| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Builder | Henry Robb Ltd. |
| Laid down | 19 March 1940 |
| Launched | 30 November 1940 |
| Completed | 23 April 1941 |
| Out of service | 21 September 1943 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk, 21 September 1943 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Flower-classcorvette |
| Displacement | 925long tons (940 t; 1,036 short tons) |
| Length | 205 ft (62.48 m)o/a |
| Beam | 33 ft (10.06 m) |
| Draught | 11.5 ft (3.51 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 16knots (29.6 km/h) |
| Range | 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h) |
| Complement | 85 |
| Armament |
|
HMSPolyanthus was aFlower-classcorvette of theRoyal Navy. She waslaunched on 30 November 1940 fromLeith Docks on theFirth of Forth, at an estimated cost of £55,000.[1][2]Polyanthus was sunk by theGerman submarine U-952 using new German weapons technology on 20 September 1943 about 1,000 miles southwest ofReykjavík during convoy escort duty in theBattle of the North Atlantic.[3][4][5]
Flower-class corvettes likePolyanthus serving with the Royal Navy duringWorld War II were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes.[6][7][8] 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.[9] 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.[10] The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.[1]
Although designed for quick and cheap construction,Polyanthus and ships like her in the Flower class were operative in convoy escort during the Battle of the North Atlantic.[11]The primary mission of protection againstU-boats sawPolyanthus active in several transatlantic convoys in the early part of the war. By late 1943, theKriegsmarine were using anacoustic homing torpedo - known to theAllies as aGNAT - which they hoped would reverse the changing tide of war, favouring the Allies in the Atlantic.[12]
On the night of 19–20 September 1943, two westbound ConvoysONS18 and ON 202 were facing frequent U-boat engagements, callingPolyanthus to their aid in the wake of several setbacks, including the near destruction ofHMS Escapade andHMS Lagan.[12] After successfully driving awayU-238,Polyanthus was ordered to rescue the crew from the escortHMCS St. Croix, recently sunk byU-305. Whilst under the command of Lieutenant John Gordon AitkenRNR,Polyanthus was sunk byU-952 using a GNAT before any rescue could be effected.[3][13] At least 7 officers and 77 crew were lost withPolyanthus among them LtGraham Shepard. The only known survivor drowned on the morning of 23 September when another U-boat,U-666, torpedoed and sankHMS Itchen, the ship that had rescued him.[3]
Notes
Bibliography
57°0′0″N31°6′0″W / 57.00000°N 31.10000°W /57.00000; -31.10000
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in September 1943 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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