ROYAL NAVY SOUTH ATLANTIC COMMAND - ROYAL NAVY J
1)JASMINE (CORVETTE)
Image by A. I.
Completed: 1940
Displacement: 940 tons full 1,180 tons
Length: 62,48 meters
Beam: 10,06 meters
Draught: 4,04 meters
Armament: 1 × 102mm, 1 × 40mm , 4-6 × 20mm / 12.7mm, ASW (0-1×hedgehog, 1-2×DCL, 1-2×DCR)
Propulsion: 2 × S.E cylindrical boilers, 1 × vertical triple expansion reciprocating engines @ 2750 hp, 1 (shaft)
Speed: 16 kts
Complement: 85
Based Freetown from Dec 1941 throughout 1942 including a brief passage to Durban. In December 1941 she sailed for Ponta Delgada in the Azores and then Freetown, S. Africa along with HMS Rockrose. She was part of the Freetown Escort Group between Jan-Mar 1942 and supported a number of convoys from Freetown into Spring 1942.
During World War II, the Flower-class corvette HMS *Jasmine* (K23) played a vital role in protecting supply routes in the South Atlantic, operating from the strategic port of Freetown, Sierra Leone, between late 1941 and mid-1942. Key Operations and Missions in Freetown: Member of the Freetown Escort Group—After crossing the Atlantic via the Azores in December 1941,
HMS *Jasmine* was assigned to the Freetown Escort Group. Her primary duty was patrolling the waters off the West African coast, a critical sector where German submarines (U-boats) frequently ambushed Allied merchant vessels. Convoy Protection and Sweeping—Between January and the spring of 1942, the corvette actively defended cargo convoys departing from or arriving at Freetown, ensuring the continuous flow of war materiel, food, and fuel.
Escorting Capital Ships—On February 27, 1942, HMS *Jasmine* (under the command of Lieutenant Commander C.D.B. Coventry) carried out a high-priority mission alongside her sister ship, HMS *Genista*. They sailed from Freetown to provide the initial defensive escort for the battleship HMS *Resolution*, which was en route to Cape Town to join the Eastern Fleet. Staging Hub for Major Operations—The period based in Freetown served as a time for logistical preparation and refueling. In May 1942, the corvette left the West African sector to participate directly in the Allied landing operation in Madagascar (Operation Ironclad).
Jasmine was sold to be broken up for scrap on 11 September 1948.