HMCS Battleford (K165)

HMCS Battleford off the East Coast of the United States, 5 October 1943.
History
Canada
Name:	Battleford
Namesake:	Battleford, Saskatchewan
Operator:	Royal Canadian Navy
Ordered:	1 February 1940
Builder:	Collingwood Shipyards Ltd., Collingwood, Ontario
Laid down:	30 Sept 1940
Launched:	15 April 1941
Commissioned:	31 July 1941
Decommissioned:	18 July 1945
Identification:	Pennant number: K165
Honours and awards:	Atlantic 1941-1945
Fate:	sold to Venezuelan Navy
Venezuela
Name:	Libertad
Operator:	Venezuelan Navy
Acquired:	purchased from Royal Canadian Navy
Commissioned:	1946
Out of service:	12 April 1949
Fate:	wrecked 12 April 1949
General characteristics
Class and type:	Flower-class corvette (original)
Displacement:	925 long tons (940 t; 1,036 short tons)
Length:	205 ft (62.48 m)o/a
Beam:	33 ft (10.06 m)
Draught:	11.5 ft (3.51 m)
Propulsion:	single shaft 2 × fire tube Scotch boilers 1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Speed:	16 knots (29.6 km/h)
Range:	3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h)
Complement:	85
Sensors and processing systems:	1 × SW1C or 2C radar 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament:	1 × BL 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk.IX single gun 2 × .50 cal machine gun (twin) 2 × Lewis .303 cal machine gun (twin) 2 × Mk.II depth charge throwers 2 × depth charge rails with 40 depth charges originally fitted with minesweeping gear, later removed

HMCS Battleford was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. After the war she was sold to the Venezuelan Navy and renamed Libertad.

Flower-class corvettes like Battleford serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different from earlier and more traditional sail-driven corvettes. The "corvette" designation was created by the French as a class of small warships; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877. During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette class, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design. The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants.

Corvettes commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were named after communities for the most part, to better represent the people who took part in building them. This idea was put forth by Admiral Percy W. Nelles. Sponsors were commonly associated with the community for which the ship was named. Royal Navy corvettes were designed as open sea escorts, while Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles which was exemplified by their minesweeping gear. Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified to allow them to perform better on the open seas.

Battleford was ordered 1 February 1940 from Collingwood Shipyards at Collingwood, Ontario as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down on 30 September 1940, launched on 15 April 1941, and commissioned on 31 July 1941 at Montreal, Quebec. She is named after the town of Battleford, Saskatchewan.