HMCS Rimouski (K121)

History
HMCS Rimouski, circa 1944 - 1945
Canada
Name:	Rimouski
Namesake:	Rimouski, Quebec
Ordered:	22 January 1940
Builder:	George T. Davie & Sons Ltd., Lauzon
Laid down:	12 July 1940
Launched:	3 October 1940
Commissioned:	26 April 1941
Decommissioned:	24 July 1945
Identification:	Pennant number: K121
Honours and awards:	Atlantic 1942-45, English Channel 1944-45, Normandy 1944
Fate:	Scrapped in December 1950 in Canada.
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 in (102 mm) Mk.IX 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

HMCS Rimouski was a Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette which took part in convoy escort duties during the Second World War. She fought primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named after Rimouski, Quebec.

Flower-class corvettes like Rimouski 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 for classes 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.

Rimouski was ordered on 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down at George T. Davie & Sons Ltd., Lauzon on 12 July 1940 and launched on 3 October 1940. She was commissioned into the RCN on 26 April 1941 at Quebec City.

Rimouski had her fo'c'sle extended during a refit at Liverpool, Nova Scotia that began in March 1943 and lasted until August. She had a second major refit from November 1944 until February 1945. That overhaul was begun at Louisburg, Nova Scotia but was completed at Halifax.

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Wikipedia