Polyanthus during World War II |
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| Career (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: | Sunk by U-952 |
| Status: | Wreck near 57.00N, 31.10W |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Flower-class corvette |
| Displacement: | 925 long tons (940 t; 1,036 ST) |
| Length: | 205 ft (62.48 m)o/a |
| Beam: | 33 ft (10.06 m) |
| Draught: | 11.5 ft (3.51 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 16 knots (29.6 km/h) |
| Range: | 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h) |
| Complement: | 85 |
| Armament: |
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HMS Polyanthus was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 30 November 1940 from Leith Docks on the Firth of Forth, at an estimated cost of £55,000.[1][2] Polyanthus was sunk by the German submarine U-952 using new German weapons technology on 20 September 1943 about 1,000 miles southwest of Reykjavik during convoy escort duty in the Battle of the North Atlantic.[3][4][5]
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Flower-class corvettes like Polyanthus serving with the Royal Navy during World War II were different to 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 a whaling 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 effective in convoy escort during the Battle of the North Atlantic.[11]{{ The primary mission of protection against U-boats saw Polyanthus active in several transatlantic convoys in the early part of the war. By late 1943, the Kriegsmarine were using the acoustic homing G7es torpedo - which the Allies called "German Navy Acoustic Torpedo" (GNAT) - 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 Convoys ONS18 and ON 202 were facing frequent U-boat engagements, calling Polyanthus to their aid in the wake of several setbacks, including the near destruction of HMS Escapade and HMS Lagen.[12] After successfully driving away U-238, Polyanthus was ordered to rescue the crew from the escort HMCS St. Croix, recently sunk by U-305. Whilst under the command of Lieutenant John Gordon Aitken RNR, Polyanthus was sunk by U-952 using a GNAT before any rescue could be effected.[3][13] At least 7 officers and 77 crew were lost with Polyanthus, with the single known survivor himself drowning within days at the hands of yet another U-boat attack on the ship that rescued him, HMS Itchen.[3]
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