HMCS Agassiz (K129)
Encyclopedia
HMCS Agassiz was a of the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

. She was ordered from Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd.
Burrard Dry Dock
Burrard Dry Dock Ltd. was a Canadian shipbuilding company headquartered in North Vancouver, British Columbia . Together with the neighboring North Van Ship Repair yard and the Yarrows Ltd...

 in North Vancouver, British Columbia
North Vancouver, British Columbia
There are two municipalities in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, that use the name North Vancouver. These are:*The City of North Vancouver...

 and laid down on 29 April 1940. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 15 August 1940 and commissioned on 23 January 1941. She was named after the community of Agassiz, British Columbia
Agassiz, British Columbia
Agassiz is a small community located in British Columbia's Fraser Valley. The only town within the jurisdiction of the District Municipality of Kent, it contains the majority of Kent's population.-References:...

.

Background

Flower-class corvettes like Agassiz serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 were different to earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes. 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. During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

 reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design. The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.

War duty

Agassiz escorted trade convoys between Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...

 and the Western Approaches
Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...

 through the battle of the Atlantic. Agassiz participated in the battle for convoy SC 44 before yard overhaul in early 1942. Following that overhaul, Agassiz participated in the battle for convoy ON 102 with Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...

 (MOEF) group A3, the battle for convoy SC 97 with MOEF group C2 and the battles for convoy ON 115 and convoy SC 109 with MOEF group C3. Following yard overhaul in early 1943, Agassiz was assigned to MOEF group C1 and escorted 12 trans-Atlantic convoys without loss before another yard overhaul in early 1944. After that overhaul, Agassiz escorted North American coastal convoys with the Western Local Escort Force
Western Local Escort Force
Western Local Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys from North American port cities to the Western Ocean Meeting Point near Newfoundland where ships of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force assumed responsibility for safely delivering the convoys...

 from March 1944 until February 1945. The ship was decommissioned and sold in 1945 following the end of hostilities.

Trans-Atlantic convoys escorted

Convoy Escort Group Dates Notes
OB 347 22-31 July 1941 64 ships escorted without loss from Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 to dispersal
HX
HX convoys
The HX convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were east-bound convoys and originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia from where they sailed to ports in the United Kingdom...

 143
8-17 August 1941 73 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON
ON convoys
The ON convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Battle of the Atlantic .-History:...

 8
21-25 August 1941 46 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
SC
SC convoys
The SC convoys were a series of North Atlantic convoys that ran during the battle of the Atlantic during World War II.They were east-bound slow convoys originating in Sydney, Cape Breton ; from there they sailed to ports in the UK, mainly Liverpool.For a time after the entry of the...

 44
12-22 September 1941 Newfoundland to Iceland; 4 ships torpedoed & sunk
ON 19A 22 September-4 October 1941 Iceland shuttle
SC 50 19-31 October 1941 41 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 32 6-14 November 1941 49 ships escorted without loss from Iceland to Newfoundland
SC 56 24 November-5 December 1941 45 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Iceland
HX 184 12-19 April 1942 30 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

ON 91 2-11 May 1942 31 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 190 MOEF group A3
Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...

20-27 May 1942 18 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 102 MOEF group A3 10-21 June 1942 Northern Ireland to Newfoundland; 1 ship torpedoed & sunk
HX 196 MOEF group A3 2-10 July 1942 42 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 114 MOEF group A3 20-30 July 1942 32 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
ON 115 MOEF group C3 31 July-3 August 1942 battle reinforcement
SC 97 MOEF group C2 22-26 August 1942 Newfoundland to Northern Ireland: 2 ships torpedoed & sunk
SC 98 MOEF group C3
Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...

2–8 September 1942 69 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 131 MOEF group C3 19–28 September 1942 54 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 210 MOEF group C3 7–14 October 1942 36 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 141 MOEF group C3 26 October-3 November 1942 59 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 109 MOEF group C3 16–27 November 1942 Newfoundland to Northern Ireland; 2 ships torpedoed (1 sank)
ON 152 MOEF group C3 10–28 December 1942 15 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
SC 127 MOEF group C1
Mid-Ocean Escort Force
Mid-Ocean Escort Force referred to the organization of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and the British Isles...

20 April-2 May 1943 55 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 184 MOEF group C1 16-25 May 1943 39 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 242 6-14 June 1943 61 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 190 25 June-3 July 1943 87 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 247 14-21 July 1943 71 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 195 1-8 August 1943 51 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 252 20-27 August 1943 52 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 201 10-18 September 1943 70 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 258 28 September-5 October 1943 59 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 207 19-28 October 1943 52 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 264 5-16 November 1943 65 ships escorted without loss from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 213 27 November-7 December 1943 60 ships escorted without loss from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK