Work on them continued under German control but progressed slowly, being subject to reluctance, or even sabotage, by the French workforce.

The PA-class ships differed in several respects from the original Smiths Dock design, and therefore from the Flower-class corvettes in service with the Allies.

The PAs retained the short forecastle which was a feature of the original design, but which the Royal Navy found impractical in heavy weather.

The focus of the PA class's role was as inshore and coastal escorts, where the chief danger was from mines or attack by aircraft and small craft, such as motor torpedo boats and gunboats.

The PAs were equipped with minesweeping gear, and to accommodate these items the upswept stern gunwale, a characteristic of the original design, was cut away, producing a flat quarterdeck and simple wire rails.

They also had a 20 mm quadruple mount in a tub set on the roof of the bridge; given the Flowers' reputation for rolling in any seas, putting such a weight so high up would have done no good for their seaworthiness.

Vorpostenflottille ("15th Outpost Flotilla") in September 1943, and took part in general patrol and escort duties, protecting coastal traffic against air and small craft attack in the English Channel.

[4] In June 1944, during the Allied invasion of Normandy, German naval units in the area came under persistent air attack.