The First World War Flower-class was a family of 112 sloops divided among five related subclasses rather than the later corvette design. Minesweeping was central because mines posed an enormous wartime threat, and the ships also performed escort and disguised Q-ship duties. A merchant-style hull and triple-expansion machinery allowed commercial shipyards to build them without competing directly for the most specialized naval capacity. Their modest displacement, coal-fired endurance, and flexible employment established an important precedent for expanding escort forces through civilian industry.
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The First World War Flower-class sloops established the commercial-yard model
The original Flower-class comprised 112 sloops across five subclasses, combining minesweeping, escort, and Q-ship work with construction techniques suited to commercial yards.