HMS Poppy (K213)

The Flower class arose as a result of the Royal Navy's realisation in the late 1930s that it had a shortage of escort vessels, particularly coastal escorts for use on the East coast of Britain, as the likelihood of war with Germany increased. To meet this urgent requirement, a design developed based on the whale-catcher Southern Pride - this design was much more capable than naval trawlers, but cheaper and quicker to build than the Hunt-class destroyers or Kingfisher-class sloops that were alternatives for the coastal escort role.[1][2]

The early Flowers, such as Aubrietia were 205 feet 0 inches (62.48 m) long overall, 196 feet 0 inches (59.74 m) at the waterline and 190 feet 0 inches (57.91 m) between perpendiculars. Beam was 33 feet 0 inches (10.06 m) and draught was 14 feet 10 inches (4.52 m) aft.[3][4] Displacement was about 940 long tons (960 t) standard and 1,170 long tons (1,190 t) full load. Two Admiralty three-drum water tube boilers fed steam to a vertical triple-expansion engine rated at 2,750 indicated horsepower (2,050 kW) which drove a single propeller shaft. This gave a speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).[4] 200 tons of oil were carried, giving a range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).[4]

Poppy was one of six Flowers ordered on 3 August 1940. The ship was laid down on 6 March 1941, by Alexander Hall & Co., Ltd., at their Aberdeen, Scotland shipyard. She was launched on 20 November 1941, and commissioned on 12 May 1942.[5][6]

On 27 June 1942, Poppy departed Reykjavik, Iceland, escorting convoy PQ-17, bound for Arkhangelsk, Russia. On 4 July 1942, the Admiralty ordered the convoy to disperse. Poppy rescued 53 survivors from the United States cargo ship Hoosier, at 69°45′N 39°35′E. Efforts were made by the captain of HMS La Malouine to repair Hoosier and take her under tow, but when the German submarine U-255 was spotted 4 nmi (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) astern she was again abandoned and Poppy tried to sink Hoosier with gun fire, but was unsuccessful.[7][8]

Poppy escorted 51 convoys during the war, along with anti-submarine exercises with Royal Navy submarines off of Lough Foyle, and once each off Derry and Campbeltown.[9][7]

• Elliott, Peter (1977). Allied Escort Ships of World War II: A complete survey. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers. ISBN 0-356-08401-9.
• Friedman, Norman (2008). British Destroyers and Frigates: The Second World War and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-015-4.
• Lambert, John; Brown, Les (2008). Flower-Class Corvettes. St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada: Vanwall Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55068-986-0.
• Helgason, Guðmundur. "Allied Warships – HMS Poppy (K213)". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
• Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-boats – Hoosier". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
• "Convoy Web". www.convoyweb.org.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2021.

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.