- For the automobile, see Chevrolet Corvette.
French steam corvette Dupleix (1856-1887) A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, smaller than a frigate.
When referring to sailing ships, a corvette is a sloop-of-war.
Almost all modern navies use ships smaller than frigates for coastal duty, but not all of them use the term corvette. During World War II most Allied navies had corvettes. The Flower class were usually Royal Navy vessels although a number were provided by the United Kingdom but manned by sailors from countries that had been occupied by Hitler's forces, while the Royal Canadian Navy named theirs after Canadian cities and towns. Their chief duty was to protect convoys in the North Atlantic and on the route to Murmansk, USSR. The Royal Australian Navy built 60 corvettes, including 20 for the Royal Navy (but crewed by Australians) and 4 for the Royal Indian Navy. These were officially described as Australian Mine Sweepers, or Bathurst class corvettes and were named after Australian towns.
Later in World War II the Royal Navy introduced the Castle class, some of which remained in service until the mid-1950s.
See also
Further reading
- The collection Three Corvettes by Nicholas Monsarrat recounts the writer's World War II experiences on corvettes, starting as an inexperienced small-boat sailor and ending as captain.
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