Volumes of information have been written about Canada's Corvettes and are available elsewhere so the focus of  this document will be the radio fits of this class.

HMCS Sackville as she appeared in 1998 at her permanent berthing in Halifax. Canada had 122 Corvettes in service during WWII. They were built for both the RCN and the RN in seven programs which spanned most of the war years. Sackville is the only survivor of her class and the main reason for that was her quiet steam engine which was a desired characteristic when she was converted to an oceanographic research ship. That conversion saw her survive until 1982 when she was no longer needed and  was taken out of service to ultimately become Canada's Naval Memorial. (Photo by Jerry Proc)

	Location of the Radio Office on a Flower class corvette, 1939-1940 program. (Photo courtesy Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy)
	Location of the flattop antennas on a Flower class corvette, 1939-1940 program. (Photo courtesy Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy)

The late Albert Yonge of Halifax provided a sketch of Sackville's  radio office  Corvettes only had one radio office and there were wide variations in the equipment fits. These ships, were typically fitted with six receiving flattop aerials each 34 feet in length. In the WWII era, the RN referred to these compartments as Wireless Offices. In the RCN, the common vernacular was to call them Radio Offices as opposed to the more modern term Radio Room.

Corvette radio room deck layout - Top View.

Hugh Mccaw of Winnipeg recalls the fittings of the radio office aboard his corvette, HMCS Napanee. Receiver #1 was tuned to the broadcast from CFH or GBXZ. (Station GZZ was the main Whitehall broadcast station). Receiver # 2 was the guard receiver for the 500 kc International distress frequency.

Top view

Sackville's restored  radio office as it appeared in July 1998. There are several inaccuracies in this interpretation  with the most glaring one being the gernade-stem table lamp atop the MDF-5 DF unit. To the credit of the restorer, all the equipment is of the right type and in the right place.  (Photo by Jerry Proc)

Contributors and Credits:

1) Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy 1939-1945 by Ken Macpherson and Marc Milner. Vanwell  Publishing. (1993). St. Catharines Ont.
2) Hugh Mccaw, Winnipeg Manitoba
3) Albert Yonge, RCN. Now deceased.

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Nov17/06