Flower Class Corvette - Class Designation

Class Designation

The term "corvette" was originally a French name for a small sailing warship, intermediate between the frigate and the sloop-of-war. In the 1830s the term was adopted by the RN for sailing warships of roughly similar size, primarily operating in the shipping protection role. With the arrival of steam power, paddle- and later screw-driven corvettes were built for the same purpose, growing in power, size, and armament over the decades. In 1877, the RN abolished the "corvette" as a traditional category; corvettes and frigates were then combined into a new category, "cruiser".

The months leading up to World War II saw the RN return to the concept of a small escort warship being used in the shipping protection role. The Flower class was based on the design of the Southern Pride, a whale-catcher; apparently Winston Churchill labelled them "corvettes", thus restoring the title for the RN. As such, there is no linear link between the Flower class and the cruising vessels of pre-1877.

There are two distinct groups of vessels in this class: the original Flower class, which was a group of 225 vessels ordered during the 1939 and 1940 building programs; and the modified Flower class, which followed with a further 69 vessels ordered from 1940 onward. The modified Flowers were slightly larger and somewhat better armed.

In addition, those Flower-class vessels that saw service with the USN are known as Action-class gunboats and carried the hull classification symbol PG (Patrol Gunboat), regardless of whether they were original or modified designs.