Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 40:10-44:05

Why the First World War Flower-class sloops are overlooked

The better-known Flower-class corvettes can obscure the First World War sloops, even though flower names recur whenever the Royal Navy expands its small-vessel force.

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Question

Which ship classes from the world wars and Korean War are most often overlooked?

Short answer

Flower-class corvettes and especially the earlier Flower-class sloops are singled out. A later contribution adds U.S. Navy repair ships such as Vulcan.

Notes

The First World War Flower-class sloops are easy to overlook, especially because the better-known Second World War ships were corvettes. Confusing the two can erase an entire earlier group from discussions of small warships. The Royal Navy repeatedly returned to flower names when it needed to expand its small-vessel force quickly. The answer also notes that one of the First World War sloops survived through both world wars, without identifying it.