HMCS Dawson ( K104 ) HMCS " Dawson " was a that served in the Royal Canadian Navy ( RCN ) during the Second World War . She was one of the few Canadian corvettes to serve in action in both oceans . She was named for Dawson City , Yukon . Background . Flower - class corvettes like " Dawson " serving with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were different to earlier and more traditional sail - driven corvettes . The " corvette " designation was created by the French as a class of small warships ; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period but discontinued its use in 1877 . During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s , Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette class , needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity , in this case based on a whaling ship design . The generic name " flower " was used to designate the class of these ships , which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants . Corvettes commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War were named after communities for the most part , to better represent the people who took part in building them . This idea was put forth by Admiral Percy W . Nelles . Sponsors were commonly associated with the community for which the ship was named . Royal Navy corvettes were designed as open sea escorts , while Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles which was exemplified by their minesweeping gear . Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified to allow them to perform better on the open seas . Construction . " Dawson " was ordered on 14 February 1940 from Victoria Machinery Depot , Victoria , British Columbia as part of the 1939 - 1940 Flower - class building program . She was laid down on 7 September 1940 and was launched on 8 February 1941 . She was commissioned into the RCN on 6 October 1941 at Victoria . In September 1943 " Dawson " began a major refit at Vancouver that saw her fo ' c ' sle extended . She had a second refit at Dartmouth that began in January 1945 that lasted until April . Wartime service . " Dawson " was one of the few RCN ships that played an active role in both the Pacific War and the Battle of the Atlantic . After initial workups , she was assigned to Esquimalt Force . From 1942 to 1944 " Dawson " was deployed in an anti - submarine role on the Pacific coast as a local escort . In August 1942 she and her sister , HMCS " Vancouver " were assigned to the American invasion of the Aleutian Islands . There was little risk to the corvettes as they met very little resistance at sea . On the 4 November 1942 she returned to Esquimalt . In February 1943 she returned to work with the United States Navy in Alaska until the end of May . After completing her major refit " Dawson " transferred to the Atlantic in February 1944 . Upon arrival in March she joined escort group W - 7 as part of the Western Escort Force . She escorted convoys from North America to the UK for the remainder of her war . After undergoing a second major refit , " Dawson " worked up in Bermuda in April 1945 but did not return to active service before the European part of the war ended . Post - war service . " Dawson " was paid off on 19 June 1945 at Sorel , Quebec . She was sold for scrap . On the way to the breakers , she foundered near Hamilton , Ontario on 22 March 1946 . She was raised and broken up .