HMS Orchis

Underway in the River Clyde, December 1942
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Orchis
Builder	Harland and Wolff[1]
Yard number	1075[1]
Laid down	18 June 1940
Launched	15 October 1940
Completed	29 November 1940[1]
Commissioned	29 November 1940
Identification	Pennant number: K76
Fate	Mined off Juno Beach 21 August 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	Flower-class corvette
Displacement	925 long tons[2]
Length	205 ft (62 m) o/a[2]
Beam	33 ft (10 m)[2]
Draught	11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Propulsion	1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 2 × fire tube Scotch boilers Single shaft 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)[2]
Speed	16 kn (30 km/h)[2]
Range	3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h)
Complement	90[2]
Sensors and processing systems	1 × Type 271 radar from March 1941[3] 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament	1 × BL 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk.IX gun[2] 2 × Vickers .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
Service record
Operations:	Battle of the Atlantic

HMS Orchis was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy during World War II.

North Atlantic trade convoy escort

In March 1941, Orchis was the first ship fitted with the very successful 10-cm wavelength Type 271 radar enabling detection of a surfaced submarine at 5,000 yards (4,600 m) or a submarine periscope at 1,300 yards (1,200 m).^[3] Orchis was assigned first to the 4th Escort Group based at Greenock^[4] and then to Escort Group B3 of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force through early 1944.^[5] Orchis escorted convoy ONS 18 during the battle around this and ON 202.^[6]

English Channel

Orchis was then assigned to patrol the English Channel, and sank the German submarine U-741 on 15 August 1944.^[7] U-741 torpedoed LST-404 of convoy FTM-69 while Orchis was escorting nearby convoy FTC-68. Orchis gained and held sonar contact on U-741 and flooded the forward part of the U-boat with two Hedgehog attacks and two depth charge attacks. One person escaped from the aft torpedo-room hatch of the sunken U-boat, and was rescued by Orchis.^[8]

On 21 August 1944, Orchis struck a mine that destroyed the bow back to the 4-inch gun. The damaged ship was beached on Juno Beach and declared a total loss.^[9][10]

Notes

References

• Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-boat War The Hunted 1942–1945. Random House. ISBN 0-679-45742-9.
• Brown, David (1995) [1990]. Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
• Rohwer, Jurgen; Hummelchen, Gerhard (1992) [1972]. Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.

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Flower-class corvettes

Original ships
Free French Naval Forces	Aconit Alysse Commandant d'Estienne d'Orves Commandant Detroyat Commandant Drogou La Bastiaise Lobelia Mimosa Renoncule Roselys
Royal Canadian Navy	Agassiz Alberni Algoma Amherst Arrowhead Arvida Baddeck Barrie Battleford Bittersweet Brandon Brantford Buctouche Calgary Camrose Chambly Chicoutimi Chilliwack Cobalt Collingwood Dauphin Dawson Drumheller Dundas Dunvegan Edmundston Eyebright Fennel Fredericton Galt Halifax Hepatica Kamloops Kamsack Kenogami Kitchener La Malbaie Lethbridge Levis Louisburg Lunenburg Matapedia Mayflower Midland Moncton Moose Jaw Morden Nanaimo Napanee New Westminster Oakville Orillia Pictou Port Arthur Prescott Quesnel Regina Rimouski Rosthern Sackville Saskatoon Shawinigan Shediac Sherbrooke Snowberry Sorel Spikenard Sudbury Summerside The Pas Timmins Trail Trillium Vancouver Ville de Quebec Wetaskiwin Weyburn Windflower Woodstock
Hellenic Navy	Apostolis Kriezis Sachtouris Tombazis
Royal Navy	Abelia Acanthus Aconite Alisma Alyssum Amaranthus Anchusa Anemone Arabis Arbutus Armeria Arrowhead Asphodel Aster Aubrietia Auricula Azalea Balsam Begonia Bellwort Bergamot Bittersweet Bluebell Borage Bryony Burdock Buttercup Calendula Camellia Campanula Campion Candytuft Carnation Celandine Chrysanthemum Clarkia Clematis Clover Coltsfoot Columbine Convolvulus Coreopsis Coriander Cowslip Crocus Cyclamen Dahlia Delphinium Dianella Dianthus Eglantine Erica Eyebright Fennel Fleur de Lys Freesia Fritillary Gardenia Genista Gentian Geranium Gladiolus Gloriosa Gloxinia Godetia Godetia Harebell Heartsease Heather Heliotrope Hemlock Hepatica Hibiscus Hollyhock Honeysuckle Hyacinth Hyderabad Hydrangea Ivy Jasmine Jonquil Kingcup La Malouine Larkspur Lavender Ling Lobelia Loosestrife Lotus Lotus Mallow Marguerite Marigold Marjoram Mayflower Meadowsweet Mignonette Mimosa Monkshood Montbretia Myosotis Narcissus Nasturtium Nigella Orchis Oxlip Pennywort Pentstemon Peony Periwinkle Petunia Picotee Pimpernel Pink Polyanthus Poppy Potentilla Primrose Primula Ranonculus Rhododendron Rockrose Rose Salvia Samphire Saxifrage Snapdragon Snowberry Snowdrop Snowflake Spikenard Spiraea Starwort Stonecrop Sundew Sunflower Sweetbriar Tamarisk Thyme Trillium Tulip Verbena Veronica Vervain Vetch Violet Wallflower Windflower Woodruff Zinnia
Royal Netherlands Navy	Friso
Royal Norwegian Navy	Andenes Nordkyn Eglantine Montbretia Polarfront II Potentilla Rose
South African Navy	Protea
United States Navy Temptress class	Courage Fury Impulse Ready Restless Saucy Spry Surprise Temptress Tenacity
Royal Navy Belgian Section	Godetia Buttercup
Kriegsmarine	PA 1 PA 2 PA 3 PA 4

Modified ships
Royal Canadian Navy	Asbestos Atholl Beauharnois Belleville Brampton Charlottetown Cobourg Fergus Forest Hill Frontenac Giffard Guelph Hawkesbury Ingersoll Lachute Lindsay Listowel Long Branch Louisburg Meaford Merrittonia Mimico Norsyd North Bay Owen Sound Parry Sound Peterborough Renfrew Riviere du Loup Smiths Falls St. Lambert Stellarton Strathroy Thorlock Trentonian West York Whitby
Royal Indian Navy	Assam Gondwana Sind
Royal Navy	Arabis Arbutus Balm Betony Buddleia Bugloss Bullrush Burnet Candytuft Ceanothos Charlock Comfrey Cornel Dittany Flax Honesty Linaria Mandrake Milfoil Musk Nepeta Privet Rosebay Smilax Statice Willowherb
Royal New Zealand Navy	Arabis Arbutus
United States Navy Action class	Action Alacrity Beacon Brisk Caprice Clash Haste Intensity Might Pert Prudent Splendor Tact Vim Vitality
Argentine Navy	Capitán Cánepa República