HMCS Louisburg - K143

The first of two Flower-Class corvettes to be named after Louisburg, Nova Scotia, this ship was commissioned on 2 October 1941 and was assigned to the Sydney Force, and then to Newfoundland Command in January 1942.

On 1 February 1942 while on convoy SC.67, one of her fellow Flower-class escorts and leading corvette on the convoy HMCS Spikenard was lost. She made two more round trips on this Newfie-Derry run following refits before she was transferred to escort duties for Operation Torch.

While in Londonderry being fitted for anti-aircraft armament, she was accidentally rammed by the British Shoreham-class sloop HMS Bideford on 9 December 1942, necessitating 5 weeks of repairs in Belfast, Ireland. On 6 February 1943, her bad luck continued when she was torpedoed by Italian aircraft near Algeria. The ship and 38 of her company were lost.

Reference Links:
Government of Canada - HMCS Louisburg
For Posterity's Sake- HMCS Louisburg
In Memory of the Ships and their Crew of the Royal Canadian Navy  Lost at Sea during WW 1 and WW11 - PDF