HMCS Alberni (K103)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
HMCS Alberni (K103) was a Canadian flower class corvette, built in Esquimalt, British Columbia and commissioned on the 4 February 1941.
She was named after Port Alberni on Vancouver Island and commissioned on 4 February 1941 as a convoy escort ship. She initially sailed as part of the Halifax-based Newfoundland Escort Force and served as a mid-ocean escort until May 1942 whjen she had her boiler replaced.
Her duties extended to a brief time in the Mediterranean and eventually to the invasion of Normandy. She was torpedoed and sunk by the U-boat U-480 25 miles southeast of St. Catherine's Head, Isle of Wight at 11:45 on 21 August 1944 with the loss of 59 of her crew of 79. The torpedo struck the ship on the port side just behind the engine room, and the ship sunk within around 30 seconds. Acting Lieutenant Frank William was subsequently awarded the Royal Humane Society's bronze medal for his work in saving other members of the crew.
