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HMCS Eyebright

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Flower-class corvette

HMCS Eyebright, between 1943-1945.
History
United Kingdom
NameEyebright
NamesakeEuphrasia
Ordered20 January 1940
BuilderCanadian Vickers Ltd., Montreal
Laid down20 February 1940
Launched22 July 1940
Commissioned26 November 1940
Out of service15 May 1941 - loaned to Canada
IdentificationPennant number: K150
FateLoaned to Canada 1941; returned 1945; sold 1947
Canada
NameEyebright
Acquiredloaned from Royal Navy
Commissioned15 May 1941
Out of service17 June 1945
IdentificationPennant number: K150
Honours and
awards		Atlantic 1941-45
FateReturned to the Royal Navy 17 June 1945.
General characteristics
Class and typeFlower-class corvette (original)
Displacement925 long tons (940 t; 1,036 short tons)
Length205 ft (62.48 m)o/a
Beam33 ft (10.06 m)
Draught11.5 ft (3.51 m)
Propulsion
  • single shaft
  • 2 × fire tube Scotch boilers
  • 1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine
  • 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Speed16 knots (29.6 km/h)
Range3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h)
Complement85
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 1 × SW1C or 2C radar
  • 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament

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.

Background

Main article: Flower-class corvette

Flower-class corvettes like Eyebright serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes. 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. 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. The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.

Construction

She was ordered for the Royal Navy (RN) as HMS Eyebright as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down by Canadian Vickers Ltd. in Montreal, Quebec on 20 February 1940 and launched on 22 July 1940. Eyebright was commissioned into the RN on 26 November 1940 in Montreal. She was towed to Halifax and was finished enough to make an ocean crossing, which she did in January 1941 with HX 104. However she was not completed until 16 April 1941 after she had arrived at Sunderland in the United Kingdom. On 15 May 1941 Eyebright was one of ten corvettes loaned to Canada. She could be told apart from other Canadian Flowers by her lack of minesweeping gear and the siting of the after gun tub amidships.

Eyebright underwent two major refits during her career. Beginning in November 1941, Eyebright refitted in Charlottetown. The refit took two months to complete. The second refit took place in Baltimore, beginning in July 1943 and taking two months to complete.

War service

Royal Navy

After completing Eyebright was sent to work up at Tobermory, where the escort training facilities were located. Once those were finished she was assigned to the RN escort group EG-4 based in Iceland in May 1941.

Royal Canadian Navy

HMCS Eyebright tied to dock wall.

Eyebright was loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy in May 1941. Upon arrival, she was assigned to Newfoundland Command as an ocean escort. There she was placed in the escort group 18N and then beginning in October 1941, group N16. In December 1941 she left for a two-month refit returning in January to serve briefly with escort groups N14 and N13. Eyebright participated in the battle for convoy SC 44 in September 1941. It was to be the only convoy she escorted to lose ships to submarine torpedoes.

Eyebright served with Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) groups C1, C3 and C4 from April 1942 through to November 1944. After returning from her second refit, Eyebright transferred to the Western Local Escort Force (WLEF) in November 1944 as part of escort group W-3. She stayed with that group until the end of the war with two exceptions, one trip with MOEF group C-5 and escorting the last HX convoy of the war to the United Kingdom.

Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted

Convoy Record
Convoy Escort Group Dates Notes
HX 104 21 January – 8 February 1941 21 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
OB 332 13–23 June 1941 43 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
HX 136 30 June – 13 July 1941 46 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
OB 345 16–24 July 1941 60 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
HX 142 5–12 August 1941 65 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 7 21–25 August 1941 38 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
HX 149 13–20 September 1941 57 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
SC 44 20-22 Sept 1941 Newfoundland to Iceland; 4 ships torpedoed & sunk
ON 19A 28 Sept – 4 Oct 1941 Iceland shuttle
SC 49 13-21 Oct 1941 31 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 29 28 Oct – 5 Nov 1941 31 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
SC 66 23 January – 4 February 1942 29 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 64 11–18 February 1942 37 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
SC 72 10–16 March 1942 19 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 78 22 March – 3 April 1942 27 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 79 15–27 April 1942 53 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 93 MOEF group C3 9–17 May 1942 25 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 85 MOEF group C4 31 May – 11 June 1942 60 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 123 MOEF group C1 22–31 August 1942 39 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 99 MOEF group C1 9–19 September 1942 59 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 133 MOEF group C1 26 September – 5 Oct 1942 35 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 211 MOEF group C1 13–20 October 1942 29 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 143 MOEF group C1 2–11 November 1942 26 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 110 MOEF group C1 24 November – 5 December 1942 33 ships escorted without loss from Halifax to Newfoundland
HX 221 MOEF group C3 5–13 January 1943 36 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 163 MOEF group C3 25 January – 8 February 1943 38 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 226 MOEF group C3 14-23 Feb 1943 43 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 172 MOEF group C3 10–21 March 1943 16 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 124 MOEF group C3 28 March – 6 April 1943 33 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 180 MOEF group C3 25 April – 7 May 1943 65 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 238 MOEF group C3 13–21 May 1943 45 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 187 2–10 June 1943 75 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 256 15–21 September 1943 59 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ONS 19 27 September – 9 October 1943 49 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 261 17–25 October 1943 65 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 210 7–17 November 1943 42 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 147 23 November – 3 December 1943 50 ships escorted without loss from Halifax to Newfoundland
ON 216 17–29 December 1943 40 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 150 3–14 January 1944 19 ships escorted without loss from Halifax to Newfoundland
ONS 28 29 January – 11 February 1944 29 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 279 27–28 February 1944 59 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 227 9–17 March 1944 61 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 284 26 March – 5 April 1944 80 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 232 14–23 April 1944 45 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 289 3–13 May 1944 130 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 237 20–29 May 1944 64 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 294 9–19 June 1944 113 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 242 29 June – 5 July 1944 99 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 161 19 November – 3 December 1944 49 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ONS 38 14 December 1944 – 2 January 1945 26 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 358 25 May – 6 June 1945 56 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland; the last HX convoy of the war

Post-war service

Albert W. Vinke

On 17 July 1945 she was returned to the Royal Navy. Laid up, she was and sold for civilian use in 1947 and converted into the Dutch whale-catcher Albert W. Vinke of 717 GRT in 1950. Albert W. Vinke last appeared on Lloyd's Register in 1964–65. The ship was broken up by South African Metal & Machinery Pty Ltd in Cape Town in February 1965.

References

  1. "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  2. ^ Lenton, H.T.; Colledge, J.J (1968). British and Dominion Warships of World War II. Doubleday & Company. pp. 201, 212.
  3. Ossian, Robert. "Complete List of Sailing Vessels". The Pirate King. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
  4. Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. (1978). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons & Warfare. Vol. 11. London: Phoebus. pp. 1137–1142.
  5. Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II. New Jersey: Random House. 1996. p. 68. ISBN 0-517-67963-9.
  6. Blake, Nicholas; Lawrence, Richard (2005). The Illustrated Companion to Nelson's Navy. Stackpole Books. pp. 39–63. ISBN 0-8117-3275-4.
  7. Chesneau, Roger; Gardiner, Robert (June 1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Naval Institute Press. p. 62. ISBN 0-87021-913-8.
  8. Milner, Marc (1985). North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press. pp. 117–119, 142–145, 158, 175–176, 226, 235, 285–291. ISBN 0-87021-450-0.
  9. "HMCS Eyebright (K 150)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  10. ^ Macpherson, Ken; Burgess, John (1981). The ships of Canada's naval forces 1910-1981 : a complete pictorial history of Canadian warships. Toronto: Collins. p. 76. ISBN 0-00216-856-1.
  11. Macpherson, Ken; Milner, Marc (1993). Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy 1939-1945. St. Catharines: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 1-55125-052-7.
  12. ^ "Convoy Web". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  13. ^ "HX convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  14. ^ "ON convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  15. ^ "SC convoys". Andrew Hague Convoy Database. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Eyebright (5008617)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 13 July 2016.

External links

Flower-class corvettes
Original ships
 Free French Naval Forces
 Royal Canadian Navy
 Hellenic Navy
 Royal Navy
 Royal Netherlands Navy
 Royal Norwegian Navy
 South African Navy
 United States Navy
Temptress class
Royal Navy Belgian Section
 Kriegsmarine
Modified ships
 Royal Canadian Navy
 Royal Indian Navy
 Royal Navy
 Royal New Zealand Navy
 United States Navy
Action class
 Argentine Navy
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