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HMS Sunflower (K41)
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HMS Sunflower (K41)
HMS Sunflower was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.
She was built at Smith's Dock Company, South Bank on Tees and launched on 19 August 1940. She was sold on 17 May 1947 and scrapped at Hayle, Cornwall, in September 1947.
HMS Sunflower was the most successful of the Royal Navy Flower-class. She single-handedly sank two U-boats: U-638 on 5 May 1943 and U-631 on 17 October 1943. She shared sinking of U-282 on 29 October 1943.
The task faced by the Captain, Lt. Cdr. John Treasure Jones, RNR, with his new crew was the same for all corvettes which were manned mainly by volunteers. Jones wrote:
"Around 90% of my crew had not been to sea before. They had been called-up, done a little training in barracks and then sent to man the ships. They were strengthened and knit together by a small number of trained ratings and naval pensioners. I had three officers plus an Engin-room Artificer, who was in charge of the engine and boiler rooms, with a Stoker Petty Officer to assist him. Of my three officers, only one had been to sea as an officer and he had just joined the Royal Naval Reserve prior to the war. My Second Officer was little older; his only sea experience was that he had served six months on the lower deck in one of the battleships, then been sent to an officers training college for 3 months; this was his first ship as an officer. My Third Officer was a young man of 19. He had joined-up straight from school, done six months on the lower deck as a rating, followed by 3 months at an officers training college before being appointed to my ship. I was daddy to these men was well as Captain, since I was 35 at the time."
"We sailed from Middlesbrough in January 1940 for Tobermory, to work-up before being sent to join a group on ocean escort of convoys. To start with I had difficulty in finding three men who could steer the ship, and as we had encountered bad weather as soon as we had put to sea, most of them were seasick."
After a few weeks working-up the ship and the crew, Admiral Stephenson would then personally inspect each escort and put the Captain and crew through a stiff test before releasing them for operational service.
During work-up Sunflower was deployed as escort for the submarine HMS Thunderbolt and the large Free French submarine Surcouf during passage to the Firth of Clyde.
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HMS Sunflower (K41)
HMS Sunflower was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.
She was built at Smith's Dock Company, South Bank on Tees and launched on 19 August 1940. She was sold on 17 May 1947 and scrapped at Hayle, Cornwall, in September 1947.
HMS Sunflower was the most successful of the Royal Navy Flower-class. She single-handedly sank two U-boats: U-638 on 5 May 1943 and U-631 on 17 October 1943. She shared sinking of U-282 on 29 October 1943.
The task faced by the Captain, Lt. Cdr. John Treasure Jones, RNR, with his new crew was the same for all corvettes which were manned mainly by volunteers. Jones wrote:
"Around 90% of my crew had not been to sea before. They had been called-up, done a little training in barracks and then sent to man the ships. They were strengthened and knit together by a small number of trained ratings and naval pensioners. I had three officers plus an Engin-room Artificer, who was in charge of the engine and boiler rooms, with a Stoker Petty Officer to assist him. Of my three officers, only one had been to sea as an officer and he had just joined the Royal Naval Reserve prior to the war. My Second Officer was little older; his only sea experience was that he had served six months on the lower deck in one of the battleships, then been sent to an officers training college for 3 months; this was his first ship as an officer. My Third Officer was a young man of 19. He had joined-up straight from school, done six months on the lower deck as a rating, followed by 3 months at an officers training college before being appointed to my ship. I was daddy to these men was well as Captain, since I was 35 at the time."
"We sailed from Middlesbrough in January 1940 for Tobermory, to work-up before being sent to join a group on ocean escort of convoys. To start with I had difficulty in finding three men who could steer the ship, and as we had encountered bad weather as soon as we had put to sea, most of them were seasick."
After a few weeks working-up the ship and the crew, Admiral Stephenson would then personally inspect each escort and put the Captain and crew through a stiff test before releasing them for operational service.
During work-up Sunflower was deployed as escort for the submarine HMS Thunderbolt and the large Free French submarine Surcouf during passage to the Firth of Clyde.
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