HMCS Chilliwack (K131)
Encyclopedia
HMCS Chilliwack 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
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...

, laid down on 3 July 1940, 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 14 September 1940, and commissioned on 8 April 1941 named after the city of Chilliwack, British Columbia
Chilliwack, British Columbia
Chilliwack is a Canadian city in the Province of British Columbia. It is a predominantly agricultural community with an estimated population of 80,000 people. Chilliwack is the second largest city in the Fraser Valley Regional District after Abbotsford. The city is surrounded by mountains and...

.

Background

Flower-class corvettes like Chilliwack 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

Chilliwack 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. Chilliwack participated in the battle for convoy SC 67 before assignment to 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 C1. With group C1, she shared credit for sinking U-356 during the battle for convoy ON 154, and participated in the battles for convoy SC 94 and convoy HX 222. Chilliwack then joined MOEF group A3 in the battle for convoy ON 166. Chilliwack escorted 14 trans-Atlantic convoys without loss in 1944 and spent 1945 escorting 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...

. She was sold at the end of hostilities and scrapped in 1946.

Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted

Convoy Escort Group Dates Notes
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...

 145
20–25 August 1941 83 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to 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...

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:...

 11
4–11 September 1941 63 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...

 45
21–30 September 1941 58 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 21 5–14 October 1941 30 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
SC 51 25 October-4 November 1941 38 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 33 11–19 November 1941 49 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
SC 59 14–21 December 1941 39 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 50 28 December 1941-3 January 1942 35 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
SC 67 30 January-11 February 1942 Newfoundland to Iceland; 1 ship torpedoed & sunk
ON 66 18–25 February 1942 19 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
HX 178 6–16 March 1942 22 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 79 24 March-1 April 1942 29 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
HX 195 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...

24 June-1 July 1942 30 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 112 MOEF group C1 14–25 July 1942 36 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 94 MOEF group C1 2–8 August 1942 Newfoundland to Northern Ireland; 10 ships torpedoed & sunk
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
ON 154 MOEF group C1 19–30 December 1942 Northern Ireland to Newfoundland; 14 ships torpedoed (13 sank)
HX 222 MOEF group C1 11–22 January 1943 Newfoundland to Northern Ireland; 1 ship torpedoed & sunk
ON 166 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...

12–25 February 1943 Northern Ireland to Newfoundland; 12 ships torpedoed (11 sank)
HX 265 11–20 November 1943 51 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ONS 24 1–13 December 1943 29 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 271 20–29 December 1943 53 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 221 25 January-6 February 1944 63 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 280 2–5 March 1944 63 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 230 31 March-9 April 1944 66 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 287 12–17 April 1944 71 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 235 5–14 May 1944 65 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 292 19–22 May 1944 128 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 240 11–22 June 1944 85 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 297 30 June-10 July 1944 116 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 245 19–28 July 1944 101 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 302 8–16 August 1944 96 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 250 25 August-4 September 1944 76 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland

External links

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