HMCS Sackville - The Perennial Flower 

Pinned post for Q&A :)

I've just realized that in a different dimension somewhere, Drachinifel is the curator and chief historian for the museum battleship HMS Vanguard.

The 4-inch deck gun on HMCS Sackville used to sit outside the Royal Canadian Legion Branch in my hometown of Amherstburg, Ontario. When Sackville was being restored they searched across Canada to find the proper model deck gun since her armaments were removed in the 1950s, during her time as a research vessel. According to the archives of the Amherstburg Echo newspaper in March 1984 “The Amherstburg Legion has agreed to swap the 4-inch naval gun from the HMCS Kamloops, displayed in front of their building, for a 12- pounder so the Canadian Corvette Trust can refurbish the last remaining Corvette, the HMCS Sackville.”

The last survivor of a gallant workhorse class. Also a fitting memorial to the brave crews of all the little ships who ground out a unsung but vital victory in the longest campaign of World War 2.

The condition of that vessel appears to be absolutely brilliant. Kudos to the Canuck volunteers!

We don't have a lot of ships retained as museum vessels, but the ones we have are cracking examples of important classes. Sackville is a national treasure.

The last survivor of one of THE most important ship classes of WWII.

I've always felt sorry for the guys that crewed the Flowers. They were never dry, never warm, and mostly seasick since that whaler hull rolled like crazy in the heavy seas of a North Atlantic winter. Just being crew was worthy of a medal. It's especially significant that this sole survivor of the class is the original design and not one of the later improved designs that were much more seaworthy and comfortable for the crew. Usually with museum ships what you get is the latest example of the class. She is a true survivor.

I worked with a guy about 10 years ago who's father did convoy duty on Corvettes in WWII. I was in Halifax Nova Scotia and visited the Sackville. I took a ton of pictures and when I got back to Vancouver I printed off all the photos. Upper deck , wheelhouse, lower deck , galley, crew hammocks, engine room, everywhere. I gave them to my co worker on a Friday morning to take home to show to his elderly dad.. On Monday my co worker came back and said. "My dad talked more about the war this weekend than he's spoken in 60 years. The photos unleashed a flood of memories." As did this video for me....

"The Cruel Sea" is one of my favorite WW2 movies, and HMCS Sackville is definitely on my bucket list of museum ships to visit. Thanks for the preview!

Now we know that Drach will be asking for a 40 mm POM POM with a fully functional tracking system for his birthday. He was waaaaay too giddy moving it around! Great video!

I like how they used this ship as the model for HMCS Dodge from the movie Greyhound

My dad was a Leading Coder on HMCS Moose Jaw, Saskatoon and the Town Class HMCS Huntsville. He visited Sackville before he passed- he was glad to; I asked him how it was for him and he said "It was spooky. All the sounds, smells, just how it was back then."

Seeing Drach get all giddy with the well-oiled nature of the Pom-Pom is extremely satisfying.

Lovely video. The Sackville is about 2km from my door. See her almost daily, and I used to work in the building with the windy Canadian Flag. A little known historic tidbit is that the Sackville DID sink one ship. It was the tall ship Larinda. During the evening of September 29, 2003, Hurricane Juan made landfall pretty much at Halifax Harbour, and with sustained winds over 90knts, Sackville broke her mooring lines and rammed and sank the US owned tall ship which had run from the storm and was taking shelter in the berth beside her.

I was one of many donors when Sackville was first acquired as a museum ship. Never been aboard. The one trip I made to Halifax found her closed for some sort of safety reason. Thanks for this video. Happy to see she is well taken care of.

Absolutely lovely! The Flower class is arguably one of the most important ship classes of WWII and is not getting anywhere near the attention they deserve.

Had the pleasure of an impromptu tour of Sackville in '86 having taken a wrong turn and gotten lost in the Halifax dockyard when I was returning to my ship (HMS Battleaxe). Sackville had just, or was about to, begun undergoing restoration at the time, and the mammoth amount of work required was all too evident. The shipkeeper (caretaker/nightwatchman) was a WW2 corvette veteran who was immensely proud of Sackville and the work she and her sisters carried out during the war, and what the preservation trust hoped to achieve with her restoration. To my shame I cannot remember the wonderful gentleman's name, but I remember him with great fondness. I'm glad to see that the years of hard work & devotion of trust members and donations have resulted in HMCS Sackville being preserved as Canada's Naval Memorial, and long may she remain as such.

Dr. Clark's eye roll when Drach said you could hit the hedgehog with a hammer ... priceless!😂😂😂😂😂😂

As someone born and raised in Halifax I was shocked and delighted to see this video in my feed this morning. It's not often my city gets in the spotlight! I've visited Sackville on many occasions and my friend in the RCN worked on this ship last summer. Thank you for bringing attention to this small but important part of Canadian history!

I worked on HMCS Sackville during my time in the RCN (02) Those aren’t storage containers on the depth charge racks, those were floating smoke markers. Great tour though, thank you for giving her the well deserved attention.

I spent 2 1/2 years of my US Coast Guard service on an American built flower class corvette in the late "60s. The USCGC Escanaba ... 255 ft with one 5" 38 gun, Heghogs, 6 ASW torpedoes and a ww2 vintage sonar... Made all of 18 knots at 200+- RPM at full speed... had a tugboat towing propeller so could tow anything!!! :)> She was a very good sea boat...

Thanks Drac, as a Canadian from the other side of the country I have visited Sackville twice. She looks in even better condition than when I last saw her in the 2000's which is great to see.

"They don't depth charge whales." That's what I love about Drach's videos, you always learn something. This was a fun tour of an important little ship. Thanks!

Thanks for a wonderful episode. Canadians are quite proud of our war heritage and HMCS Sackville is a beloved reminder of our contribution to the battle of the Atlantic. 🇨🇦

these drone views, Drach has literally brought the world of warships select screen to life.

As a kid, I would have thought this ship was too small and unimpressive.... As an adult, I realize how wrong I would have been....the Sackville is an awesome vessel!

Drac you failed to mention the other armament of a Canadian Flower, anything the crew could get their hands on. A retelling of Oakville vs U-94 may be in order for those who never hard of it or saw the Canadian Navy video. It says something about the Canadian sailors since the sub was rammed twice, depth charged while on the surface (what's the setting for that depth?), bombarded with all the mounted guns, boarded by 2 naked sailors armed with improvised melee weapons among other things, and subject to a deluge of everything from small arms fire to empty bottles to hurled insults.

on the bucket list. I want so bad to go and see her. The Cruel Sea was one of my favorite movies of all time.

My Dad was a sonarman on a PC during the war, it was on submarine patrol for the full time he was stationed on it. So I certainly enjoyed learning about this wonderful little ship

As a resident of the Halifax area watching your video aswell as naval legends video on the sackville makes me proud to see my home port and navy given acknowledgement.

Beavering away is a perfectly good expression, although uncommon. I can't imagine any Canadian taking exception to it.

Ah, yes... the Sackville! I've been waiting for this episode ever since we last spoke face-to-face. It's amazing what ships Canada has in its possession within its historical fleet. 🙂

That Dr. Clarke side-eye expression in the background at 29:00 while Drach is talking about hitting ASW rockets with hammers is just too perfect!!

I visited her in 2001, while on a port visit with USS Harry S. Truman. Definitely worth the time to go aboard. You won't believe how cramped she is below decks.

I visited HMCS Sackville in Halifax two weeks ago. It is one of the best managed and presented museum ships I have ever visited, and the volunteers are fantastic. Being a small and relatively simple ship, it is easy to take it all in. There is a lot to see including interesting spaces below, communications and sonar gear, and more. Much of the ship is accessible. Highly recommended as a valuable piece of history.

Thank you Drac - as someone who has been watching your channel for a while, it means a lot to see a ship that I see almost every day when I go to work. She's a beautiful ship and I've been so lucky to get the chance to be aboard numerous times and to be able to help the crew out. Thank you for showing her off.

The attached museum is also quite impressive, and CSS Acadia seen in the background of the last shot. Not sure if you checked out the Shearwater aviation museum across the harbour, but they have a great selection of naval aircraft, including an airworthy swordfish.

Ah yes, when I saw her...I immediately blurted out Princess Leia's line... You went to sea in THAT? You're braver than I thought...

Perfect timing, Just finished a re-read of DA Rayner's book Escort - as he commanded a Flower for nearly 2 years . Having built the old Matchbox 1/72 Flower many years ago , that drone sequence brought back a lot of memories!

T/y for this. I've lived in Halifax for 45 years, served 9 years Navy, and have never been aboard her. That will change this year. Looking forward to it.

My father served in RCN corvettes for four years during the war, so every time I'm in Halifax at the right time of year I visit HMCS Sackville. Being 23 when he volunteered in October 1939 he was considered one of the old men. In regards the depth charges, the corvettes could replenish their supply from freighters that carried them while at sea as long as the sea conditions allowed. I actually have photographs taken during such an occasion. There were occasions when whales or even large schools of fish were depth charged as sometimes such objects were indistinguishable from u-boats on the ASDIC. My father told of one occasion where after dropping a spread of charges a large amount of bubbles were seen rising to the surface. Believing it was a damaged u-boat coming up they opened up with all weapons only to see a large mass of dead fish appear on the surface. Most of my father's stories were about such things as getting drunk while on liberty and then going back to the ship's gyros while still in that state, or about a fight breaking out in a Derry pub and very quickly spreading through the entire town. He also got a commendation once for jury rigging the ship's stove while at sea so the crew could continue to have hot meals, something that was very important on a notoriously wet ship. I wish I could find a copy of the 1943 movie "Corvette K-225" starring Randolph Scott. A rare movie about Canadian corvettes.

Class act Drach, when the nice volunteer explained the towed anti acoustic torpedo device was and stepped right in front of the camera. Handled brilliantly.

I visited Sackville many years ago and all I can say is that they have really improved the state of the ship since then. Good on them.

The Flower class is my absolute favourite Seond World War ship class. The look, history, role, size and purpose, its just a great little ship! Looking forward to the sequal to this video, and yes; the quality of the Revell kit of the HMS Snowberry will make you want to melt it down to a puddle instead

19:48 The Sackville depth charges. Let me introduce you to Pat Waddell, a young Ontarian who decided his WW2 place was to be an RCN sailor. He was assigned to Corvettes and soon realized to hang high his hammock high as the waves washed through these tough little boats. Anyways, peace returned (for a short while) and before Pat was de-mobbed, he was ordered to make the Corvettes storage safe by removing all the stuff that could go "BANG!" Job done, and Pat wanted a souvenir , so a visit to the scrap yard and Pat walked out with a Mark 7 depth charge casing which moved around with him for 20 years, until it ended up in a storage shed at his last managerial job at a forest reserve. With Pat's passing, the new reserve owner decided to repurpose the shed and ordered it cleaned out. In 2018, the labourers found all kinds of rusty tools, spools of cable wire, dead animals and chainsaws, 'steel drums'- and a couple of cases of Forcite dynamite! Pat liked blowing up tree stumps instead of digging them out. The police called in the military demo engineers to move the dynamite and they spotted the war memento depth charge casing and confiscated it. Manager Pete, being a history buff, told the engineers to return the casing, they agreed but soon rescinded their word and after a year of heated phone calls and expensive lawyer letters, Pat's war memento is now a prized piece in Pete's collection. So there is at least one WW2 depth charge exists!

Originally it was a Matchbox 1/72 kit that later came out under Revell label. Airfix did the BPB RAF rescue boat, the late Vosper 73' and the pre-war S-7 S-Boat. Which reminds me of a lot of unfinished business ... 😓😓😓

Thanks, Drach. When I was in Halifax on October 5, 2022, I walked from the Cruise Terminal where my ship (mine only very partially), RMS Queen Mary 2, was docked to the Maritime Museum to visit HMCS Sackville. It was sunny and warmish (15C, 59F), no doubt typical of tropical Canada in Autumn, and I was astonished to find that what from a distance looked like a large blue and white yacht really was HMCS Sackville in her WWII paint job. The helpful crew assured me that the un-warlike colors were correct and helped make her hard to spot through a periscope.

Thanks Drach Hope you remembered to put those pins back in on the pom-pom training wheels :)

I visited this, provoking memories of reading The Cruel Sea. It was a calm day, deep in Halifax harbour, and she still rolled like a pony on grass. Open bridge, Asdic guy in a cupboard, - hate to imagine what it was like in a north Atlantic winter.

Absolutely glorious. I am envious to an enormous degree. Seeing that 2-pdr slewing so quickly, but also having the two stations make me realise what a job William Savage VC would have had when wounded aboard MGB 314 at St Nazaire - that gun would have really wanted to help him in the aiming, but at the same time, he would have had the devil's own job handling the weapon on his own if he had to adjust range (elevation). And he was hideously wounded and bleeding out whilst engaging shore batteries with his. What a piece of equipment. The beautiful motion of the spotter's shield and ammo box tray with the gun and sights as it elevated was something to see.

Excellent video about one of my favorite ship classes-all pretense stripped away with just the essentials left to be a serious threat to a U boat trying to attack a convoy. As always kudos to the crew who maintain the ship in such wonderful condition. I’m so glad at least one Flower has survived.

Last time I heard about anything in the Halifax area was when the French stowed a bunch of Benzole barrels on a munitions ship, didn't turn out so particularly well.

Fun Fact: HMCS Sackville was one of the ships in Tom Hanks Greyhound movie as "Dickie"!

Just saw her in person 2 weeks ago, Met another Drachinfel fan when I was there. Great to see her in the flesh

Thank you for the tour. I remember, too many years ago, a movie about the Corvettes (I found it - Corvette 225) and loved the ship. But had trouble trying to figure out the layout, with the open bridge and such. Your drone footage answered all those forgotten questions from so many years ago.

Thank you! As a young man I was introduced to the British Corvettes by reading teh Cruel Sea in teh early 1970s. I have always been fascinated by these little ships and the brave men that sailed them.

Drach looks like an excited kid spinning around on that gun mount

Thank you for this WONDERFUL tour of this hero!!!

Went to see her in halifax after visiting a friend. Beautiful ship and a highly underrated class. Hope you visited the Ojibwa as well One interesting story I hope you might cover is that of HMCS stormont. She was a river class frigate built and served, but after the war was eventually turned into the pleasure yacht Christina O, where she is still in service today. Absolutely wild that a ship in service during the second world War can be rented for a pleasure cruise right now

Thank you! I remember reading about Flower Class Corvets, years ago, and I had imagined something much more clunky and crude, but this little ship is elegant and beautiful. The ones I had read about were in the North Atlantic and spent a large amount of time bouncing around like a cork, but still able to do their job quite well. I think the term, "Ball bearing Sailors", would fit the Crew quite well, men who could walk on the wall and never spill their afternoon Tea. Must have been exciting duty!

Ah, as a proud Canadian in one Calendar year Drach has done specials on Haida and Sackville. All is well.

Thanks for that, I've read a number of books on the Battle of the Atlantic and always marveled at what these Flower Class Corvettes accomplished.

So happy you came to Canada. Love the Flower class.

I just did a tour of this same vessel (Aug 7, 2023), and made a video too. You offered a lot of technical information which I lacked... Hahahaa. Good video mate. Cheers, from New Brunswick, Canada.

Honestly just seeing how the gun shield moves with the elevation change on the pom pom is very interesting.

The film Compass Rose immediately came into my mind, a classic! BTW the lighting and sound appear to be fine.👍

She is in fantastic shape, a fitting memorial to her WW2 crews... and Canada should be proud of her!!!!!!!!!

Hey, Drach, thanks for this. In the mid 80s I worked on a then tour vessel (MV Shoreham) that docked right where HMCS Sackville is now, at the Maritime Mureum of the Atlantic. In fact we were bumped to the other side of the dock when she was towed in, looking a little decrepit and ready for restoration. Two related stories. If you look at your aerial shot at about 2:00 you can see how the slip shallows quickly and how clearly you can see the rocks on shore. In one entire summer working there I think there was one - one day when you could see those rocks. Halifax had a habit of dumping raw sewage into the harbour and one of the outfalls was right there. Stinky brown water that you couldn't see a couple of feet through. One day some idiot decided to dump pink paint into the sewers and it was everywhere across the water. We were all terrified to fall into the water for fear of immediate sepsis or the enormous warf rats. A few weeks after Sackville arrived and we were on the opposite side of the dock we had a few days off to do maintenance, mainly above the waterline scraping and painting. Our skipper was able to borrow a camel (a log with old tires around) from the Sackville so we could try to work without too much danger of falling into the fecal water. They didn't need it at the moment and were glad to help. The work crew just beginning to assess the restoration were at once overwhelmed and exhilarated at the job ahead of them. I was able to sneak a quick tour of some parts of the ship and their graciousness and pride in what they knew they would accomplish is something I will never forget. I left Halifax for the road back home to the west coast of Canada a couple of years later, but if I ever get back there to visit Halifax again, Sackville is one of my priotities (real donairs is another). She sure looks a lot better than she did that summer all those decades ago. Many kudos to those who have laboured so hard, that she may always honour the sacrifice of the naval and merchant mariners in the Battle of the Atlantic.

What a wonderfully preserved ship.

This ship is in immaculate shape. They do a real nice job there.

My Dad (Alex Esgate) was on HMS Pink during WW2 and he was the signalman who operated the signal lamp.. (Phil)

Very pleased to see a longer video on this ship. Been very interested in the Flowerclass and Sackville in particular, since I read Alan Eastons brilliant book "50 North", wich I highly recommend to anybody looking for a first hand account of a corvette commander in WWII.

Wow, that ship is looking way better than the last time I visited!

Prior to the U.S. entering the war, the Canadian Armed Forces were actively recruiting in the U.S. It was a well publicized secret (TIC). My dad was 15 and boys back then were much more adventurous than now and he told the RCN recruiter who was in civilian clothes that he was 18. My dad told me he just knew this man didn't believe him, but they took him and after his initial training he was assigned to a Korvette. He's gone now and I remember him talking about it but I cannot recall which one. He saw action in the North Atlantic. After Pearl Harbor Americans serving in the Canadian Armed Forces were given the option of leaving the Canadian military. My dad took this and returned home to enlist in the U.S. Navy. He was 17 and needed his parent's permission. He never told his parents where he was during his time in the RCN and they were very angry so they signed for him to enlist. He went to boot camp in San Diego and since Americans are not allowed to declare having served in a foreign military, he went through initial training like any other despite having more combat experience than the Chief Petty Officer who was his company commander. He was later assigned to the Destroyer Tender; USS Dixie (AD-14) where he spent the war in the SW Pacific. After the war he joined the Marine Corps Reserves and was activated for Korea. I served in the Marine Corps to be part of the evacuation of Saigon in 1975. Of six children, two served in the Marine Corps, one in the Navy and one in the Army.

Now she's a movie star as well !! And it was a particularly good movie as well.

Fabulous presentation! So much interesting detail. The ship looks like she has just emerged from builders yard. Congratulations to the Canadian for keeping this important artefact from WW2 live! Thanks Drach for sharing.

We really enjoyed our visit to Halifax and larger Nova Scotia several years ago, including HMCS Sackville. That is one hilly city! Walking from the harbor to the fort on the hill is quite a workout.

Visited Haida and Sackville, loads of respect and admiration for the sailors of the day.

Happy that you enjoyed her. I have had the pleasure of watching the 4 incher being fired. It was a demo during the tall-ships celebration. Rather amusing as it was quite crowded at the time and many people were not aware of what was happening. Seeing so many people jump at the same time was highly amusing. Cheers from Halifax.

Basically still in fighting condition, absolutely wonderful.

What a beautiful ship. Well done by the Sackville crew. Great video, Drach.

I live on the Canadian prairies and finally visited Halifax/Dartmouth last year and explored HMCS Sackville. Admission is free but they appreciate donations. I played around with the 20mm Oerlikon guns (wish they had sights) and the Hedgehog aiming system. I did not realize you could open the breech on the main gun but I did work the elevation adjustments to move the gun up and down (I didn't unlock the traverse system - there appear to be latches at the base of the gun mount). The 40mm pom pom gun is normally blocked off to the general public because you have to climb that one ladder on the side of the tub and they don''t want people potentially falling off and getting injured. So glad that this piece of history was preserved. Looking forward to seeing the video of the insides of theI ship. I remember the crew quarters (the red lit room with the two realistic mannequins standing up) had a very odd vibe while I was in there. Also, if you're visiting the Halifax waterfront take the ferry across to the Alderney terminal in Dartmouth ($2.75 adult fare, $2.00 for teens and serniors, 12 and under free, with a 90 minute transfer time) and treat yourself to a lobster poutine at Evan's Fresh Seafood in the building adjoining the ferry terminal!

I've got to say, that is an exceptionally well kept ship. I've been on working ships which haven't looked as fresh.

I was living in Halifax in 2003 when the city was trashed by Hurricane Juan, which was a Category 2 when it made landfall. When the storm surge entered Halifax Harbour, the Sackville slipped her moorings and rammed a US flagged schooner named the "Larinda" berthed immediately in front of the Sackville's bow. The Larinda was holed by the collision and sank while tied to the dock. The following week, I was riding public transport on my way to work and overheard two sailors from the Canadian Navy talking. One said to the other, "Did you hear that the skipper of the Larinda wants to sue over the sinking of his ship?". The other sailor replied, "That's the first ship the Canadian Navy has sunk in over 50 years! And she was American!".

Well done Canada for preserving this example of a very important warship 👍 Makes me want to go and watch The Cruel Sea again 😀

Great job with the drone footage! It’s really neat to have that perspective

Please come again! Thank you for doing so!!!😊

the business end is the muzzle, drach! 😊

The best hands-on with the Flower class ! ever ! TY- drach and Parks Canada , this will go into the Archives. Fox news of the day would say " Canadian tubs save England ' ! Service.

I was fortunate enough to tour this ship in 2010 with my son who was 6 at the time and my best friends kids. The kids had a wonderful time exploring and trying all of the parts that moved … I marvelled at the incredible condition the ship was in and was in quiet awe and muttered a thankful appreciation to Her Majesty’s Royal Canadian Navy and the loyal volunteers who keep Sackville in pristine shape. The cramped living spaces on the ship demonstrate the incredibly tough environment that the brave Allied sailors (Canadian, British, Russian, Norwegian, Polish and American) of WW2 worked in. If you ever are in Halifax and the Sackville is open to tour - if you are a ship enthusiast you will not be disappointed. (And Halifax is a wonderful destination to see and vacation anyways … )

Drach would make an excellent tour guide

i think i have the model of this vessel. really fun to paint with its bright colours.

I've read a little about these, but had only imagination to picture them for the most part. Thanks for doing this, it fills a blank in my knowledge. :)

i was surprised at the condition of the ship and how clean she looks, compared to some other museum ships.

What always strikes me about Sackville, that makes her very historically significant, is that of all the preserved WW2 era commowelth vessels, she is the sole example to display the famed QF 2-pounder "Pom Pom" gun. Unlike most others which have had major Cold War modifications, Sackville remains preserved in her original WW2 fit, which is a major plus for me.

This is awesome! My dad was picked up near Nova Scotia by a Canadian Corvette after being torpedoed. Sad that there is only one remaining, but she appears to be in great shape. Thanks for such an informative video.

Beautiful. Any time I see HMCS I click. I live right across from the Detroit River from our friends in Canada and worry about their naval capability these days. Is this vessel still able to go to sea as a museum ship?

What was so frustrating about Airfix's Snowberry? Behind me is a case containing the Matchbox 'Bluebell'. I had no trouble building her in the mid 1980s and she preserves, with her crew's positioning, much of what I remember from my time aboard similar-sized vessels of the '-Ton' class.

I got locked in HMCS Sackville's head once about a decade ago. I had to "drain the bilge" so to speak and midways through was alarmed to hear the caretakers locking up the doors as they headed off for lunch. No amount of hollering out of the port hole could get their attention as they headed down the jetty and so the head turned into a brig for about an hour. The caretaker that opened back up was quite shocked to see that someone had been secured inside! Sackville's main gun is still operational and can be fired; it is routinely used to fire celebratory salutes on Saint Barbara's Day and has been used for other ceremonial purposes recently as well.