Corvette

A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or "rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop-of-war.

The modern roles that a corvette fulfills include coastal patrol craft, missile boat and fast attack craft. These corvettes are typically between 500 and 2,000 tons. Recent designs of corvettes may approach 3,000 tons and include a hangar to accommodate a helicopter, having size and capabilities that overlap with smaller frigates. However unlike contemporary frigates, a modern corvette does not have sufficient endurance or seaworthiness for long voyages.

The word "corvette" is first found in Middle French, a diminutive of the Dutch word corf, meaning a "basket", from the Latin corbis.

The rank "corvette captain", equivalent in many navies to "lieutenant commander", derives from the name of this type of ship. The rank is the most junior of three "captain" ranks in several European (e.g., France, Spain, Italy, Croatia) and South American (e.g., Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Colombia) navies, because a corvette, as the smallest class of rated warship, was traditionally the smallest class of vessel entitled to a commander of a "captain" rank.

Sailing vessels
During the Age of Sail, corvettes were one of many types of warships smaller than a frigate and with a single deck of guns. They were very closely related to sloops-of-war. The role of the corvette consisted mostly of coastal patrol, fighting minor wars, supporting large fleets, or participating in show-the-flag missions. The English Navy began using small ships in the 1650s, but described them as sloops rather than corvettes. The first reference to a corvette was with the French Navy in the 1670s, which may be where the term originated. The French Navy's corvettes grew over the decades and by the 1780s they were ships of 20 guns or so, approximately equivalent to the British Navy's post ships. The British Navy did not adopt the term until the 1830s, long after the Napoleonic Wars, to describe a small sixth-rate vessel somewhat larger than a sloop.

The last vessel lost by France during the American Revolutionary War was the corvette Le Dragon, scuttled by her captain to avoid capture off Monte Cristi, Haïti in January 1783.

Most corvettes and sloops of the 17th century were 40 to 60 ft in length and measured 40 to 70 tons burthen. They carried four to eight smaller guns on single decks. Over time, vessels of increasing size and capability were called "corvettes"; by 1800, they reached lengths of over 100 ft and measured from 400 to 600 tons burthen.

Steam ships
Ships during the steam era became much faster and more manoeuvrable than their sail ancestors. Corvettes during this era were typically used alongside gunboats during colonial missions. Battleships and other large vessels were unnecessary when fighting the indigenous people of the Far East and Africa.

World War II
The modern corvette appeared during World War II as an easily-built patrol and convoy escort vessel. The British naval designer William Reed drew up a small ship based on the single-shaft Smiths Dock Company whale catcher Southern Pride, whose simple design and mercantile construction standards lent itself to rapid production in large numbers in small yards unused to naval work. First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, later Prime Minister, had a hand in reviving the name "corvette".

During the arms buildup leading to World War II, the term "corvette" was almost attached to the Tribal-class destroyer. The Tribals were so much larger than and sufficiently different from other British destroyers that some consideration was given to resurrecting the classification of "corvette" and applying it to them.

This idea was dropped, and the term applied to small, mass-produced antisubmarine escorts such as the Flower-class corvette of World War II. (Royal Navy ships were named after flowers, and ships in Royal Canadian Navy service took the name of smaller Canadian cities and towns.) Their chief duty was to protect convoys throughout the Battle of the Atlantic and on the routes from the UK to Murmansk carrying supplies to the Soviet Union.

The Flower-class corvette was originally designed for offshore patrol work, and was not ideal when pressed into service as an antisubmarine escort. It was shorter than ideal for oceangoing convoy escort work, too lightly armed for antiaircraft defense, and the ships were barely faster than the merchantmen they escorted. This was a particular problem given the faster German U-boat designs then emerging. Nonetheless, the ship was quite seaworthy and maneuverable, but living conditions for ocean voyages were challenging. As a result of these shortcomings, the corvette was superseded in the Royal Navy as the escort ship of choice by the frigate, which was larger, faster, better armed, and had two shafts. However, many small yards could not produce vessels of frigate size, so an improved corvette design, the Castle-class corvette, was introduced later in the war, with some remaining in service until the mid-1950s.

The Royal Australian Navy built 60 Bathurst-class corvettes, including 20 for the Royal Navy crewed by Australians, and four for the Indian Navy. These were officially described as Australian minesweepers, or as minesweeping sloops by the Royal Navy, and were named after Australian towns.

The Bird-class minesweepers or trawlers were referred to as corvettes in the Royal New Zealand Navy, and two, HMNZS Kiwi (T102) and HMNZS Moa (T233), rammed and sank a much larger Japanese submarine, JSUB I-1 (1924), in 1943 in the Solomon Islands.

In Italy, the Regia Marina, in dire need of escort vessels for its convoys, designed the Gabbiano-class corvette, of which 29 were built between 1942 and 1943 (out of 60 planned); they proved apt at operations in the Mediterranean Sea, especially in regards to their anti-air and anti-submarine capability, and were so successful that the class survived after the war into the Marina Militare Italiana until 1972.

Modern corvettes


Modern navies began a trend in the late 20th and early 21st centuries of building corvettes geared towards smaller more manoeuvrable surface capability. These corvettes have displacements between 500 and 3000 t and measure 180 – in length. They are usually armed with medium- and small-calibre guns, surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles (SAM), and anti-submarine weapons. Many can accommodate a small or medium anti-submarine warfare helicopter, with the larger ones also having a hangar. While the size and capabilities of the largest corvettes overlap with smaller frigates, corvettes are designed primarily for littoral deployment while frigates are ocean-going vessels by virtue of their greater endurance and seaworthiness.

Most countries with coastlines can build corvette-sized ships, either as part of their commercial shipbuilding activities or in purpose-built yards, but the sensors, weapons, and other systems required for a surface combatant are more specialized and are around 60% of the total cost. These components are purchased on the international market.

Current corvette classes


Many countries today operate corvettes. Countries that border smaller seas, such as the Baltic Sea or the Persian Gulf, are more likely to build the smaller and more manoeuvrable corvettes, with Russia operating the most corvettes in the world.

In the 1960s, the Portuguese Navy designed the João Coutinho-class corvettes as multi-role small frigates intended to be affordable for a small navy. The João Coutinho class soon inspired a series of similar projects – including the Spanish Descubierta-class corvette, the German MEKO 140, the French A69 and the Portuguese Baptista de Andrade-class corvette – adopted by a number of medium- and small-sized navies.

The first operational corvette based on stealth technology was the Royal Norwegian Navy's Skjold-class patrol boat. The Swedish Navy introduced the similarly stealthy Visby-class corvette.

Finland has plans to build four multi-role corvettes, currently dubbed the Pohjanmaa-class corvette, in the 2020s as part of its navy's Project Squadron 2020. The corvettes will have helicopter carrying, mine laying, ice breaking, anti-aircraft and anti-ship abilities. They will be over 100 m long and cost a total of 1.2 billion euros.

The new German Navy Braunschweig-class corvette is designed to replace Germany's fast attack craft and also incorporates stealth technology and land attack capabilities. The Israeli Navy has ordered four of these, named Sa'ar 6-class corvettes and a more heavily armed version of the type, deliveries commenced in 2019.

The Greek Navy has categorised the class as fast attack missile craft. A similar vessel is the Kılıç-class fast attack craft fast attack missile craft of the Turkish Navy, which is classified as a corvette by Lürssen Werft, the German ship designer.

The Indian Navy operates four Kamorta-class corvettes built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers. All of them were in service by 2017.

The Israeli Navy operates three Sa'ar 5-class corvettes. Built in the U.S. to an Israeli design, they each carry one helicopter and are well-armed with offensive and defensive weapons systems, including the Barak 8 SAM, and advanced electronic sensors and countermeasures. They displace over 1,200 tons at full load.

Turkey began to build MİLGEM-class corvettes in 2005. The MİLGEM class is designed for anti-submarine warfare and littoral patrol duty. The lead ship, TCG Heybeliada, entered navy service in 2011. The design concept and mission profile of the MİLGEM class is similar to the Freedom-class littoral combat ship of littoral combat ships of the United States.

In 2004, to replace the Ardhana-class patrol craft patrol boat, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence awarded a contract to Abu Dhabi Ship Building for the Baynunah-class corvette of corvettes. This class is based on the CMN Group's Combattante BR70 design. The Baynunah class is designed for patrol and surveillance, minelaying, interception and other anti-surface warfare operations in the United Arab Emirates territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.

The United States is developing littoral combat ships, which are essentially large corvettes, their spacious hulls permitting space for mission modules, allowing them to undertake tasks formerly assigned to specialist classes such as minesweepers or the anti-submarine Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate.

Current operators

 * operates three Adhafer-class corvettes, four Djebel Chenoua-class corvettes.
 * operates six Espora-class corvettes and three Drummond-class corvettes.
 * operates two modified Castle-class patrol vessels, purchased from the United Kingdom, which was upgraded to guided-missile corvettes.
 * operates four Minerva-class corvettes purchased from Italy.
 * operates two Inhaúma-class corvettes, three Amazonas-class corvettes, and a single Imperial Marinheiro-class corvette.
 * operates two Tuo Chiang-class corvettes and eleven Ching Chiang-class patrol ship corvettes.
 * operates a single Donghae-class corvette purchased from South Korea.
 * operates six Esmeraldas-class corvettes.
 * operates four Gowind-class corvettes
 * operates a single Bata-class corvette.
 * operates six D'Estienne d'Orves-class avisos.
 * operates four Kora-class corvettes and four Kamorta-class corvettes
 * operates 14 Parchim-class corvettes purchased from Germany, three Fatahillah-class corvettes, three Bung Tomo-class corvettes, four Diponegoro-class corvettes, and one presidential corvette KRI Bung Karno.
 * operates three Sa'ar 5-class corvettes
 * operates two Bayandor-class corvette s and a single Hamzeh-class corvette.the navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has 5  Shahid Soleimani corvettes (one ship is under construction).
 * operates two Assad-class corvettes.
 * operates four Sariwon-class corvettes, two Nampo-class corvettes, and one Amnok-class corvette.
 * operates six Kedah-class corvettes, two Kasturi-class corvettes, and four Laksamana-class corvettes.
 * operates three Sierra-class corvettes.
 * operates six Skjold-class corvettes.
 * operates three Khareef-class corvettes, and two Qahir-class corvettes.
 * has operates two Yarmook-class corvette with two more ships on order, besides one modified Ada-class corvette, with three more ships on order.
 * operates six PR-72P-class corvettes
 * operates three Jacinto-class corvette s purchased from the United Kingdom, two Pohang-class corvettes, and a single Malvar-class corvette.
 * operates a single Gawron-class corvette and a single Kaszub-class corvette.
 * operates one João Coutinho-class corvette and one Baptista de Andrade-class corvette.
 * operates four Doha-class corvettes.
 * operates two Admiral Petre Bărbuneanu-class corvettes, and two Rear-Admiral Eustațiu Sebastian-class corvettes.
 * operates 20 Grisha-class corvettes, six Parchim-class corvettes, three Buyan-class corvettes, ten Buyan-M-class corvettes, three Karakurt-class corvettes, eight Steregushchiy-class corvettes (classed as frigates by NATO), a single Gremyashchiy-class corvette (also classed as a frigate by NATO), and two Bora-class corvettes.
 * operates a single Pauk-class corvette.
 * operates two Al Jubail-class corvettes, and four Badr-class corvettes.
 * operates six Victory-class corvettes.
 * operates five Visby-class corvettes and two Stockholm-class corvettes.
 * operates three Khamronsin-class corvettes, one Ratanakosin-class corvette, and one Tapi-class corvettes.
 * operates four Ada-class corvettes
 * operates single Turkmen-class corvette
 * operates a single Pauk-class corvette
 * operates six Baynunah-class corvettes, two Muray-Jib-class corvettes, and a single Abu Dhabi-class corvette.

[[Tarantul-class corvette |''Tarantul''-class]] [[corvette]]

 * operates two Pauk-class corvettes and one Tarantul-class corvette
 * operates single Pauk-class corvette


 * operates three ships
 * operates seven Veer-class corvettes and one Abhay-class corvette
 * operates 21 ships
 * operates two ships
 * operates 12 ships
 * operates two ships

[[Pohang-class corvette |''Pohang''-class]] [[corvette]]

 * operates single ships purchased from South Korea
 * operates single ship purchased from South Korea
 * operates five ships
 * operates two ships donated from South Korea
 * operates two ships purchased from South Korea
 * operates two ships purchased from South Korea

[[Descubierta-class corvette |''Descubierta''-class]] [[corvette]]

 * operates two ships purchased from Spain
 * operates single ship
 * operates single ship

Jiangdao-class corvette

 * operates four ships ordered from China
 * operates 50 ships
 * operates two ships ordered from China

[[Braunschweig-class corvette |''Braunschweig''-class]] [[corvette]]

 * operates four Sa'ar 6-class corvettes
 * operates five ships

[[Khukri-class corvette |''Khukri''-class]] [[corvette]]

 * operates two ships
 * operates one ship donated by India

[[Nanuchka-class corvette |''Nanuchka''-class]] [[corvette]]

 * operates three ships
 * operates eight ships

Former operators

 * decommissioned its last Bathurst-class corvette in 1960.
 * returned both its Flower-class corvettes to the United Kingdom in 1944.
 * decommissioned all its Flower-class corvettes and Castle-class corvettes in 1945, following World War II.
 * decommissioned its last Flower-class corvette in 1967.
 * decommissioned its last Niels Juel-class corvette in 2009.
 * decommissioned its last Flower-class corvette in 1979.
 * decommissioned its last Turunmaa-class corvette in 2002.
 * sold all of its 16 Parchim-class corvettes to Indonesia in 1992.
 * decommissioned its two Grisha-class corvettes in 1995.
 * decommissioned its last Flower-class corvette in 1952.
 * decommissioned its two Peacock-class corvettes in 2022.
 * decommissioned its last Minerva-class corvette in 2019.
 * decommissioned both its Grisha-class corvettes in 2009.
 * decommissioned its lone Imperial Marinheiro-class corvette in 2012.
 * decommissioned its last Bathurst-class corvette in 1958.
 * decommissioned both its Flower-class corvettes in 1948.
 * decommissioned its lone Flower-class corvette in 1967.
 * decommissioned its last Peacock-class corvette in 1996.
 * last Grisha-class corvette Vinnytsia was sunk in Ochakiv in 2022.
 * decommissioned all its Flower-class corvettes in 1945 following World War II.
 * decommissioned its lone Castle-class corvette in 1975.
 * decommissioned its last Flower-class corvette in 1962.
 * returned its lone Flower-class corvette to the United Kingdom in 1949.

Future development

 * will receive three Steregushchiy-class corvettes from Russia and six Jiangdao-class corvettes from China.
 * will receive three Baynunah-class corvettes from the United Arab Emirates.
 * is planning to build 11 more Tuo Chiang-class corvettes.
 * is will commission three more Gowind-class corvettes.
 * is currently planning to build four Pohjanmaa-class corvettes.
 * is a partner nation in the European Patrol Corvette project.
 * is building an additional five Braunschweig-class corvettes.
 * is a partner nation in the European Patrol Corvette project. Greece is also planning on receiving a number of Themistocles-class corvettes, a variant of the Israeli Sa'ar 72 class. Greece has also ordered three Gowind 2500-class corvettes from France.
 * has begun research into its NGC (Next-Gen Corvette) project. India is also building 16 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) corvette, and has signed contracts to build a further 6 corvettes under Next Generation Missile Vessels project.
 * has approved the procurement proposal of up to three Pohang-class corvettes from South Korea.
 * is currently building an additional two Sa'ar 6-class corvettes. Israel is also planning a number of new Sa'ar 72-class corvettes.
 * is leading the development of the European Patrol Corvette in a joint project with other European Union partners.
 * has ordered four Ada-class corvettes from Turkey.
 * purchased an additional Pohang-class corvette from South Korea, but is awaiting transfer due to lack of funding. The Philippines have also ordered two new corvettes from Hyundai.
 * is a partner nation in the European Patrol Corvette project.
 * has ordered four Luleå-class vessels.
 * has ordered four Gowind-class corvettes.
 * is currently building corvettes in six separate classes, including: the Karakurt class, Buyan-M-class, Bykov class, Steregushchiy class, Gremyashchiy class and Derzky class (the latter three classed as frigates by NATO).
 * has ordered an unspecified number of Ada-class corvettes from Turkey.
 * has ordered two Gowind-class corvettes.

Museum ships



 * CHILEAN CORVETTE Esmeralda (Replica), 1854, in Iquique, Chile
 * ARA Uruguay, 1874 steam and sail barque, Buenos Aires, Argentina
 * HMAS Castlemaine, 1941 Bathurst-class corvette, Williamstown, Victoria, Australia
 * BRAZILIAN CORVETTE Imperial Marinheiro, 1955 Imperial Marinheiro-class corvette, Porto Velho, Brazil
 * BRAZILIAN CORVETTE Solimões, 1955 Imperial Marinheiro-class corvette, Belém, Para, Brazil
 * HMCS Sackville (K181), 1941 Flower-class corvette, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
 * HMAS Whyalla (J153), 1941 Bathurst-class corvette, Whyalla, South Australia, Australia
 * FINNISH CORVETTE Karjala, 1968 Turunmaa-class gunboat corvette, Turku, Finland
 * INS Khukri (P49) in Diu, India
 * HTMS Maeklong in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand.
 * ROKS Pohang (PCC-756), a Pohang-class corvette in Pohang, South Korea.
 * ROKS Jinhae, a Pohang-class corvette in Jinhae, South Korea.
 * ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772), a Pohang-class corvette, was sunk by a North Korean submarine on March 26, 2010, and later raised, is on display in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.
 * RUSSIAN CORVETTE Tamboviskiy Komsomolets, a Tarantul-class corvette in Kronstadt, Russia.
 * GERMAN CORVETTE Hans Beimler, 1986 Tarantul-class corvette in Peenemünde, Germany.

Former museum ships

 * GERMAN CORVETTE Hiddensee, 1984 Tarantul-class corvette missile corvette, Fall River, Massachusetts, US - Scrapped in 2023 due to severe hull deterioration.