HMCS MORDEN K170

Flower Class Corvette

Built at Port Arthur, Ont., she was commissioned at Montreal on 06 Sep 1941. MORDEN arrived at Halifax on 16 Sep 1941. She joined Newfoundland Command and left St. John's 23 Nov 1941 to escort SC.56, her first convoy, to Iceland. She continued on to the U.K., however, to carry out two months' refit and repairs at Southampton. She left the Clyde on 05 Mar 1942, to pick up westbound convoy ON.73, and was thereafter continuously in service as an ocean escort until the fall of 1943 - from Aug 1942, as a member of EG C-2. 

The following is from the memoirs of Larry Restall "We detected surfaced sub (later found to be U-756) attempting to break into convoy at night. I was on the after gun crew during action stations firing at the sub which dived. We attempted to ram but the sub was able to submerge. Passed over sub and dropped a pattern of depth charges. According to German records the sub never reported again."

On 22 Oct 1942, the SS Winnipeg was torpedoed and sunk by U-443 while enroute from Liverpool to Saint John, NB. HMCS MORDEN rescued all who were aboard her - 192 passengers and crew.

On 22 Mar 1943, while escorting Operation Torch convoy KMS.11, HMCS MORDEN rescued 102 survivors of the SS City of Christchurch that was sunk by aircraft.

After a brief refit at Lunenburg in Jun 1943, and workups at Pictou, she sailed for Plymouth to join EG 9. She left Devonport on 15 Sep 1943 to join the group on patrol south of the Sicily Islands, but the group was ordered to the assistance of combined convoy ONS.18/ON.202 which lost six merchant ships and three of its escort.

In Oct 1943 MORDEN rejoined EG C-2 and was given an extensive refit at Londonderry between late Nov 1943 and the end of Jan 1944. The work done included the lengthening of her fo'c's'le.

She left 'Derry for the last time on 14 Nov 1944. In May 1945, on completion of a long refit at Sydney and Halifax, she joined EG W-9 of WLEF and left New York on 23 May 1945 as local escort to HX.358, the last HX convoy. Paid off on 29 Jun 1945, at Sorel, she was broken up at Hamilton in 1946.

U-Boats Sunk:  U-756 (Kptlt Klaus Harney) sunk on 01 Sep 1942 by HMCS MORDEN K170 in position 57-41 N, 31.30 W. Sunk with all hands. 43 men lost.

Photos and Documents          The Ship's Bell

Commanding Officers

     In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice    

     Lest We Forget     

MAY, George Edward

Stoker PO, RCNR

MPK - 14 Oct 1942

Lost on passage aboard Caribou when returning to HMCS MORDEN from leave

     In memory of those who have crossed the bar    

They shall not be forgotten

Former Crew Members

Photos and Documents

(MDN001) The 4-inch gun of HMCS MORDEN  //  Credit: Ken Macpherson / Naval Museum of Alberta

(MDN002) HMCS MORDEN as seen from HMCS Kamloops circa 1942-1943  //  Source: Flickr photo collection of Ron Bell

(MDN003) HMCS MORDEN K170 during acceptance trials August 1941  //  Source: Flickr photo collection of Ron Bell

(MDN004) HMCS MORDEN'S depth charge storage area  //  Source: Flickr photo collection of Ron Bell

(MDN005) HMCS MORDEN in the North Atlantic  //  Source: Flickr photo collection of Ron Bell

(MDN006) HMCS MORDEN K170 on the Foyle River circa 1943-1944  //  From the collection of Kenneth Medford, DSM  //  Courtesy of Gary Medford

(MDN007) Gunshield art of HMCS MORDEN K170, eagle sweeping over a U-Boat, talons ready to pick up it’s prey  //  Roger Litwiller Collection, courtesy Raymond Leslie Reid, RCNVR. (RTL-RLR010)

(MDN008) 357 Rescued by HMCS MORDEN  //  From the collection of François Messier, AB, RCNVR  //  Courtesy of Denis Messier

(MDN009) HMCS MORDEN K170  //  From the collection of George Smith, AB, RCNVR  //  Courtesy of Matthew Smith

(IK11-IK13) HMCS MORDEN'S gunshield art - painted by LS Ian Kerr

From the collection of Ian Kerr, LS, RCNVR