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HMCS
BITTERSWEET K182
Flower
Class Corvette
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HMCS Bittersweet K182 |
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Laid down: 17
Apr
1940
Launched: 12
Sep 1940
Commissioned:
23 Jan 1941
Transferred to RCN:
15 May 1941
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Commissioned: 15
May 1941
Paid off: 22
Jun 1945
Returned
to RN: 22 Jun 1945
Fate: Broken up at Rosyth in 1946
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Built at Sorel for the RN, she
was launched on 12 Sep 1940. Bittersweet was towed to
Liverpool, N.S. for completion so as not to be icebound. She was
commissioned 23 Jan 1941 at Halifax as HMS Bittersweet K182. On 05
Mar 1941 left with
convoy HX.113 for the Tyne. There, from 01 Apr 1941 to 06 Jun 1941, the
finishing touches were carried out. During this refit, on 15 May
1941, she was transferred to the RCN and commissioned as HMCS
Bittersweet K182. After working up at
Tobermory she left for Iceland on 27 Jun 1941, having been assigned to Newfoundland
Command. She was continuously employed as an ocean escort until 31
Dec 1941, when she arrived at Charleston, S.C., for refit, resuming
her duties in Mar 1942. Bittersweet served with EG C-5 and C-3 until
Oct 1943, one of her most strenuous convoys being ONS.192, which
lost seven ships. She underwent refit at Baltimore, Md., from Oct
1943 to Nov 1943, which included the extension of her
fo'c's'le, then proceeded to Pictou to work up. She then resumed her
convoy duties, leaving Londonderry late in Oct 1944 to join her
last convoy, ON.262. Upon arriving in Canada she went to Pictou to
commence a refit that was completed at Halifax 10 Feb 1945.
She was then assigned briefly to Halifax Force before transferring
in April to Sydney Force, with which she remained until the end of
the war. She was paid off and returned to the RN at Aberdeen on 22 Jun 1945,
and broken up at Rosyth the following year.
(Note: Although the place & date
of fo'c's'le extension for HMCS Bittersweet K182 as listed on 09 Nov
43, at Baltimore, MD, was obtained from official records,
photographic evidence seems to prove this wrong. It is more likely
that Bittersweet's fo'c's'le extension was completed between Dec 1941,
& May 1942 at Charleston, SC. Source: RCN News Magazine)
Photos and
Documents
My father, James
Ronald Corbett served on the HMCS Bittersweet K-182. I have written a
tribute song to honour him and all the many sailors who served - Rod Corbett
Bittersweet
song (m4a format)
Lyrics
and cords (pdf)
Commanding Officers
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A/LCdr
John Andrew Woods, RNVR - 01 Apr 1941 - 30 Nov 1942
LCdr
Frederick Bancroft
Brooks-Hill, RCNVR - 01 Dec 1942 - 09 Jul 1944 |
Lt Frederick Wilson Bogardus, RCNVR - 10 Jul
1944 - 07 Dec 1944
Skpr/Lt
Frank Chalmers Smith, RCNVR - 17 Dec 1944 - 22 Jun 1945 |
In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice
Lest We Forget
In memory of those who have crossed the bar
They shall not be
forgotten
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Bullock,
Harold L.
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Burla,
Joseph J.
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Corbett,
James R.
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Dennison,
Foster K.
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Ferchuk,
Joseph
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Gallivan,
William
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Harding,
John E.
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James,
Percy W.
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Kertzer,
Harold |
Maize,
Howard R.
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Martin,
Jack W.
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McPhee,
George L.
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McLaren,
James
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Moore,
Jim F. |
Parkinson,
Raymond F.
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Plato,
Franklin R.
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Robinson, John D.
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Sharpe,
John W.
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Smith,
Arthur R. |
Yeates,
Leslie H.
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Gunner - Ship's Mascot
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Former Crew Members
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Finlay,
Arthur Murray, Lt, RCNVR - 16 Feb 1944
Jeffries,
Peter Parnell, Lt, RCNVR
Kingsmill,
Walter Juchereau, Lt, RCNVR - 23 Jan 1941 / 06 Jun 1941
McMeekin,
D.S. - Dec 1940
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Ovenden,
Hedley Allen, Mate, RCNR - 25 Jun 1941
Pare,
Charles, Lt, RCNVR - 15 Feb 1944
Ronson,
John Clifton, Lt, RCNVR - Jan 1945
Sharpe,
John Winston, Ch/Skpr, RCNR - Jan 1941
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Smitherman,
James William, Stoker 
Sullivan,
Joseph Edgar, SLt, RCNVR - 30 Jul 1942
Warren,
Donald Cameron, Lt, RCNVR - 16 Feb 1944
Welch,
Arnold Philip, Lt, RCNVR - 05 Feb 1945 |
Photos and
Documents
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HMCS BITTERSWEET K182
DND / RCN Photo
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HMCS Bittersweet's gunshield art
Credit: Library and Archives of Canada
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Gunner, HMCS Bittersweet's mascot
From the collection of Ross Maize
Courtesy of Wayne Maize
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HMCS Bittersweet preparing to be towed by HMCS Skeena,
May, 1943
The light line has just been passed in
order to pass the heavy tow line
From the collection of Ross Maize
Courtesy of Wayne Maize
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HMCS Bittersweet depth charge rails
From the collection of Ross Maize
Courtesy of Wayne Maize
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HMCS Bittersweet's Starboard (top photo) and Port
(bottom photo) depth charge throws
From the collection of Ross Maize
Courtesy of Wayne Maize
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HMCS Bittersweet, aft, looking forward
From the collection of Ross Maize
Courtesy of Wayne Maize
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HMCS Bittersweet at sea. Port side looking
forward
From the collection of Ross Maize
Courtesy of Wayne Maize
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HMCS Bittersweet leaving St. John's Nfld
From the collection of Ross Maize
Courtesy of Wayne Maize
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HMCS Bittersweet in the North Atlantic
Note the missile rack and hedgehog
From the collection of Ross Maize
Courtesy of Wayne Maize
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HMCS Bittersweet in the North Atlantic
Stbd side aft, looking forward
From the collection of Ross Maize
Courtesy of Wayne Maize
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Sailors on HMCS Bittersweet
L-R: Flowers, Pony, Bailey, Unknown
From the collection of Ross Maize
Courtesy of Wayne Maize
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HMCS BITTERSWEET K182, St. John's, Newfoundland
From the collection of PO
James McLaren
Courtesy of Catriona Linton
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