMCS Shawinigan shown here 9:18. Sunk in the Gulf of St. Laurence with all hands lost. Fortunately for me, he had just transferred to the K-350, HMCS Cape Breton before that last patrol. He suffered from survivors guilt for the rest of his life.

Well done sir. The Flower Class was a literal war winner that was forgotten quicker than the Daily Mail's support of Hitler. In the late 60's, early 70's, there was one book about small attack boats (MTB/MGB/E-Boats &c) that praised boat that did nowt for Britain, but ignored the Flower Class, which did more than Bomber Command's heavies ever managed before 44. I started praising the Class after seeing a handmade model in some museum (and I can't remember which), which had a label explaining how vomiting was what you did if you served on one. The men who served on these knew they were on a Woolworth ship that would never be made glorious, no matter what they did. but they bloody well serve well enough to make the difference.

I imagine that the sailors of the HMS Pansi would have to been some toughest men to ever sail the seas.

I'm reminded of that line... "Oh, look at the pretty flower."

I've always loved the idea of grim, humourless and hardened Nazi submariners meeting a watery fate at the hands of something called like "HMS Daisy".

Watch the excellent film 'The Cruel Sea' (1953) based on a novel by a Royal Navy escort warship officer for a accurate look at the Flower class corvettes at war.

I half expect to see one of these retroactively named "HMS Pineapple-Under-the-Sea". It doesn't send out sonar pings, just recordings of Spongebob's laugh.

This is a story of the Battle of the Atlantic, the story of the ocean, two ships, and a handful of men. The men are the heroes; the HEROINES the SHIPS. The only villain is the sea, The CRUEL SEA that man has made more cruel.

A rose by any other name...still carried depth charges, except for Pansy which bravely ran away And of of course "Man up there Buttercup"! (Yes, there was a Buttercup!) OH god the jokes are endless! Leave it to the Brits that even in the darkest hours of WW2 they could find a way to entertain the masses.

"sea keeping ability so good she would roll on wet grass." was how i remember the flower class described.

I'd love to see the Australian Bathurst class sloops. They were another brilliant innovative design using our limited Industry at the time. Much like the excellent Owen sub-machine gun. They were very similar to the Flowers, we built a lot & several survived. Please look into them. Thanks!

Great video. Other considerations for the construction of the Flower class was that it used dockyards that would not usually construct warships - thus not adding to the strain on limited dockyard facilities and the triple expansion engines obviously didn't not require turbine blades which were also in limited supply. Similar thinking was behind the design of the RAN Bathurst class. I think there is a bit in one of David Browns books on the effects of motion (and general living conditions) on the ability of sailors to function efficiently which suggests that the rolling of the Flowers and the appalling messing facilities actually degraded their combat efficiency. The Cruel Sea both book and film (but not the band) are excellent depictions of Atlantic convoys and warships which have the ring of authenticity given Nicholas Monsarrat's service in the RN.

My father spent the war in these ships. He was a radio operator. and worked the North Atlantic as well as the Murmansk runs.

My grandfather served on the HMCS SNOWBERRY for the whole war. He was 19 with 3 yrs experience in the Merchant Marine. When the Canadian government drafted them all into the RCN he had too buy his own uniform. Some of those Corvettes had logs mounted and painted black to resemble a gun because there were not enough too go around. And a special note for American readers, Canadian ships had black antifouling paint, not Red.

Whales, subs, whatever. Just chase the big underwater thing.

My favorite ship story of all time relates the story of a flower class ship named, " Compass Rose."

The joke about the Catalina and the flower class was hilarious

My father served on an US Navy LST in WW2. Crossed the Atlantic, the Med, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific to Okinawa before he was discharged. He once reminisced about the small escort ships that accompanied. Remembering how they crossed the convoy and steamed everywhere nearby protecting the ships. Undoubtably the Flower class was included.

Thank you for covering these ships - the unglamarous ships that so many served (and died in) that win wars but (almost) nobody ever talks about.

My father served on H.M.C.S. Midland, K-220, for most of the war. Thank you !!

My great grandfather was a stoker aboard HMS Freesia, another Flower class Corvette. He was a stoker on the mighty Hood beforehand and had been granted shore leave. With the Hood being sent out to the Bismarck while on leave (and sadly never to return), he was reassigned to the Freesia and operated on the Cape Town to Freetown and Freetown to Londonderry African convoys in the south Atlantic as well as operating on the Durban - Kilindini convoys. Freesia also lead 'Force F' in Operation Ironclad, the beach landing of Courier Bay in Madagascar.

In August 1942, my great uncle's ship was torpedoed by U-176 in the mid-Atlantic. The survivors (including my great uncle) spent about 10 days in lifeboats. Two of the lifeboats were found by a Flower class corvette, HMS Snowflake, which landed the survivors in Northern Ireland. I'd say the Flower class ships were, like so many of the allies' weapons, "good enough". They served their purpose in helping get the merchant ships through... It was the Liberators and Catalina's closing the air coverage gap and then the HUK groups that finished the U-boats off.

I remember an old friend telling me how his Flower Class Corvette fired on the beaches during D-Day. So much they needed new barrels fitted

I saw the HMCS Sackville in Halifax back in 2010, beautiful ship. Wish I took more photos. :(

Ever since reading The Cruel Sea I've been fascinated with this class of ship and awed by the spirit of the men who served on them. For me it highlights how so many people worked in less than glamorous but vital roles to achieve a common goal

It says something that if you take every convoy in the North Atlantic and put them together, fully half of the escorts would be Flowers. Given they were slowly phased out of Royal Navy service it's particularly remarkable. Originally they were supposed to operate in coastal waters and hand over to destroyers in the open sea but ended up doing most of the work themselves. It's also worth noting that the German examples were used as anti aircraft ships mostly and had a huge arsenal- mostly mounted high in the ship. I'm assuming that nobody realised that pitching all over the place doesn't make that layout particularly effective... In early ships, with the pom poms being in short supply there was a frankly insane steam powered catapault that would throw explosives into the air fitted on a number of ships. Unsuprisingly it was woefully ineffective and short ranged, but the large bursts it made in the air possibly had some value as a deterrant.

My great grandfather served on HMCS Brandon (k149) in the Canadian Navy, survived the war and got credit for shooting down an aircraft. My grandfather had a picture of him manning a gun in assuming to be one of the twin .50s.

Apparently they had to do a depth charge attack at full speed, to avoid having their sterns blown off.

Well done.....so many volunteers went to sea as young men on board these vessels. the non glamourous and unsung heroes of the Battle of the Atlantic.....the longest battle of WWII.

My grandfather was Captain of HMS Abelia, a flower class corvette

Excellent video, sir. The “little ships” didn’t get much glory, but did yeoman service in the war.

Ah, a reason to visit Halifax. Nice ships, I had never heard of them, but these are just the kind of ships I like to be informed about on your channel.

My father served in HMCS Matapedia (K-112) and HMCS Pictou (K-146). The crew berths were hammocks in the mess deck in the fo'c's'le where it was said to perpetually smell of the combination of sea water, fuel oil, and vomit.

"Greyhound, Dicky. I have him dead to rights. I'm attacking."

While not part of the flower class, ships like HMS Bedfordshire, lost off Ocracoke Island in the US, were instrumental in the defense against U-boats. Drach, I don't know if you have the time but a story on the tragic tale of the Bedfordshire would be welcome.

"The Cruel Sea" - Nicholas Monsarrat. Great novel starring the Flower Class in the North Atlantic. (And some sailors, etc._) There is also a film based on the novel, don't know if it is any good. "The Good Shepherd" - C. S. Forester also good from the U.S. perspective, but no Flower Class corvettes as best I recall. (Forester was not all about Hornblower and the HMS Indefatigable) Having spent a bit of my young life bobbing around in the North Atlantic on a considerably larger U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (378 feet long, 3,100 tons) I can appreciate some of what these people went through. At least on Ocean Station we could pick our course to mitigate the waves. Getting stuck in the trough (beam seas) would be miserable.

My father served on a Flower class corvette as an Engineering Artificer during the war courtesy of the Volunteer Reserve aka Wavy Navy -- he was a steam fitter in the coal industry before the war and the Flowers were powered by low-pressure reciprocating steam plant similar to the boilers, pumps and winding engines used in coal mines. He told me he was on a convoy escort trip to Murmansk once when the EO came down into the nice warm engine spaces and told him to get a detail together and come up top to secure the deck cargo since the weather reports had said "there was going to be a bit of a blow" and, of course as you said the Flowers rolled a bit in a chop. The ship was carrying crates of supplies on deck for themselves and other escorts plus extra depth charges and the like. My Dad got a puller and wires and, accompanied by some of the black gang went up on deck to tie the crates down a bit more to prevent them getting washed overboard. When he got there he found the cargo was glued to the deck with a thick layer of sea-ice and it wasn't going anywhere soon... he finished his service in the Med on HMS Kimberley, one of only two K-class destroyers that didn't get sunk or wrecked during the war. It turned out he was eligible for a medal the Soviet Union issued to foreign servicemen and merchant marine who served in the convoys to Murmansk but he never claimed for it.

Thank you. Hal Lawrence wrote 3 books describing his service in the RCN during WW2. They include his account of leading a boarding party of 2 onto a German submarine attacked by his ship. They offer an insight into the lives of the men and sailors that fought in the escort navy small ships and are an excellent read. Highly recommended.

The sheer number of these built must have made finding unused names challenging - lampshaded in "The Cruel Sea" by the ship being called HMS Compass Rose (though they *could* have resorted to HMS Pansy). Similarly, the Castle-class frigate which appear later is HMS Saltash Castle - "I didn't know Saltash had a castle".

There's always one who cares how long it is. The content is always well researched and presented. Well done sir as usual.

Well I have rewatched this episode at least 10 times in the last four years … there is something about these little ships and their brave crews that speaks volumes … Thanks and Cheers Drach ….!

Imagine sailing across the Atlantic on one of this little ships. The idea terrifies me. You'd be lucky to get me on a modern cruise liner, let alone a WW2 flower class.

Awesome video old man! I'd been waiting for this for a while now! And yes HMCS Sackville remains the last corvette and recently underwent a major refit. As to the naming, I think it was suspected that it was kind of a snide piece of snark by the British. After all it's one thing to be sunk after a long hard fight with HMS King George V or HMS Warspite and quite another to be sunk by HMS Periwinkle. I mean, it just doesn't have the same "oomph".

My Grandad was a petty officer on the lowers , he'd served on the Hood and was transferred onto the Flowers a few months before she was sunk by the Bismark , He'd been a trawlerman and in both the North and Irish Sea , so when the Flowers were used for minesweeping in the North Sea that's where they stationed him , a mine blew the ship up , thankfully He survived that but sadly was later killed in 1944 . I never got to meet him though My Gran often spoke of him, I have the pictures of both him in uniform and My Gran on their wedding day hung in my living room and frequently visit their graves . Thanks for the info , I was hoping I might of seen a glimpse of him on one of the photo's , He Never told My Gran the name of any of the ships he was serving on until he'd stopped serving on that ship "Loose Lips sink Ships" so I don't know which ship of the Flowers He'd served just that it was at least 3 .

Many years ago had a summer job working on a tour boat that moored at the Maritime Museum dock in Halifax when HMCS Sackville was towed in right next to our berth to begin restoration. We needed to borrow a camel (essentially a log wrapped in old tires) from them so we could do some maintenance on our vessel. Got a quick tour of the above deck area from one of the guys working on the old girl. She looked tired but proud. Sadly I had moved across the country by the time the restoration was complete so I haven't had the chance to see her brought back to glory (bucket list, for sure). I'm glad she's there as a reminder of the hardship and danger faced not only by the crews of these vessels, but of the service and loss of the unsung merchant mariners who served in the longest, most hazardous, critical and overlooked battle of WW2.

My father served as a medical officer on a Corvette in the Canadian Navy after WW2. In the war he was in the army, went to Medical School on his GI (?) education pay. As such he had to agree to serve for 5 more years in the forces. He chose the Navy because he grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan and decided that going to sea would be interesting. Also my uncle was a naval officer. My father as a reservist would go off to sea a couple of times a year for 2 weeks. He said he never got seasick except for a few times coming close while in Corvettes. He said that the ship could roll so far from side to side that you could reach out a porthole and get a cup of seawater. But the worst was that the ship didn’t just roll but twisted at the same time. Like a corkscrew. It’s passage was erratic. He told me that it would do this while tied up at a pier:). But he kept going out and stayed in the reserve for 15 years.

Fantastic video...that story about the PBY and Flower class is properly funny. What's also funny is a 1,000 ton, minimally armed converted trawler being named Fury. Was its battle flag a giant middle finger as well??

Thanks for the video, Drac! The stories of these brave little ships were exciting to read as a child, and terrifying to think about when one got a little older. The hardships that the sailors endured in those small, cramped, damp ships. Please think of them this Memorial Day?

As British sailors wore their ship's name on their hatband, I can imagine a mutiny on HMS Pansy, with all sailors refusing to go ashore.

Watched an old Royal Navy inspired war at sea series many years ago (anyone remember it?) and it was said that one Captain signalled another Captain of a flower class "have just seen down your funnel...fire burning brightly" so rolling about at sea was common it seems. That series also interviewed the real people involved in battles, so very factual all round. Pity they were only about 30 minutes long.

I have far more interest in these small units than in the capital ships. They did the work, were constantly rushed out to front lines and did more to end the war than the "mighty" battleshits which in most navies did nothing but hide in harbors, afraid of getting their paint scratched. Thank you for this episode!

I hope that you'll deal with the River-class frigates next; they were the effective evolution of the Flowers in many ways.

My old chiropractor served aboard Canadian Flower class ships. Due to their short length they bounced around a lot in the North Atlantic swell and sailors were "sick" much of the time below decks.

The Flower Class. Workhorse of the Royal Navy. Crewed with reservists and volunteers. And yet they saved the lives of so many merchant-ship sailors. By the way, to all those who haven't, you should read The Cruel Sea and watch the movie as well. Outstanding look at how it was to serve onboard one of these.

Another excellent video. The Flower class is one of the many unsung heroes of the Atlantic campaign. I build model ships for radio control. Revell for some time marketed a Flower class model large enough to be easily fitted for r/c. You can still find one occasionally on ebay. Yes, even when properly ballasted the model WILL roll heavily when a duck cruises past though it can sometimes keep up with the duck. :-) When the wind picks up unexpectedly and generates chop you can put her nose into it and she WILL ride it out very nicely, much better than either of my larger Fletcher class destroyers.

Well done , sir! My first exposure to the “Flower” class Corvette was from the classic novel “ The Cruel Sea“ by Nicholas Monsarrat. A very enjoyable book that sent this US born individual into the history of Her (then His) Majesties’ Navy when he was just an adolescent. This particular video filled in a lot of questions I had about the class.

You have to love the Flower class, they were the little ships that could.

I was visiting one of the US Coast Guard's on-base museums out in Seattle and the gentleman who gave me a tour of their little collection told me how the crews of these ships were very happy about the name changes. He said the new names made it easier for the sailors to get a drink at the local bars as it was hard to be taken seriously when your ship was named after a flower.

Hilarious episode, thanks! And yes, our brave Belgian Navy guys sailed on the K193 and K226.

My freshly-awakened brain at 7:20AM: “Hey, what if instead of the ‘Flower’ class they’d been the ‘Bird’ class? We could’ve had HMS Woodpecker, HMS Titmouse, even HMS Booby!” Me: “If I didn’t have work in 45 minutes you’d be going right back to bed.”

Important little ships. The same principle still applies to the USN and RN re: cost of modern destroyes, for which many of its roles can be carried out by smaller frigates and corvettes.

I haven't been onboard the Sackville in a long time but it was a real treat to take a tour. Last I had heard she was not aging well and local governments were trying to find funds to keep her in good condition

I live 1 mile from Smith Dock. The history of the Dock is not told at all. Thanks. 👍

Am I the only one who has Dracs videos playing while I'm cooking and/or drinking

Thanks for featuring the Flower Class. They also represent a brave chapter in the history of the Royal Canadian Navy when Canada was tasked with mid ocean convoy escort duty and left to learn this brutal business pretty much on its own. The Corvette was its primary ship in the early years. You didn't mention that a surfaced U-Boat was several knots faster than a Corvette. This made surface night attack by submarine a very successful tactic in the years before radar was widely installed in the convoy escorts. Inadequacies not withstanding, they got the job done and had a key role in ensuring that the Allies didn't lose the Battle of the Atlantic, putting Britain out of the war. Ponder that when you look at the homely Corvette.

I’d love to hear about the USS Nevada. Having been sunk at Pearl Harbor, she was renovated and went on to compile an illustrious record at Attu, Normandy, Cherbourg, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, earning 7 Battle Stars. After WW2, she served as the bullseye ship for Able Test at Operation Crossroads Atomic Bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946. Quite a career for any vessel, wouldn’t you say?

one of your best vids yet. Obscure topic, humor, you got it all.

G'day there Drachinifel once again a great video especially for being on one of the most Important ship of the Atlantic theatre the Flower class. Well anyway I was wondering if you could do a five minute on the Bathurst class AMS (Australian Minesweeper) which most will call a corvette very similar ship just a few defences. Now for a special guide you could do it on HMAS Armidale (J240) only ship of her class lost to enemy action. please do consider this if you see this at all.

The ships that won the Battle of the Atlantic a real shame there is not one left in the UK., thank god for the Canadians who crewed them in large numbers in a Navy that had to expand and learn really really fast. The Cruel Sea is of course the book to read to get a flavour of what serving in these great little ships was all about - the film is also pretty good as well.

The little ships that could. Truly one of the best yet over looked classes of the war. They saved Britain when her back was against the wall.

The Flower class is a perfect representation of the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Numerous, but not flashy, packed a surprising amount of firepower... for their size, and stuck doing the rather monotonous and thankless job of escorting convoys and occasionally shooting at a U-Boat.

Great post. Of particular interest for me as my Father was a Wireless Telegraphist aboard K71 HMS Pimpernel.

As a former USN sailor your humor is greatly appreciated

Had an uncle who served on them.Apparently the foreward head drained directly to the sea, basically a straight open pipe. Made a very good, if cold, bidet when she rolled the right way.

A novel “The Cruel Sea” about a fictional Flower class corvette “Compass Rose” excellent reading. I read this as a teenager, and recently re-read it. Also, listened to it on audio book. Really brings this era to life. The sacrifices and hardships our fathers endured.

One of my favorite ship classes. I have a memory of reading an account of signals between the Periwinkle and a large capital ship. I believe the signals were. "Periwinkle come here so I may eat you!" "Named for flower not shellfish." "Come here so I might pollinate you!"

This is brilliant! This guy knows what he is talking about, with tongue fixed firmly in cheek

Sounds like blooming great ships!

(Noticed, from Wikipedia " Some Flower-class corvettes transferred to the USN from Canada were manned by the US Coast Guard.")

My Dad in his later years felt quite certain that as a Canadian Merchant Mariner he wouldn't have survived the the War without aid of the Corvettes.

Thanks for the shout-out to the HMCS Sackville. I gave guided tours of the ship last summer and had a great time doing it. The use of these small ships changed the Royal Canadian Navy forever. For anyone visiting Halifax Nova Scotia over the summer, I would recommend visiting her, as it is not too expensive ($5 for adults normally), the ship is rarely filled to capacity to the point where you would have to wait to get on, and if there are any members of the Naval Memorial Trust there, they are usually thrilled to talk about the ship. Just make sure you check to see if the ship is open before planning a visit, as maintenance and other factors can sometimes require the ship to close for the day or close early. The Ship is also closed during the winter, where it is maintained by the RCN.

The Cruel Sea is one of my favourite movies.

did you know the Belgian navy continued their names into their minesweepers and minesweeper support ships.... Narcis, Lobelia, Primulia, Krokus, Zinnia, Godetia...as a tribute to the flower class corvettes

How about a video comparing and differentiating the classes of ships smaller than destroyers. You mentioned a few in this video, (Frigate, Corvette, Sloop); so what fits a ship into each class?

Gotta love the fightn' Begonia and Pansy! Roll roll roll your boat gently down the grass!