RFA Sea Salvor (A503) was a salvage vessel of the post-war Royal Fleet Auxiliary. She also served as a support ship for Mine Counter Measures vessels.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Sea Salvor |
| Operator | Risdon Beazley[1] |
| Ordered | 25 December 1941 |
| Builder | Goole Shipbuilding & Repair Co Ltd, Goole |
| Yard number | 391 |
| Laid down | 9 August 1942 |
| Launched | 22 April 1943 |
| Commissioned | February 1944 |
| Decommissioned | April 1971 |
| Fate | Arrived Thos. W. Ward, Grays, Essex, for scrapping, 18 January 1973 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | King Salvor class salvage vessel |
| Displacement | 1,780 long tons (1,809 t) full load |
| Length | 218 ft (66 m) |
| Beam | 39 ft 10 in (12.14 m) |
| Draught | 15 ft 7 in (4.75 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 × 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | Between 52 and 72 |
| Armament | 4 × 20 mm AA guns (4×1) |
Built by the Goole Shipbuilding & Repair Co. Ltd., Goole, the ship was launched on 22 April 1943, and commissioned in February 1944. Decommissioned in April 1971, the ship was laid up at HMNB Devonport, and arrived at Grays, Essex for scrapping on 18 January 1973.
Service history
editFrom February to May 1954 she recovered wreckage of the British Overseas Airways Corporation's de Havilland Comet G-ALYP "Yoke Peter" which crashed on 10 January 1954 after taking off from Rome, Italy. Sea Salvor deployed for service during "Operation Musketeer" – the Suez Crisis – in December 1956.
In April 1961 Sea Salvor was in the Persian Gulf. On 9 April she took the burning passenger and cargo ship Dara in tow, to try to beach her to prevent her from sinking. However, within 3 nautical miles (6 km) of the beach, Dara rolled over and sank.[2]
In January 1968 Sea Salvor, together with the minesweepers Ashton, Crofton, Stubbington and Walkerton took part in relief efforts following the 1968 Belice earthquake that struck Sicily on 14–15 January.[3]
References
edit- ^ Coastal Class salvage vessel on trials, the HELP?
- ^ Mason, Geoffrey B (2007). "Salvage operations by Royal Navy frigates 1950–1964". Royal Navy post-World War 2. NavalHistory. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ "Minesweeper crews' aid to earthquake victims". Navy News. February 1962. p. 22. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
External links
edit- https://historicalrfa.uk/rfa-sea-salvor/
- http://www.rfanostalgia.org/gallery3/index.php/RFA-TUGS-SALVAGE/Salvage[permanent dead link]
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