HMS ''Snowflake'' (K211) was a that served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

during the Second World War. The ship participated in both the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...

and the

Arctic convoys of World War II The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...

Construction

The ship was ordered 3 Aug 1940 and laid down at Smith's Dock Company on 19 May 1941. The ship was launched 22 Aug 1941.

Career

The ship was commissioned 2 Nov 1941. In April and May 1942, the ship was assigned to

Convoy ONS 5 ONS 5 was the 5th of the numbered ONS series of Slow trade convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. The North Atlantic battle surrounding it in May 1943 is regarded as the turning point of the Battle of the Atlantic in World Wa ...

. During this convoy, the ship commenced a depth charge attack on an Asdic contact on the evening of the 28th April. The ship remained continuously in action from then on engaging U-boat contacts. During the battle, U-532 launched six torpedoes at the ship. The closest one missed Snowflake by about . After U-532 dived, Snowflake dropped three depth charges on the initial ASDIC contact and ten depth charges when contact was regained at . Snowflake regained ASDIC contact at and dropped another pattern of ten depth charges. On the morning of 6 May the ship recorded her 10th separate attack on a U-boat. On 6 May 1943, the ship was engaged in anti-submarine warfare with HMS Sunflower in the Western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. On manoeuvring to attack German submarine U-125, the submarine which was already damaged was scuttled with Snowflake's intended attack accounting for her sinking. On 14 May 1943, together with

HMS Duncan __NOTOC__ Seven Royal Navy ships have been named HMS ''Duncan'', after Admiral Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan of Camperdown, hero of the Battle of Camperdown. * Carron (1792 ship), HMS ''Duncan'' (1804) was the mercantile ''Carron'', launched a ...

, the ship inflicted minor damage on the submarines U-304 and U-636. On 19 May 1943, together with HMS Duncan, the ship was credited with the sinking of German submarine U-381 following a successful depth charge attack. However, on 12 June 1943, the ship's Commander reported to the Admiralty that a lack of training in communication procedures was a factor in why more submarines had not been sunk in anti-submarine patrols. In 1947, the ship was converted for use as a

weather ship A weather ship, or ocean station vessel, was a ship stationed in the ocean for surface and upper air meteorological observations for use in weather forecasting. They were primarily located in the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans, report ...

. She was broken up in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snowf;ale, HMS 1940 ships Flower-class corvettes of the Royal Navy Weather ships