Dale-class tanker

For the Dale class oilers of the Second World War, see Dale-class oiler.

Class overview
NameDale class
Builders
OperatorsRFA Ensign Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Preceded byLeaf class
Succeeded byRover class
In service1967–1977
Completed3
Retired3
General characteristics
TypeMobile reserve tanker
Displacement
  • Derwentdale: 88,555 long tons (89,976 t)
  • Dewdale: 67,000 long tons (68,075 t)
  • Ennerdale: 62,000 long tons (62,995 t)
Length
  • Derwentdale: 799 ft (244 m)
  • Dewdale: 774 ft (236 m)
  • Ennerdale: 710 ft (220 m)
Beam
  • Derwentdale: 117 ft 8 in (35.86 m)
  • Dewdale: 107 ft (33 m)
  • Ennerdale: 98 ft (30 m)
Draught
  • Derwentdale: 42 ft 3 in (12.88 m)
  • Dewdale: 41 ft (12 m)
  • Ennerdale: 40 ft (12 m)
PropulsionBurmeister and Wain Diesels
Speed
  • Derwentdale: 15.5 knots (17.8 mph; 28.7 km/h)
  • Dewdale: 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement
  • Derwentdale: 56
  • Dewdale and Ennerdale: 51

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.

Overview

Three 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

In 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

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

 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

Main article: RFA Derwentdale (A221)

Derwentdale 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

Main article: RFA Dewdale (A129)

Dewdale 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

Main article: RFA Ennerdale (A213)

Ennerdale 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

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Olver. "Dale Group Mobile Reserve Tankers (AOM)". Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  2. ^ a b c "RFA Dewdale". Royal Fleet Auxiliary Historical Society. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
  3. ^ a b "RFA Derwentdale - Historical RFA". historicalrfa.uk. 25 October 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  4. ^ Puddefoot 2009, p. 193.
  5. ^ a b c Puddefoot 2009, p. 194.
  6. ^ "RFA Dewdale - Historical RFA". historicalrfa.uk. 25 October 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  7. ^ "RFA Ennerdale - Historical RFA". historicalrfa.uk. 26 October 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2024.

References