The corvette served primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic, escorting convoys of merchant ships.

[1][2] The Flower-class corvettes originated from a need that arose in 1938 to expand the Royal Navy following the Munich Crisis.

[4] Based on a traditional whaler-type design, the initial Canadian ships of the Flower class had a standard displacement of 950 long tons (970 t).

[3] The Royal Canadian Navy initially ordered 54 corvettes in 1940 and these were fitted with Mark II Oropesa minesweeping gear used for destroying contact mines.

[8] Part of the depth charge rails were made portable so the minesweeping gear could be utilised.

Corvettes were first fitted with basic SW-1 and SW-2 CQ surface warning radar, notable for their fishbone-like antenna and reputation for failure in poor weather or in the dark.

[11] Most Canadian Flower-class corvettes had their forecastles extended which improved crew accommodation and seakeeping.

This allowed for the installation of Oerlikon 20 mm (0.8 in) cannon, replacing the Browning and Vickers machine guns.

[15] Battleford escorted trade convoys between Halifax Harbour and the Western Approaches through the Battle of the Atlantic.

Again in April, convoy ONS 2 was attacked with the loss of three ships before the escort could drive off the submarines.

[22] After leaving group C1 which she had been a part of up to May 1943, Battleford underwent another refit, this time at Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

[15] However, for a brief period, Battleford was among the Canadian vessels ordered to England in preparation for Operation Overlord and the corvette took part in the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944.