How survey ships informed Flower-class merchant-hull thinking

Did using merchant-style hulls for survey ships help the Royal Navy develop the Flower-class corvette?

Yes. Survey and trial vessels provided relevant hull experience while the Royal Navy developed its small anti-submarine-warship program.

Survey ships were among the vessels that gave the Royal Navy practical experience with merchant-style hulls before the Flower-class orders. The service already had a small-ship program refining anti-submarine armament, but its purpose-built sloops generally used warship-style hulls. Ships such as the 1931 HMS Challenger, together with other trial vessels, showed how cheaper commercial forms behaved in naval service. That experience supported the formal 1938-39 development and ordering of the Flower-class corvettes.