 HMCSSpikenard | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Spikenard |
| Namesake | Spikenard flower |
| Ordered | 22 January 1940 |
| Builder | Davie Shipbuilding,Lauzon |
| Laid down | 24 February 1940 |
| Launched | 10 August 1940 |
| Commissioned | 6 December 1940 |
| Out of service | 15 May 1941 – loaned toCanada |
| Identification | Pennant number: K198 |
| Fate | Loaned to Canada 1941; sunk 1942 |
| Canada | |
| Name | Spikenard |
| Acquired | Loaned from United Kingdom |
| Commissioned | 15 May 1941 |
| Identification | Pennant number: K198 |
| Honours & awards | Atlantic 1941–42[1] |
| Fate | Sunk 10 February 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Flower-classcorvette |
| Displacement | 950long tons (970 t; 1,060 short tons) |
| Length | 205 ft (62.48 m) |
| Beam | 33 ft (10.06 m) |
| Draught | 11.5 ft (3.51 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 16 knots (29.6 km/h) |
| Range | 3,450 nmi (6,390 km; 3,970 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 6 officers, 79 enlisted |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
HMCSSpikenard was aFlower-classcorvette that served with theRoyal Canadian Navy during theSecond World War. She served primarily in theBattle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. She was named for theSpikenard flower.
Flower-class corvettes likeSpikenard serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes.[2][3][4] The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877.[5] 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 awhaling ship design.[6] The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.[7]
She was originally ordered on 22 January 1940 by theRoyal Navy as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class program asHMSSpikenard (K198).Spikenard was laid down 24 February 1940 and launched later that year on 10 August. She was commissioned on 6 December 1940 inQuebec City, Quebec.[8][9] On 15 May 1941 she was one of ten corvettes loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy. She could be told apart from other Canadian Flowers by her lack of minesweeping gear and the siting of the after gun tub amidships.[10]
On 21 January 1941 she sailed with convoyHX 104 to get her final equipment at South Shields, Tyne in theUnited Kingdom. She was worked up atTobermory and left on 10 June with convoyOB 332 as a full escort.[9]
After commissioning in the RCN she was assigned as part of the Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF). From July 1941 to January 1942Spikenard made three round-trips to the Mid-Ocean Meeting Point off Iceland escorting the vital trans-Atlantic convoys. On opening night (27 January 1942),Spikenard's commander, Lt-Cdr. H.F. Shadforth, hammered a six-inch spike into the floor of the Seagoing Officers Club, "The Crows' Nest" in St. John's, Newfoundland (better known as "Newfyjohn" during the War). AfterSpikenard was torpedoed and sunk two weeks later with the loss of all except eight of her crew, fellow NEF officers preserved the nail as "'Spikenard' his Spike". It still remains on display and the members of the Club hold a "Corvette Wake" commemorative dinner every year to rememberSpikenard and her crew.[11]
On the night of 10 February 1942,Spikenard was torpedoed byU-136[9] while escortingconvoy SC 67. The torpedo struckSpikenard at virtually the same instant as another torpedo exploded against a nearby Norwegian tanker, M/SHeina. In the confusion of battle, the other escorts in the group believed that only the now blazing and illuminated tanker had been struck, and rescued her entire crew.Spikenard was not on fire and the other escorts did not realize she was hit and sinking.[12] The other escorts in the group had been caught up chasing contacts and did not realize thatSpikenard was gone until she failed to answer repeated radio calls. Some escorts fell back and found only eight survivors.Spikenard's Commanding Officer had been the senior officer of the escort group.[11]
50°10′N21°07′W / 50.167°N 21.117°W /50.167; -21.117
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in February 1942 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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