A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

, while the class below was historically that of the sloop-of-war. The modern roles that a corvette fulfills include coastal patrol craft, missile boat and

fast attack craft A fast attack craft (FAC) is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defens ...

. These corvettes are typically between 500 tons and 2,000 .although recent designs may approach 3,000 tons, having size and capabilities that overlap with smaller frigates. However unlike contemporary frigates, a modern corvette does not have sufficient endurance and seaworthiness for long voyages. The word "corvette" is first found in

Middle French Middle French (french: moyen français) is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the 14th to the 16th century. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from t ...

, a diminutive of the Dutch word ''corf'', meaning a "basket", from the Latin ''corbis''. The rank " corvette captain", equivalent in many navies to "

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

", derives from the name of this type of ship. The rank is the most junior of three "captain" ranks in several European (e.g., France, Spain, Italy, Croatia) and South American (e.g., Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Colombia) navies, because a corvette, as the smallest class of rated warship, was traditionally the smallest class of vessel entitled to a commander of a "captain" rank.

Sailing vessels

During the

Age of Sail The Age of Sail is a period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid- 15th) to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction of nava ...

, corvettes were one of many types of warships smaller than a frigate and with a single deck of guns. They were very closely related to sloops-of-war. The role of the corvette consisted mostly of coastal patrol, fighting minor wars, supporting large fleets, or participating in show-the-flag missions. The English Navy began using small ships in the 1650s, but described them as sloops rather than corvettes. The first reference to a corvette was with the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

in the 1670s, which may be where the term originated. The French Navy's corvettes grew over the decades and by the 1780s they were ships of 20 guns or so, approximately equivalent to the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

's post ships. The British Navy did not adopt the term until the 1830s, long after the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

, to describe a small sixth-rate vessel somewhat larger than a sloop. The last vessel lost by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

was the corvette ''Le Dragon'', scuttled by her captain to avoid capture off Monte Cristi, Haïti in January 1783. Most corvettes and sloops of the 17th century were in length and measured 40 to 70 tons burthen. They carried four to eight smaller guns on single decks. Over time, vessels of increasing size and capability were called "corvettes"; by 1800, they reached lengths of over and measured from 400 to 600 tons burthen.

Steam ships

Ships during the steam era became much faster and more maneuverable than their sail ancestors. Corvettes during this era were typically used alongside

gunboats A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-stea ...

during colonial missions. Battleships and other large vessels were unnecessary when fighting the indigenous people of the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The t ...

and Africa.

World War II

The modern corvette appeared during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as an easily-built patrol and convoy escort vessel. The British naval designer William Reed drew up a small ship based on the single-shaft

Smiths Dock Company Smith's Dock Company, Limited, often referred to simply as Smith's Dock, was a British shipbuilding company. History The company was originally established by Thomas Smith who bought William Rowe's shipyard at St. Peter's in Newcastle upon Tyn ...

whale catcher , whose simple design and mercantile construction standards lent itself to rapid production in large numbers in small yards unused to naval work. First Lord of the Admiralty

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, later Prime Minister, had a hand in reviving the name "corvette". During the arms buildup leading to World War II, the term "corvette" was almost attached to the . The Tribals were so much larger than and sufficiently different from other British destroyers that some consideration was given to resurrecting the classification of "corvette" and applying it to them. HMCS Regina K234 CT-252

This idea was dropped, and the term applied to small, mass-produced antisubmarine escorts such as the of World War II. (Royal Navy ships were named after

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s, and ships in

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack subma ...

service took the name of smaller Canadian cities and towns.) Their chief duty was to protect convoys throughout the Battle of the Atlantic and on the routes from the UK to Murmansk carrying supplies to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. The Flower-class corvette was originally designed for offshore patrol work, and was not ideal when pressed into service as an antisubmarine escort. It was shorter than ideal for oceangoing convoy escort work, too lightly armed for antiaircraft defense, and the ships were barely faster than the merchantmen they escorted. This was a particular problem given the faster

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

designs then emerging. Nonetheless, the ship was quite seaworthy and maneuverable, but living conditions for ocean voyages were challenging. As a result of these shortcomings, the corvette was superseded in the Royal Navy as the escort ship of choice by the

, which was larger, faster, better armed, and had two shafts. However, many small yards could not produce vessels of frigate size, so an improved corvette design, the , was introduced later in the war, with some remaining in service until the mid-1950s. The

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...

built 60 s, including 20 for the Royal Navy crewed by Australians, and four for the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

. These were officially described as Australian minesweepers, or as minesweeping sloops by the Royal Navy, and were named after

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n towns. The s or

trawlers Trawler may refer to: Boats * Fishing trawler, used for commercial fishing * Naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second ...

were referred to as corvettes in the Royal New Zealand Navy, and two, and , rammed and sank a much larger Japanese

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

, , in 1943 in the Solomon Islands. In Italy, the

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...

, in dire need of escort vessels for its convoys, designed the , of which 29 were built between 1942 and 1943 (out of 60 planned); they proved apt at operations in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

, especially in regards to their anti-air and anti-submarine capability, and were so successful that the class survived after the war into the

Marina Militare Italiana "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

until 1972.

Modern corvettes

Modern navies began a trend in the late 20th and early 21st centuries towards smaller more manoeuvrable surface capability. Corvettes have displacements between and measure in length. They are usually armed with medium- and small-calibre guns, surface-to-surface missiles,

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

s (SAM), and anti-submarine weapons. Many can accommodate a small or medium

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typ ...

helicopter. Most countries with coastlines can build corvette-sized ships, either as part of their commercial shipbuilding activities or in purpose-built yards, but the sensors, weapons, and other systems required for a surface combatant are more specialized and are around 60% of the total cost. These components are purchased on the international market.

Current corvette classes

Many countries today operate corvettes; some include Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Germany, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Malaysia, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates. Countries that border smaller seas, such as the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

or the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

, are more likely to build the smaller and more manoeuvrable corvettes, with Russia operating the most corvettes in the world. ARA Gomez Roca (P-46)

In the 1960s, the Portuguese Navy designed the s as multi-role small frigates intended to be affordable for a small navy. The ''João Coutinho'' class soon inspired a series of similar projects – including the Spanish , the German

MEKO 140 The MEKO 140 is a frigate/corvette design by the German Blohm + Voss shipyard as part of the MEKO family of vessels. The MEKO 140 is a development of the Portuguese Navy's s designed by the Portuguese naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira in the la ...

, the French A69 and the Portuguese – adopted by a number of medium- and small-sized navies. The first operational corvette based on

stealth technology Stealth technology, also termed low observable technology (LO technology), is a sub-discipline of military tactics and passive and active electronic countermeasures, which covers a range of methods used to make personnel, aircraft, ships, su ...

was the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

's . The

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels ...

introduced the similarly stealthy . The United States is developing littoral combat ships, which are essentially large corvettes, their spacious hulls permitting space for mission modules, allowing them to undertake tasks formerly assigned to specialist classes such as minesweepers or the anti-submarine . The

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in ...

operates three s. Built in the U.S. to an Israeli design, they each carry one

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

and are well-armed with offensive and defensive weapons systems, including the

Barak 8 Barak 8 ( he, בָּרָק, lit. "Lightning"), also known as LR-SAM or as MR-SAM, is an Indo-Israeli jointly developed surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, designed to defend against any type of airborne threat including aircraft, helicopters, ant ...

SAM, and advanced electronic sensors and countermeasures. They displace over 1,200 tons at full load. The

operates four s built by

Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd, abbreviated as GRSE, is one of India's leading shipyards, located in Kolkata. It builds and repairs commercial and naval vessels. GRSE also builds export ships. Founded in 1884 as a small privately- ...

. All of them were in service by 2017. The new German Navy is designed to replace Germany's

and also incorporates stealth technology and land attack capabilities. The Israeli Navy has ordered four s, a more heavily armed version of the type, deliveries commenced in 2019. Turkey began to build MİLGEM-class corvettes in 2005. The MİLGEM class is designed for

and littoral patrol duty. The lead ship, TCG ''Heybeliada'', entered navy service in 2011. The design concept and mission profile of the MİLGEM class is similar to the of littoral combat ships of the United States. Finland has plans to build four multi-role corvettes, currently dubbed the , in the 2020s as part of its navy's Project Squadron 2020. The corvettes will have helicopter carrying, mine laying, ice breaking, anti-aircraft and anti-ship abilities. They will be over long and cost a total of 1.2 billion euros. The Greek Navy has categorised the class as fast attack missile craft. A similar vessel is the fast attack missile craft of the Turkish Navy, which is classified as a corvette by

Lürssen Werft Lürssen (or Lürssen Werft) is a German shipyard with headquarters in Bremen-Vegesack and shipbuilding facilities in Lemwerder, Berne and Bremen-Fähr-Lobbendorf. Lürssen designs and constructs yachts, naval ships and special vessels. Tradi ...

, the German ship designer. In 2004, to replace the Ardhana class patrol boat, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence awarded a contract to Abu Dhabi Ship Building for the Baynunah class of corvettes. This class is based on the CMN Group's Combattante BR70 design. The Baynunah class is designed for patrol and surveillance, minelaying, interception and other

anti-surface warfare Anti-surface warfare (ASuW or ASUW) is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's ...

operations in the United Arab Emirates territorial waters and exclusive economic zone. The lead ship was launched on June 25, 2009. Sea trials commenced in January 2010.

Operators

* operates four s and three s. * operates three s. * operates four Jiangdao-class corvettes ordered from China, and a single modified , purchased from the United Kingdom, which was upgraded to a guided-missile corvette. * operates four s purchased from Italy. * operates two s, three s, and a single . * operates two s and a single . * operates 72 Jiangdao-class corvettes. * operates two s. * operates a single and a single , both purchased from South Korea. * operates a single . * operates six s. * operates four s, two s purchased from Spain, and a single purchased from South Korea. * operates a single . * operates six s. * operates five s. * operates seven s, three s, four s, one s, and four s. * operates 14 s purchased from Germany after the German reunification, three s, three s, and four s. * operates three s and two s. * operates two s. * operates two s. * operates four s, two s, and two s. * operates eleven s. * operates a single . * operates six ''Kedah''-class corvettes, two s, and four s. * operates three s. * operates a single . * operates two Jiangdao-class corvettes, ordered from China. * operates six s. * operates six s and a two donated from South Korea. * operates three s purchased from the United Kingdom and a single purchased from South Korea. * operates three s, and two s. * operates a single and a single ''Kaszub''-class corvette. * operates one and one Baptista de Andrade-class corvette. * operates three s, two s, and two s. * operates 20 s, 7-9 s, 21 s, six s, three s, nine Buyan-M-class corvettes, three s, seven s (classed as frigates by NATO), a single (also classed as a frigate by NATO), and two ''Bora''-class corvettes. * operates two s. * operates four s. * operates six s. * operates two s. * operates five s, two s, and two s. * operates three s, one , and two s. * operates six s and four s. * operates two s and a single . * operates a single . * operates six s, two s, and a single . * operates 12 s, and two s purchased from South Korea. * operates a single .

Former operators

* decommissioned its last in 1960. * returned both its s to the United Kingdom in 1944. * decommissioned all its s and s in 1945, following World War II. * decommissioned its last in 1967. * decommissioned its last in 2009. * decommissioned its last in 1979. * decommissioned its last ''Turunmaa''-class corvette in 2002. * sold all of its 16 s to Indonesia in 1992. * decommissioned its two s in 1995. * decommissioned its last in 1952. * decommissioned its two s in 2022. * decommissioned its last in 2019. * decommissioned both its s in 2009. * decommissioned its last in 1958. * decommissioned both its s in 1948. * decommissioned its lone in 1967. * decommissioned its last in 1996. * last ''Vinnytsia'' was sunk in Ochakiv in 2022. * decommissioned all its s in 1945 following World War II. * decommissioned its lone in 1975. * decommissioned its last in 1962. * returned its lone to the United Kingdom in 1949.

Future development

* will receive three s from Russia and six ''Jiangdao''-class corvettes from China. * is planning to build 11 more s. * is will commission three more ''Gowind''-class corvettes. * is currently planning to build four s. * is a partner nation in the

European Patrol Corvette European Patrol Corvette (EPC or PPX) is a Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) project that was adopted by the European Council on 12 November 2019. The objective is to design and develop a new class of warship. The project is coordinate ...

project. * is building an additional five s. * is a partner nation in the

project. Greece is also planning on receiving a number of ''Themistocles''-class corvettes, a variant of the Israeli ''Sa'ar 72'' class. Greece has also ordered three ''Gowind 2500''-class corvettes from France. * has begun research into its NGC (Next-Gen Corvette) project. (India is also working on 12 Anti Submarine Warfare Corvettes - ASW-SWC corvettes) * is currently building an additional two s. Israel is also planning a number of new s. * is leading the development of the

in a joint project with other European Union partners. * has ordered four s from Turkey. * Purchased an additional from South Korea, but is awaiting transfer due to lack of funding. The Philippines have also ordered two new corvettes from Hyundai. * is building four ''Doha''-class corvettes. * is a partner nation in the

project. * has ordered four ''Gowind''-class corvettes. * is currently building corvettes in six separate classes, including: the ''Karakurt''-class, ''Buyan-M''-class, ''Bykov''-class, ''Steregushchiy''-class, ''Gremyashchiy''-class and ''Derzky''-class (the latter three classed as frigates by NATO). * has ordered an unspecified number of s from Turkey. * has ordered two ''Gowind''-class corvettes.

Museum ships

* , 1874 steam and sail barque, Buenos Aires, Argentina * , 1941 , Williamstown, Victoria, Australia * , 1955 , Porto Velho, Brazil * , 1955 , Belém, Para, Brazil * , 1941 , Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada * , 1941 , Whyalla, South Australia, Australia * , 1968 corvette, Turku, Finland * , 1984 missile corvette, Fall River, Massachusetts, US * INS ''Khukri'' (P49) will be preserved in Diu, India * in Samut Prakan Province,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. * ROKS ''Pohang'', a in

Pohang Pohang () is a city in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River. The city is divided into t ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. * ROKS ''Jinhae'', a in Jinhae, South Korea. * ROKS ''Cheonan'', a , was sunk by a North Korean submarine on March 26, 2010, and later raised, is on display in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. * RFS ''Tamboviskiy Komsomolets'', a in Kronstadt,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. * ''Hans Beimler'', 1986 in Peenemünde,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

References

External links

Watch the 1943 film ''Corvette Port Arthur'' at NFB.ca
* {{Authority control Ship types Naval sailing ship types