Flower Class Shorts no 5: HMS Coreopsis

The Flower-class sloop HMS Coreopsis was a different vessel from the drifter Coreopsis II, which took part in a destroyer-led sinking of a submarine tentatively identified as UB-85.

Coreopsis served as a decoy warship with concealed guns, operating with the Grand Fleet, in the Mediterranean, and from Gibraltar under false names.

Coreopsis's dimensions and stated carrying margin of roughly 450 tons show the capacity of a small sloop, although the tonnage comparison is unclear.

A top speed of 16 knots, 260 tons of coal, QF 4-inch Mark IV guns, lighter guns, depth charges, and a complement of 92 show what the small hull carried.

Coreopsis helps explain the First World War roots of the later Royal Navy sloop, even though the class was originally ordered for minesweeping rather than Q-ship duty.

The overlap between sloops and minesweepers reflects operational utility and the political case needed to secure funding for small warships in peacetime.