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

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