Depth charge attack forces U-boat up

7th March 1941: In the Battle of the Atlantic, the new Flower class corvettes start to turn the tide

Night Action. Crew Abandoning Sinking Submarine U-70, 7 March 1941. A reconstruction of the crew of a German U-boat abandoning their sinking submarine as a result of the depth charges of two Royal Navy corvettes. The corvettes are in the left and right foreground, with the U-boat on the surface of the horizon, shown starboard side on. The night scene is illuminated by a number of star shells in the sky. John Hamilton 1972

The new Flower-class corvettes were now starting to make their presence felt in the Battle of the Atlantic. Built at a tenth of the cost of a destroyer, these were an adaptation of a commercial whaling ship design. They could be built relatively quickly by most shipyards, not just specialist Naval yards.

Their arrival meant convoys had the number of escort vessels they needed to fight back effectively. No longer were lone destroyers chasing down different sightings of U-boats around a convoy. One or two corvettes could be sent to investigate a sighting and remain in the vicinity to pursue the threat with sustained attacks.

… six men were said to have been thrown out by the tremendous excess pressure inside the U-boat.

On 7 March 1941, serving as escorts for convoy OB 293 south-east of Iceland, Camellia and her sister ship Arbutus sank the German submarine U-70.