HMS Dianthus was a Flower-class corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

 of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. 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 9 July 1940 from the Leith Docks

Leith

-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....

 on the Firth of Forth

Firth of Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...

 and named after the genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of flowering plants including Carnation

Carnation

Dianthus caryophyllus is a species of Dianthus. It is probably native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years. It is the wild ancestor of the garden carnation.It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 80 cm tall...

, Pink, and Sweet William

Sweet William

Dianthus barbatus is a species of Dianthus native to southern Europe and parts of Asia which has become a popular ornamental garden plant. It is a herbaceous biennial or short-lived perennial plant growing to 30–75 cm tall, with flowers in a dense cluster of up to 30 at the top of the stems...

. The ship escorted trade convoys between Newfoundland 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  wolf pack attacks of the winter of 1942-43.

Background

Flower-class corvettes like Dianthus serving with the Royal 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

Dianthus spent 1941 escorting trade convoys through coastal waters 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...

 to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 until assigned 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. Dianthus rammed and sank U-379 while defending convoy SC 94. Dianthus was assigned to MOEF group A3 after yard overhaul to repair damage from the ramming collision. With group A3, she participated in the battles of convoys ON 145, ON 166, SC 121 and HX 233. When group A3 disbanded, Dianthus was assigned to MOEF group C5 until another yard overhaul in August 1943. Dianthus completed refit in November and escorted four more trans-Atlantic convoys in two round trips before being returned to European coastal escort work for the remainder of the war. The ship was decommissioned and sold for civilian use following the end of hostilities. She became the Norwegian buoy tender Thorslep, and was later used for whaling before being scrapped in 1969.

Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted: winter of 1942-43

Convoy	Escort Group	Dates	Notes
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...  77		3-12 April 1942	51 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 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:...  88		22 April-3 May 1942	46 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
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...  189	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...	13-20 May 1942	20 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 100	MOEF group C1	3-14 June 1942	Northern Ireland to Newfoundland; 3 ships torpedoed & sunk
HX 195	MOEF group C1	24 June-2 July 1942	30 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
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 Aug 1942	Newfoundland to Northern Ireland; 10 ships torpedoed & sunk
ON 145	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...	10-20 Nov 1942	Northern Ireland to Newfoundland; 3 ships torpedoed (1 sank)
SC 111	MOEF group A3	1-14 Dec 1942	20 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 156	MOEF group A3	24 Dec 1942-8 Jan 1943	19 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 223	MOEF group A3	19-28 Jan 1943	48 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
SC 117	temporary reinforcement	31 Jan-1 Feb 1943	no ships lost
ON 166	MOEF group A3	12-25 Feb 1943	Northern Ireland to Newfoundland; 12 ships torpedoed (11 sank)
SC 121	MOEF group A3	3-12 March 1943	Newfoundland to Northern Ireland; 7 ships torpedoed & sunk
ON 175	MOEF group A3	25 March-8 April 1943	36 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 233	MOEF group A3	12-20 April 1943	Newfoundland to Northern Ireland; 1 ship torpedoed & sunk
ON 182	MOEF group C5 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...	7-16 May 1943	56 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 240	MOEF group C5	25 May-3 June 1943	56 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 188		11-20 June 1943	56 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 245		29 June-5 July 1943	84 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 193		17-25 July 1943	80 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 250		5-11 Aug 1943	75 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland