FLOWER-Class
corvette ordered from Fleming and Ferguson
at Paisley on 28th. August 1940. She was
laid down on 1st October 1940 and was
launched on 17th April 1941 as the first RN
warship to bear this name. Build was
completed on 29th September
1941. The ship was adopted
by the civil community of Alcester,
Warwickshire after a successful WARSHIP WEEK
National Savings Campaign in March 1942.
(Note: The design of this ship
incorporated some of the modifications
introduced as a result of war experience
had revealed some of the shortcomings
of the Whaler type structure.)
B
a t t l
e H o n o u r
ATLANTIC
1940-44
- BISCAY 1943
H
e r a l d i
c D a t a
In
common with many other warships commissioned
for
service
during
WW2 and which carried a name not previously
borne by
a
warship
no formal approval was given by the
Admiralty for use
of
a
Ships Badge. Many ships did however use an
informal Badge.
S
u m m a r
y o f
W a r S e r v i
c e
(for more
ship information,
go
to
Naval History Homepage
and
type name in Site Search
1
9 4 1
September
Contractors Trials and
commissioning for service in Western
Approaches
Command for Atlantic
convoy defence.
29th
Build completion and commenced
Acceptance Trials.
October
On completion of trials and
storing took passage to Tobermory
for work-up
prior to joining
8th Escort Group.
Worked-up for
operational service at Tobermory
(Note: This ship
may have been amongst the first escorts to
carry out her
work-up for
operational service at this newly opened
base.)
Passage to Liverpool
to join Group.
S
p e c i
a l N o t e
Dates
of
joining escort of outbound convoys and
arrival of inbound convoys escorted
by the Escort Group to
which this ship
belonged are shown. Dates of detaching
are not shown. The ship may not have been
with the
Group on every
occasion, if
under refit, maintenance or repair. With one
exception, as recorded, no ships
escorted by the
two Groups were sunk or damaged.
November
Deployed at Liverpool pending return of ships of Group from escort of outward
Convoy ON30 to
the Dispersal Point in NW Approaches.
16th
Deployed with Group for escort of
outward Convoy ON37 of 43 ships.
Detached from
ON37 with Group and returned to Liverpool.
December
8th
Deployed with ships of Group for
escort of outward Convoy ONS44 of 34
ships.
Detached from ONS44 on
arrival at Dispersal Point in NW
Approaches.
Joined escort
for inward Convoy SC58 during passage to
Liverpool.
21st
Detached from SC58 on arrival.
(Note: Details
of warships involved will be recorded in
Command War Diary
which should be
available in the Public Record Office at
Kew.)
Other
warships in Group were:
HM
Destroyers WATCHMAN, MALCOLM, BEVERLEY,
SARDONYX
and SCIMITAR, HMS NEWMARKET, HM Corvettes
ARABIS,
DAHLIA, SNOWFLAKE, VERBENA, VIOLET and
PETUNIA.)
1
9 4 2
January
12th
Deployed with Group for escort of
outward Convoy ON51.
Detached from ON51 on
arrival at Dispersal Point in NW
Approaches.
February
Joined inward convoy SC66 in
NW Approaches as escort for passage
in NW Approaches
to Liverpool
9th
Detached from SC676 on arrival.
March
Nominated for transfer to
B1 Escort Group based at Londonderry
Deployed in Home waters.
(Note: 8th
Escort Group was disbanded early in 1942 but
reformed in 1943.
April
Joined 1st Escort Group
(Note: Other
ships in Group were HM Destroyers HURRICANE,
ROCKINGHAM,
WATCHMAN and HM
Corvette DAHLIA.
May
Passage with ships of
Group to join inward Convoy HX187 of 24
ships
in NW Approaches
as escort into Liverpool.
8th
Detached on arrival.
20th
Deployed as
escort with ships of Group for outward
Convoy ON96 of 41
during passage in
NW Approaches
June
Detached from ON96 and
joined inward Convoy HX193 of 31 ships
in NW Approaches
as escort with ships of Group during
passage to
Liverpool.
19th
Detached from HX193 on arrival.
July
1st
Deployed with ships of Group as
escort for outward Convoy ONS108
of 37 ships
during passage in NW Approaches.
Detached
from ONS108
in NW Approaches.
Joined inward
Convoy SC92 of 43 ships as escort for
passage into
Liverpool.
31st
Detached fromSC92 on arrival.
August
6th
Deployed with ships of Group
for escort of outward Convoy ON119
comprising 32
ships during passage in NW Approaches.
Detached from
ONS119 and joined inward Convoy HX201 of 30
ships
as escort during
passage to Liverpool.
14th
Detached from HX201 on arrival.
23rd
Deployed with ships of Group as
escort for outward Convoy ONS124
comprising 31
ships during passage in NW Approaches.
Detached and
returned to Londonderry.
September
Passage to join inward Convoy
HX206 of 45 ships in NW Approaches
as escort during
passage to Liverpool.
18th
Detached from HX206 on arrival.
27th
Deployed with ships of Group as
escort for outward Convoy ON134
comprising
42
ships during passage in NW Approaches.
October
Detached from ON134 and
returned to Londonderry.
Passage with
ships of Group to join Inward Convoy SC105
of 50 ships
in
NW Approaches for escort into Liverpool
30th
Detached from SC105 on arrival.
November
Passage with ships of Group to
join HX215 comprising 42 ships
for escort during
passage to Liverpool in NW Approaches.
25th
Detached from HX215 on arrival.
December
4th
Deployed with ships of Group as
escort for outward Convoy ON151
of 36 ships
during passage in NW Approaches
Detached from
ONS151 and returned to Londonderry with
escort.
1
9 4 3
January
Passage
with ships of Group in
NW Approaches to meet inward
Convoy SC114
of 34 ships and escort to Liverpool.
7th
Detached from SC114 on arrival.
24th
Deployed with ships of Group for
escort of outward Convoy ON 162
comprising 58
ships as escort for passage in NW
Approaches.
(Note: Other
Ships in1st Escort Group in 1943 were:
HM
Corvettes
MEADOWSWEET, WALLFLOWER,
BORAGE, ANCHUSA and HM
Frigate KALE.)
February
Detached from ON162 and
returned to Londonderry.
Passage
in NW approached with
ships of Group to join inward Convoy
SC119 of 39 ships during
passage into Liverpool.
22nd
Detached from SC119 on arrival.
March
5th
Deployed
with ships of Group as
escort for outward Convoy ON 171 of
38 ships during passage
in NW Approaches.
Detached and
returned to Londonderry on relief in Mid
Atlantic.
Passage
with
ships of Group to join inward Convoy HX230
comprising
41 ships and
escorted into Liverpool.
April
2nd
Detached from HX230 on arrival.
13th
Deployed
with ships of Group as
escort for outward Convoy ON178
comprising 57
ships during passage in NW Approaches.
Detached from
ON178 in NW Approaches and returned to
Londonderry.
(Note: The
Norwegian ship SCEBLI was sunk whilst with
this convoy
on 21st April.)
May
Deployed with ships
of Group for escort of inward Convoy X236
comprising 46
ships and took passage to join as escort in
NW
Approaches into Liverpool.
9th
Detached on arrival of HX236.
Nominated
for detached service in joint
RN/RAF anti –submarine
operations in Bay
of Biscay
June
Deployed in Bay of Biscay for
attacks on U-Boats during their
passage
to
July
to and from
bases in French ports
(Operations
MUSKETRY, SEASLUG.)
August
On release from Bay of Biscay operations
resumed convoy escort duties in
to
December
Western
Approaches Command.
(Note: For
details about the Battle of the Atlantic,
the weapons used
during convoy
defence and those by U-Boats see:
THE
ALLIED CONVOY SYSTEM by A Hague
HITLER’S
U-BOAT WAR by C Blair
U-BOAT
WAR IN THE ATLANTIC (HMSO)
SEEK
AND STRIKE by W Hackmann
CONVOY
ESCORT COMMANDER by P Gretton
THE
BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC by D MacIntyre
Naval
Staff History)
1
9 4 4
January
Atlantic deployment in
continuation.
to
May
(Note: No
record of attachment to an existing Escort
Group has been
traced and
requires further research. Deployment in the
Atlantic
during 1944 is
confirmed by the award of Battle Honour
ATLANTIC
1939-44.
May
Atlantic deployment
in continuation
to
July
(Note: This
ship did not take part in preliminary
exercises and operations
during
the allied
invasion of Normandy (Operation NEPTUNE).
See
LANDINGS IN NORMANDY, June 1944 (HMSO).
August
Home waters deployment
for convoy defence in continuation.
to
December
1
9 4 5
January
Home waters deployment in
continuation.
to
May
(Note: During
this period extensive anti-submarine
patrol
operations
were carried out
and the number of ships used as escorts for
coastal convoys
was increased to counter attacks by
SCHNORKEL
fitted and
conventional submarines as well as
midget submarines in
English
Channel and North Sea. See
references.)
June
To meet the
requirements for manning of new ships
preparing for use in the
to
August
Far East, many
ships of this type were Paid-off and placed
in Reserve at UK ports.
Further
research is required to establish the date
that this ship was laid-up.
(Note:
Reference should be made to the Admiralty
PINK Lists held in the Naval
Historical
Branch, MOD, London for this period which
give information
about
planned, but not actual, deployments of
warships.)
P
o s t W a
r N o t e s
HMS
MONKSHOOD was placed on
the Disposal List in 1947 and sold to a
commercial
shipping
company for use as a mercantile. Renamed ss
W R STRANG she was under British
ownership until 1957 when sold to a Japanese
company and renamed TOSHI MARU This
ship was sold in 1965 for breaking-up in
Japan.
Addenda
CONVOY
ESCORT MOVEMENTS
of HMS
MONKSHOOD
by
Don Kindell
These
convoy lists have not been cross-checked
with the text above
|
|
|
|
|
Date
convoy sailed
|
Joined
convoy as escort
|
Convoy
No.
|
Left
convoy
|
Date
convoy arrived
|
|
|
|
|
|
30/08/41
|
01/09/41
|
ON
011
|
04/09/41
|
11/09/41
|
24/08/41
|
05/09/41
|
SC
041
|
11/09/41
|
11/09/41
|
10/09/41
|
22/09/41
|
HX
149
|
25/09/41
|
25/09/41
|
04/10/41
|
05/10/41
|
ON
023
|
12/10/41
|
19/10/41
|
05/10/41
|
13/10/41
|
HX
153
|
16/10/41
|
19/10/41
|
26/10/41
|
26/10/41
|
ON
030
|
02/11/41
|
09/11/41
|
23/10/41
|
05/11/41
|
SC
051
|
07/11/41
|
09/11/41
|
15/11/41
|
18/11/41
|
ON
037
|
22/11/41
|
30/11/41
|
15/11/41
|
25/11/41
|
HX
160
|
29/11/41
|
30/11/41
|
27/12/41
|
28/12/41
|
ON
051
|
02/01/42
|
11/01/42
|
27/12/41
|
07/01/42
|
HX
167
|
10/01/42
|
11/01/42
|
09/01/42
|
20/01/42
|
SC
064
|
23/01/42
|
23/01/42
|
01/02/42
|
02/02/42
|
ON
062
|
07/02/42
|
15/02/42
|
01/02/42
|
12/02/42
|
HX
173
|
13/02/42
|
14/02/42
|
19/02/42
|
21/02/42
|
ON
068
|
03/03/42
|
09/03/42
|
12/03/42
|
16/03/42
|
SC
074
|
27/03/42
|
28/03/42
|
02/04/42
|
03/04/42
|
ON
082
|
15/04/42
|
18/04/42
|
26/04/42
|
29/04/42
|
HX
187
|
08/05/42
|
08/05/42
|
19/05/42
|
31/05/42
|
ON
096
|
02/06/42
|
07/06/42
|
07/06/42
|
10/06/42
|
HX
193
|
18/06/42
|
19/06/42
|
22/08/42
|
23/08/42
|
ON
124
|
02/09/42
|
06/09/42
|
06/09/42
|
09/09/42
|
HX
206
|
17/09/42
|
18/09/42
|
26/09/42
|
27/09/42
|
ON
134
|
10/10/42
|
17/10/42
|
11/10/42
|
17/10/42
|
SC
105
|
31/10/42
|
31/10/42
|
11/11/42
|
16/11/42
|
HX
215
|
24/11/42
|
25/11/42
|
03/12/42
|
05/12/42
|
ON
151
|
14/12/42
|
23/12/42
|
19/12/42
|
26/12/42
|
SC
114
|
07/01/43
|
07/01/43
|
23/01/43
|
23/01/43
|
ON
162
|
04/02/43
|
11/02/43
|
03/02/43
|
10/02/43
|
SC
119
|
22/02/43
|
22/02/43
|
04/03/43
|
04/03/43
|
ON
171
|
18/03/43
|
23/03/43
|
18/03/43
|
24/03/43
|
HX
230
|
01/04/43
|
02/04/43
|
12/04/43
|
13/04/43
|
ON
178
|
25/04/43
|
02/05/43
|
24/04/43
|
30/04/43
|
HX
236
|
07/05/43
|
09/05/43
|
24/05/43
|
25/05/43
|
ON
186
|
02/06/43
|
07/06/43
|
07/06/43
|
12/06/43
|
HX
243
|
20/06/43
|
21/06/43
|
04/07/43
|
11/07/43
|
OS
051KM
|
12/07/43
|
13/07/43
|
10/07/43
|
12/07/43
|
SL
132MK
|
16/07/43
|
17/07/43
|
23/07/43
|
23/07/43
|
MKS
018G
|
26/07/43
|
26/07/43
|
26/07/43
|
26/07/43
|
SL
133MK
|
03/08/43
|
05/08/43
|
17/08/43
|
17/08/43
|
KMS
024G
|
30/08/43
|
30/08/43
|
04/09/43
|
04/09/43
|
MKS
023G
|
17/09/43
|
17/09/43
|
25/12/43
|
26/12/43
|
OS
063KM
|
08/01/44
|
07/01/44
|
08/01/44
|
08/01/44
|
KMS
037G
|
09/01/44
|
09/01/44
|
09/01/44
|
09/01/44
|
KMS
037
|
20/01/44
|
20/01/44
|
25/12/43
|
10/01/44
|
UGS
028
|
19/01/44
|
21/01/44
|
24/02/44
|
24/02/44
|
PB
069
|
01/03/44
|
01/03/44
|
04/03/44
|
04/03/44
|
BM
088
|
10/03/44
|
10/03/44
|
18/03/44
|
18/03/44
|
XC
017
|
21/03/44
|
21/03/44
|
08/04/44
|
08/04/44
|
MB
072
|
13/04/44
|
13/04/44
|
20/04/44
|
20/04/44
|
BM
094
|
25/04/44
|
25/04/44
|
30/04/44
|
05/05/44
|
CJ
026
|
09/05/44
|
09/05/44
|
17/05/44
|
17/05/44
|
CX
024
|
20/05/44
|
20/05/44
|
14/05/44
|
23/05/44
|
KR
010
|
28/05/44
|
28/05/44
|
18/06/44
|
20/06/44
|
CJ
032
|
26/06/44
|
26/06/44
|
04/07/44
|
04/07/44
|
MB
075A
|
08/07/44
|
08/07/44
|
14/07/44
|
14/07/44
|
BM
095
|
18/07/44
|
unknown
|
22/07/44
|
22/07/44
|
MB
076
|
27/07/44
|
27/07/44
|
05/08/44
|
05/08/44
|
PB
083
|
10/08/44
|
10/08/44
|
04/09/44
|
04/09/44
|
PA
082
|
11/09/44
|
11/09/44
|
16/09/44
|
16/09/44
|
AP
074A
|
22/09/44
|
22/09/44
|
28/10/44
|
30/10/44
|
CJ
041
|
02/11/44
|
04/11/44
|
03/11/44
|
03/11/44
|
HC
078
|
08/11/44
|
08/11/44
|
05/11/44
|
05/11/44
|
CH
049
|
07/11/44
|
07/11/44
|
15/11/44
|
15/11/44
|
CH
052
|
16/11/44
|
16/11/44
|
17/11/44
|
17/11/44
|
HC
081A
|
18/11/44
|
18/11/44
|
24/11/44
|
24/11/44
|
CH
055
|
25/11/44
|
25/11/44
|
07/01/45
|
07/01/45
|
RK
004
|
15/01/45
|
20/01/45
|
09/02/45
|
09/02/45
|
??
009A
|
10/02/45
|
10/02/45
|
20/02/45
|
20/02/45
|
AM
011/1
|
24/02/45
|
24/02/45
|
22/07/45
|
22/07/45
|
RK
014/1
|
24/07/45
|
24/07/45
|
23/07/45
|
23/07/45
|
KR
021A/
|
26/07/45
|
26/07/45
|
25/07/45
|
26/07/45
|
KR
022/1
|
27/07/45
|
27/07/45
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Note
on Convoys)