HMS Poppy (K213)
HMS "Poppy" was a that served in the Royal Navy as a convoy escort during World War II. Design and construction. The Flower class arose as a result of the Royal Navy's realisation in the late 1930s that it had a shortage of escort vessels, particularly coastal escorts for use on the East coast of Britain, as the likelihood of war with Germany increased. To meet this urgent requirement, a design developed based on the whale-catcher - this design was much more capable than naval trawlers, but cheaper and quicker to build than the s or  sloops that were alternatives for the coastal escort role. The early Flowers, such as "Aubrietia" were long overall, at the waterline and between perpendiculars. Beam was and draught was aft. Displacement was about standard and full load. Two Admiralty three-drum water tube boilers fed steam to a vertical triple-expansion engine rated at which drove a single propeller shaft. This gave a speed of . 200 tons of oil were carried, giving a range of at . "Poppy" was one of six Flowers ordered on 3 August 1940. The ship was laid down on 6 March 1941, by Alexander Hall & Co. , Ltd., at their Aberdeen, Scotland shipyard. She was launched on 20 November 1941, and commissioned on 12 May 1942. Service history. On 27 June 1942, "Poppy" departed Reykjavik, Iceland, escorting convoy PQ-17, bound for Arkhangelsk, Russia. On 4 July 1942, the Admiralty ordered the convoy to disperse. "Poppy" rescued 53 survivors from the United States cargo ship , at . Efforts were made by the captain of to repair "Hoosier" and take her under tow, but when the was spotted astern she was again abandoned and "Poppy" tried to sink "Hoosier" with gun fire, but was unsuccessful. "Poppy" escorted 51 convoys during  the war, along with anti-submarine exercises with Royal Navy submarines off of Lough Foyle, and once each off Derry and Campbeltown. Further reading.