French Flower-class corvette

At the outbreak of World War II the Marine nationale (French Navy) needed ships for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and, following the Royal Navy's example, placed orders from Smiths Dock in South Bank, Middlesbrough, for four ASW corvettes. Smiths had developed plans for a basic ASW vessel, using merchant ship equipment and machinery, that could be mass-produced in Merchant shipyards.

Following this the Marine nationale ordered a further 18 ships, to be built at a number of British and French shipyards. These were identical to the British "Flowers" except that French 100 mm (3.9 in) and 13.2 mm AA guns were to be fitted.[3]

The Fall of France in June 1940 brought a drastic change to these building programmes. Of the original four, only one, La Bastiaise, was completed. On 22 June 1940, the day of France's capitulation, she was undergoing sea trials in the North Sea when she struck a mine off Hartlepool[2] and sank. Of the others, La Malouine was taken over as she was by the Royal Navy (RN) on completion, while the other two were taken over and renamed.

Of the second order, the 12 ships under construction in Britain were taken over by the RN; all were renamed and given Flower names in keeping with the class.[4]

The six ships under construction in France all fell into German hands. Building continued slowly, and by 1944, three had been completed for use by the German Kriegsmarine. These ships underwent a number of changes to reflect changes in role and circumstances. They were rated as patrol gunboats and commissioned as PA 1 to 4.[5]

After the creation of the Free French Naval Forces (FNFL) the RN transferred a number of ships to the FNFL. These included eight Flowers, all transferred and renamed on completion. Some retained a Flower name while others took the names that honoured French naval heroes.[4][6]

These ships, in French and in British service, saw action throughout the Atlantic campaign and performed sterling work. Two of the French, and one of the British vessels were lost in action, while three of them, two French and one British, were successful in sinking U-boats.

• La Bastiaise, mined in North Sea, 22 June 1940 (on trials).[2] The engineer manager of Smith's Dock and several of his staff were lost with the ship.[7]
• La Dieppoise / HMS Fleur de Lys, torpedoed and sunk by U-206, 14 October 1941.[2]
• Alysse, torpedoed and sunk by U-654 on 10 February 1942[8] while escorting convoy ON-60, approximately 420 nautical miles (780 km) east of Cape Race at 46°00′N 44°00′W. 36 crew were killed.
• Mimosa, torpedoed and sunk on 9 June 1942 by U-124[9] while escorting convoy ONS-100 at 52°12′N 32°37′W. 58 French and six British crew were killed; the French crew being largely from Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Four survivors were rescued by HMCS Assiniboine.

• La Paimpolaise / Nasturtium, and others sank U-556 27 June 1941.
• Lobelia sank U-609 on 7 February 1943.
• Aconit and others sank U-432 and U-444 on 11 March 1943.

• Blair, Clay (2000) [1996]. Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942. Hitler's U-Boat War. Vol. 1. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35260-8.
• Blair, Clay (2000) [1998]. Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942–1945. Hitler's U-Boat War. Vol. 2. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35261-6.
• Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Publishing. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Elliott, Peter (1977). Allied Escort Ships of World War II. ISBN 0-356-08401-9.
• Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
• Le Masson, Henri (1969). The French Navy. Navies of the Second World War. Vol. 2. London: MacDonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. pp. 25–30. ISBN 9780356023847.
• Neistle, Axel (1998). German U-Boat Losses during World War II. ISBN 1-85367-352-8.