The Dale class consisted of three tankers chartered for service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom. In 1967. They served for a number of years supporting Royal Navy and allied fleet operations, during which one, Ennerdale, was lost. The remaining two were returned to their original owners in the mid-1970s.
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dale class |
| Builders | |
| Operators |  Royal Fleet Auxiliary |
| Preceded by | Leaf class |
| Succeeded by | Rover class |
| In service | 1967–1977 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Retired | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Mobile reserve tanker |
| Displacement |
|
| Length |
|
| Beam |
|
| Draught |
|
| Propulsion | Burmeister and Wain Diesels |
| Speed |
|
| Complement |
|
Overview
editThree large modern tankers, built to varying designs in the mid-1960s, were charted by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary to support naval operations east of the Suez Canal, in the waters of the Indian Ocean and the Far East.[1]
They were given traditional RFA names, reusing three names that had been used for the Second World War-era Dale-class oilers. They were not fitted with equipment to allow them to replenish ships at sea, and were classified instead as 'Mobile Reserve Tankers'.[1]
The smallest, RFA Ennerdale was also the shortest lived. She hit a coral reef and sank off Port Victoria on 1 June 1970.[1] The wreck was subsequently destroyed with explosives fired from Wessex helicopters to prevent an oil spillage from threatening the Seychelles.[1]
RFA Derwentdale was returned to her original owners in 1974, but RFA Dewdale remained in service until 1977.[2] During this time Dewdale saw service with the Aden task force during the British withdrawal in 1967, and was then active then on the Beira Patrols.[2] She was the last to leave service with the RFA, being returned in 1977 and commencing service under her old name of Edenfield.[2]
Background
editIn July 1967, the MOD announced that it had bareboat chartered, for a period of seven years, three large tankers for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.[3] These vessels were the largest in the RFA fleet at the time.[4]
Comparison
edit| Dale-Class Mobile Reserve Tankers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonnages | ||||
| Name | Gross register tonnage | Net register tonnage | Deadweight tonnage | Displacement (full load tonnage) |
| Derwentdale | 42,343 | 28,288 | 73,375 | 88,555 |
| Dewdale | 35,642 | 24,504 | 63,588 | 67,000 |
| Ennerdale | 29,189 | 18,066 | 49,209 | 62,000 |
| Dimensions | ||||
| Name | Length oa | Beam | Draught | Depth |
| Derwentdale | 798ft 11in | 117ft 10in | 42ft 6in | 55ft 4in |
| Dewdale | 774ft 6in | 107ft 10in | 41ft 5in | 55ft |
| Ennerdale | 710ft | 98ft 7in | 37ft 6in | 51ft 10in |
| Machinery & Speed | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Engine | bhp | Shaft | Speed |
| Derwentdale | 1 x Hitachi/B&W 9-cylinder diesel | 20,700bhp | single shaft | 15.5 knots |
| Dewdale | 1 x H&W/B&W 9-cylinder diesel | 17,000bhp | single shaft | 15 knots |
| Ennerdale | 1 x Krupp/B&W 8-cylinder diesel | 16,800bhp | single shaft | 15.5 knots |
Ships
edit| Name | Pennant | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | In RFA Service | Fate |
| Derwentdale (ex-Halcyon Breeze) | A221 | Hitachi, Innoshima, Japan | - | 18 January 1964 | April 1964 | 1967 – 1975 | to previous owners, then sold and renamed Alnajdi |
| Dewdale (ex-Edenfield) | A129 | Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland | - | 5 March 1965 | 2 July 1965 | August 1967 - September 1977 | to previous owners as Edenfield, then sold and renamed World Field |
| Ennerdale (ex-Naess Scotsman) | A213 | Kieler Howaldstwerke Kiel, Germany | - | 31 August 1962 | 1963 | 1967 – 1970 | Wrecked and sunk on 1 June 1970 |
Derwentdale
editDerwentdale was launched as Halcyon Breeze by Hitachi Zosen Corporation at its Innoshima, Hiroshima shipyard on 18 January 1964, for Caribbean Tankers Ltd, managed by Court Line(Ship Management) Ltd, London.[5] She began her RFA charter on 17 June 1967.[3]
Dewdale
editDewdale was launched as Edenfield for Hunting (Eden) Tankers Ltd, managed by Hunting & Son Ltd, by Harland & Wolff on 5 March 1965[5] and began her charter on 14 August 1967.[6]
Ennerdale
editEnnerdale was launched on 31 August 1963 as Naess Scotsman for the Anglo-Norness Shipping Co Ltd[5] and began her charter in July 1967.[7]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b c d Olver. "Dale Group Mobile Reserve Tankers (AOM)". Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- ^ a b c "RFA Dewdale". Royal Fleet Auxiliary Historical Society. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
- ^ a b "RFA Derwentdale - Historical RFA". historicalrfa.uk. 25 October 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ Puddefoot 2009, p. 193.
- ^ a b c Puddefoot 2009, p. 194.
- ^ "RFA Dewdale - Historical RFA". historicalrfa.uk. 25 October 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ "RFA Ennerdale - Historical RFA". historicalrfa.uk. 26 October 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
References
edit- Colledge, J.J. Ships of the Royal Navy: An Historical Index Volume 2: Navy-built Trawlers, Drifters, Tugs and Requisitioned Ships. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.
- Puddefoot, Geoff (2009). The Fourth Force The Untold Story of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary since 1945. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-046-8.