HMCS Wetaskiwin (K175)

HMCS Wetaskawin, circa 1943-1944.
History
Canada
Name:	Wetaskiwin
Namesake:	Wetaskiwin, Alberta
Ordered:	14 February 1940
Builder:	Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd., North Vancouver
Laid down:	11 April 1940
Launched:	18 July 1940
Commissioned:	17 December 1940
Identification:	Pennant number: K175
Honours and awards:	Atlantic 1941-45; Gulf of St. Lawrence 1944
Fate:	sold to Venezuelan Navy as ARV Victoria
Venezuela
Name:	Victoria
Acquired:	purchased from Royal Canadian Navy
Commissioned:	1946
Out of service:	1962
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 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 Wetaskiwin was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Canadian Navy that served during the Second World War. She served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named after the city of Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Wetaskiwin was the first Pacific coast built corvette to enter service with the Royal Canadian Navy.

Flower-class corvettes like Wetaskiwin 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.

Originally named Banff for Banff, Alberta, she was ordered 14 February 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down by Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd. in North Vancouver on 11 April 1940 and launched on 18 July 1940. Before commissioning her name was changed due to a name conflict with a Royal Navy vessel and she was commissioned as Wetaskiwin on 17 December 1940 at Esquimalt, British Columbia.