HMS ''La Malouine'' was a of the

Royal 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 F ...

, serving during the

Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Originally ordered by the French Navy (Marine Nationale) under the same name, following the fall of France, the ship was seized by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1940. The corvette remained in service until being

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...

in 1947.

Origin

''La Malouine'' was one of four Flower-class corvettes ordered by the Marine Nationale. Only two of these were delivered to the Marine Nationale. One of these ships was ''La Malouine'', the other . On completion by Smiths Dock Co. Ltd ''La Malouine'' sailed for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

for fitting out. It was here that she was commissioned into the Marine Nationale in June 1940. However,

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 ...

surrendered Surrender, in military terms, is the relinquishment of control over territory, combatants, fortifications, ships or armament to another power. A surrender may be accomplished peacefully or it may be the result of defeat in battle. A sovereign ...

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 betwe ...

on 22 June 1940. As a consequence of this event ''La Malouine'' was seized by the Royal Navy on 3 July 1940 and subsequently commissioned into the Royal Navy, by Lt. Cdr. R.W Keymer RN, on 29 July 1940. Throughout the remainder of the war ''La Malouine'' flew both the Tricolore and the

White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on ...

. Of the other three ships ordered by France ''La Bastiaise'' was destroyed by a

sea mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ve ...

whilst on

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s at

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

. ''La Dieppoise'' and ''La Pampolaise'' were never delivered to the Marine Nationale and were commissioned into the Royal Navy as and .

1940 to mid 1942

''La Malouine'' took part in her first

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

, out of

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, in September 1940. At the end of September 1940 she formed part of the escort for convoy HX72, sailing from Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Eight

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...

s were lost during this convoy. ''La Malouine'' alone picking up 146 survivors from the , ''Dalcairn'', '' Empire Airman'' and the ''Frederick S. Fales''. All these ships were sunk by the . By the end of 1940 she had taken part in nine convoys. 1941 found ''La Malouine'' as a member of the 2nd Escort Group operating out of the port of Londonderry,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. On 7 January 1941, in company with another corvette, , she assisted in the sinking of the Italian navy submarine . On 5 May, during an air raid on

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland, ''La Malouine'' was damaged by a near miss and lost two of her crew killed. This required several weeks of repair. By July she was back on active service joining convoy SL81 out of

. This convoy lost six ships, including ''Kumasian'' to on 5 August 1941. ''La Malouine'' picked up 59 of the ''Kumasian'' survivors. During 1941 ''La Malouine'' escorted 10 convoys. Between January and May 1942 ''La Malouine'' was involved in 4 convoys. In February 1942 she was at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in company with the corvettes, , , and .

With convoy PQ 17

In June 1942 ''La Malouine'' was assigned to the close escort group for

Convoy PQ 17 PQ 17 was the code name for an Allied Arctic convoy during the Second World War. On 27 June 1942, the ships sailed from Hvalfjörður, Iceland, for the port of Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union. The convoy was located by German forces on 1 July, aft ...

. Other corvettes of her class involved were , and . The convoy left Hvalfjord on 27 June 1942 bound for Murmansk. On 4 July PQ was ordered to disperse, 25 of its merchant ships were sunk and only 11 reached 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 national ...

. ''La Malouine'' and her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

s, survived the voyage. ''La Malouine'' reached

Archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

on 25 July, carrying 20 survivors from the who had been transferred from the cargo ship ''Empire Tide''.

After PQ 17 to 1945

After her return from the Soviet Union, in September 1942, ''La Malouine'' was back in the

Mediterranean 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 the e ...

undertaking 4 more convoys before the end of the year. 1943 began with ''La Malouine'' escorting convoy KMS.6G during which, on 6 January, east of

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, the merchant vessel ''Benalbanach'' was lost along with approximately 400 lives. The period from January to June 1943 was spent escorting convoys from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Whilst escorting convoy OS.45, on 2 April, ''La Malouine'' picked up some of the 53 survivors from the torpedoed merchant vessel ''Katha'', west of

Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

. From June 1943 ''La Malouine'' returned to the Mediterranean where she escorted a further 11 convoys in addition to the six already undertaken in the first half of the year. During 1944 ''La Malouine'' undertook escort duty on 14 convoys, covering both trans-

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and Mediterranean routes. On 16 April whilst ''en route'' to

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

''La Malouine'' assisted in the rescue of 72 crew from the

liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

''Meyer London'' which had been attacked and sunk with an

aerial torpedo An aerial torpedo (also known as an airborne torpedo or air-dropped torpedo) is a torpedo launched from a torpedo bomber aircraft into the water, after which the weapon propels itself to the target. First used in World War I, air-dropped torped ...

. Records indicate that ''La Malouine'' undertook two convoys in 1945 the last of which was from Liverpool to

in May of that year.

Postwar

''La Malouine'' returned to the UK and was decommissioned, eventually being scrapped at Gelliswick Bay,

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

on 22 May 1947.

References

External links

HMS ''La Malouine'' at Convoy PQ 17An account by Leading Seaman (ASDIC) aboard ''La Malouine'' during PQ 17Arnold Hague database entries: HMS ''La Malouine'' convoy participation at convoyweb.org.uk
* ttp://www.naval-history.net/xDKCas1003-Intro.htm Casualty Lists of the Royal Navy and Dominion Navies 1922-present by Don Kindell at naval-history.netbr>Canonesa,Convoy HX72 & U-100
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Malouine (K46) Flower-class corvettes of the Royal Navy 1940 ships