HMS Freesia

HMS Freesia (K43) was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy built during the Second World War. She was constructed by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, laid down on 18 June 1940, launched on 3 October 1940, and commissioned on 19 November 1940.^[1] Like her sister ships, was named after a flower, in this case, the freesia, a fragrant, brightly coloured bloom native to southern Africa.

History
United Kingdom
Name	Freesia
Namesake	freesia
Builder	Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Laid down	18 June 1940
Launched	3 October 1940
Commissioned	19 November 1940
Decommissioned	22 July 1946
Identification	Pennant number: K43
Fate	Sold for commercial use (renamed Freelock); wrecked under tow, 1 April 1947
General characteristics
Class & type	Flower-class corvette
Displacement	~925 tons (standard)
Length	205 ft (62 m)
Beam	33 ft (10 m)
Draught	11.5 ft (3.5 m)
Propulsion	Single shaft, triple-expansion steam engine
Speed	16 kn (30 km/h)
Complement	~85
Armament	1 × 4-inch BL Mk.IX gun 1 QF Mk.VIII 2-pounder gun 1 20 mm Oerlikon cannon 4 Lewis .303 machine guns 4 Mk.II depth charge throwers 2 depth charge rails ~40 depth charges

Design and construction

Like other Flower-class corvettes, Freesia was designed for convoy escort duties and anti-submarine warfare. She displaced approximately 925 tons, was 205 feet long with a beam of 33 feet, and drew 11.5 feet of water. She was powered by a triple-expansion steam engine driving a single shaft. Her armament included one 4-inch (102 mm) main gun, depth charge throwers, and light anti-aircraft weapons.^[2]

Service history

During the 1941 Warship Week national savings campaign, the borough of Hungerford, Berkshire raised £90,000 to fund the construction of a Flower-class corvette, subsequently adopting Freesia as their own. A commemorative plaque recording this association was installed in the Corn Exchange in Hungerford, with crew members maintaining contact with the town throughout the war years.^[3]

Following her commissioning, Freesia was deployed primarily in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as a convoy escort. Her early operations involved transatlantic escort duties between Halifax, Nova Scotia, and ports in the United Kingdom, part of the broader Allied effort to secure merchant shipping from the threat posed by enemy submarines.^[1]

In May 1942, Freesia participated in Operation Ironclad, the Allied amphibious assault on Vichy French-controlled Madagascar. The operation aimed to prevent Japanese forces from using the island as a base, which would have threatened shipping routes in the Indian Ocean.^[1]

Later that year, on 12 December 1942, Freesia, along with the destroyer HMS Inconstant,, was involved in the rescue of survivors from the British tanker Empire Gull, which had been torpedoed by the German submarine U-177 off the coast of Portuguese East Africa. A total of 44 survivors were recovered in the aftermath of the attack.^[1]

On 1 August 1943, the corvette again performed rescue duties, this time recovering survivors from the Dutch merchant vessel Mangkalihat, which had been sunk by U-198 in the Indian Ocean.^[1]

Post-war service and fate

Following the end of the war, Freesia was decommissioned and sold for commercial use on 22 July 1946. Renamed Freelock, she was under tow to Shanghai when she was wrecked and sank off San Jorge on 1 April 1947.^[4]