HMCS Agassiz was a of the Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

. She was ordered from Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd.

Burrard Dry Dock

Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia . Together with the neighboring North Van Ship Repair yard and the Yarrows Ltd...

 in North Vancouver, British Columbia

North Vancouver, British Columbia

There are two municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, that use the name North Vancouver. These are:*The City of North Vancouver...

 and laid down on 29 April 1940. She was launched

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 15 August 1940 and commissioned on 23 January 1941. She was named after the community of Agassiz, British Columbia

Agassiz, British Columbia

Agassiz is a small community located in British Columbia's Fraser Valley. The only town within the jurisdiction of the District Municipality of Kent, it contains the majority of Kent's population.-References:...

.

Background

Flower-class corvettes like Agassiz serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 were different to earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes. The "corvette" designation was created by the French in the 19th century as a class 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

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

 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.

War duty

Agassiz escorted trade convoys between Halifax Harbour

Halifax Harbour

Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...

 and the Western Approaches

Western Approaches

The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...

 through the battle of the Atlantic. Agassiz participated in the battle for convoy SC 44 before yard overhaul in early 1942. Following that overhaul, Agassiz participated in the battle for convoy ON 102 with Mid-Ocean Escort Force

Mid-Ocean Escort Force

Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...

 (MOEF) group A3, the battle for convoy SC 97 with MOEF group C2 and the battles for convoy ON 115 and convoy SC 109 with MOEF group C3. Following yard overhaul in early 1943, Agassiz was assigned to MOEF group C1 and escorted 12 trans-Atlantic convoys without loss before another yard overhaul in early 1944. After that overhaul, Agassiz escorted North American coastal convoys with the Western Local Escort Force

Western Local Escort Force

Western Local Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys from North American port cities to the Western Ocean Meeting Point near Newfoundland where ships of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force assumed responsibility for safely delivering the convoys...

 from March 1944 until February 1945. The ship was decommissioned and sold in 1945 following the end of hostilities.

Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted

Convoy	Escort Group	Dates	Notes
OB 347		22-31 July 1941	64 ships escorted without loss from Iceland Iceland Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...  to dispersal
HX HX convoys The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom...  143		8-17 August 1941	73 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON ON convoys The ON convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Battle of the Atlantic .-History:...  8		21-25 August 1941	46 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
SC SC convoys The SC convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys that ran during the battle of the Atlantic during World War II.They were east-bound slow convoys originating in Sydney, Cape Breton ; from there they sailed to ports in the UK, mainly Liverpool.For a time after the entry of the...  44		12-22 September 1941	Newfoundland to Iceland; 4 ships torpedoed & sunk
ON 19A		22 September-4 October 1941	Iceland shuttle
SC 50		19-31 October 1941	41 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 32		6-14 November 1941	49 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
SC 56		24 November-5 December 1941	45 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
HX 184		12-19 April 1942	30 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
ON 91		2-11 May 1942	31 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 190	MOEF group A3 Mid-Ocean Escort Force Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...	20-27 May 1942	18 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 102	MOEF group A3	10-21 June 1942	Northern Ireland to Newfoundland; 1 ship torpedoed & sunk
HX 196	MOEF group A3	2-10 July 1942	42 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 114	MOEF group A3	20-30 July 1942	32 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
ON 115	MOEF group C3	31 July-3 August 1942	battle reinforcement
SC 97	MOEF group C2	22-26 August 1942	Newfoundland to Northern Ireland: 2 ships torpedoed & sunk
SC 98	MOEF group C3 Mid-Ocean Escort Force Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...	2–8 September 1942	69 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 131	MOEF group C3	19–28 September 1942	54 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 210	MOEF group C3	7–14 October 1942	36 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 141	MOEF group C3	26 October-3 November 1942	59 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 109	MOEF group C3	16–27 November 1942	Newfoundland to Northern Ireland; 2 ships torpedoed (1 sank)
ON 152	MOEF group C3	10–28 December 1942	15 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 127	MOEF group C1 Mid-Ocean Escort Force Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...	20 April-2 May 1943	55 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 184	MOEF group C1	16-25 May 1943	39 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 242		6-14 June 1943	61 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 190		25 June-3 July 1943	87 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 247		14-21 July 1943	71 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 195		1-8 August 1943	51 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 252		20-27 August 1943	52 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 201		10-18 September 1943	70 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 258		28 September-5 October 1943	59 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 207		19-28 October 1943	52 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 264		5-16 November 1943	65 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 213		27 November-7 December 1943	60 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland

External links

• Canadian Navy Heritage Project: Ship Technical Information
• Canadian Navy Heritage Project: Photo Archive