Dale-class oiler
RFA Abbeydale underway in 1952
| |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Dale class |
Builders |
|
Operators | Royal Fleet Auxiliary |
Preceded by | Ol class |
Succeeded by | Sprite class |
Subclasses | 3 |
Built | 1936–1941 |
In commission | 1937–1969 |
Completed | 18 |
Lost | 5 |
Retired | 13 |
General characteristics : First group | |
Type | Replenishment oiler |
Displacement |
|
Length |
|
Beam |
|
Draught | 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 11.5 knots (13.2 mph; 21.3 km/h) |
Range | 880 tons of fuel oil |
Capacity | 11,650 long tons (11,837 t) |
Complement | 40 |
General characteristics : Second group | |
Displacement | 17,000 long tons (17,273 t) |
Length | 483 ft (147 m) |
Beam | 58 ft 6 in (17.83 m) |
Draught | 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) |
Propulsion | Burmeister & Wain 8-clylinder diesels with a single shaft |
Speed | 13 knots (15 mph; 24 km/h) |
Range |
|
Capacity | 12,000 long tons (12,193 t) |
Complement | 40 |
General characteristics : Third group (as second group except:) | |
Displacement | 17,210 long tons (17,486 t) |
Length |
|
Beam |
|
Draught | 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) |
Propulsion |
|
The Dale class were a class of
Class overview
The ships were eventually acquired in three batches. The first consisted of the acquisition of six tankers under construction for the
Group I
The first group of six ships were under construction at a variety of yards when they were bought.
Group II
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary made two further purchases the following year, when they acquired two tankers being built for Royal Dutch Shell at the yards of Harland and Wolff and the Blythswood Shipbuilding Company Ltd. These were taken into service as Cairndale and Cedardale.[1][5] Entering service just prior to the outbreak of war, both ships went on to be heavily engaged. Cairndale made numerous voyages from Britain to the African coast before being torpedoed and sunk in the Eastern Atlantic in 1941 by the Italian submarine Guglielmo Marconi.[6] Cedardale saw service in the Far East, and survived the war. She continued in service throughout the 1940s and 1950s, and was scrapped in 1960.[7]
Group III
The third group was the largest of the Dale class. Ten new oilers that had been ordered by the Ministry of War Transport were acquired by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary to expand their capabilities.
Ships
Name | Pennant | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Group I | ||||||
Abbeydale | A109 | Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd | 28 December 1936 | 4 March 1937 | Scrapped in 1960 | |
Aldersdale | X34 | Cammell Laird and Co. | September 1936 | 7 July 1936 | 17 September 1937 | Sunk on 7 July 1942 |
Arndale | A133 | Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd | 5 August 1937 | September 1937 | Scrapped in 1960 | |
Bishopdale | A128 | Lithgows | 31 March 1937 | Scrapped in 1970 | ||
Boardale | Harland and Wolff
|
22 April 1937 | 7 June 1937 | Wrecked on 30 April 1940 | ||
Broomdale | A168 | Harland and Wolff | 2 September 1937 | 3 November 1937 | Scrapped in 1960 | |
Group II | ||||||
Cairndale | X36 | Harland and Wolff | 25 October 1938 | 26 January 1939 | Sunk on 30 May 1941 | |
Cedardale | A380 | Blythswood Shipbuilding Company Ltd | 25 March 1939 | 25 May 1939 | Scrapped in 1960 | |
Group III | ||||||
Darkdale | Blythswood Shipbuilding Company Ltd | October 1939 | 30 July 1940 | November 1940 | Sunk on 22 October 1941 | |
Denbydale | Blythswood Shipbuilding Company Ltd | 26 December 1939 | 19 October 1940 | 30 January 1941 | Scrapped in 1955 | |
Derwentdale | A114 | Harland and Wolff | 14 November 1939 | 12 April 1941 | 30 August 1941 | Sold in 1960 |
Dewdale | A151 | Cammell Laird | 29 December 1939 | 17 February 1941 | 14 June 1941 | Scrapped in 1960 |
Dingledale | A144 | Harland & Wolff | 11 December 1939 | 27 March 1941 | 10 September 1941 | Scrapped in 1967 |
Dinsdale | X106 | Harland & Wolff | 1939 | 21 October 1941 | 11 April 1942 | Sunk on 1 June 1942 |
Eaglesdale | A104 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 20 December 1940 | 18 November 1941 | 9 January 1942 | Scrapped in 1959 |
Easedale | A105 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 15 February 1941 | 18 December 1941 | 12 February 1942 | Scrapped in 1960 |
Echodale | A170 | Hawthorn Leslie | 4 January 1940 | 29 November 1940 | 4 March 1941 | Scrapped in 1961 |
Ennerdale | A173 | Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd | 27 January 1941 | 11 July 1941 | Scrapped in 1959 |
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Jane's Fighting Ships. p. 81.
- ^ a b c d e f Olver. "Dale Class Tankers (First Group)". Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ^ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy, Vol. 2. p. 49.
- ^ "RFA Bishopdale". Royal Fleet Auxiliary Historical Society. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Olver. "Dale Class Tankers (Second and Third Groups)". Archived from the original on 12 July 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ^ "RFA ships starting with C". Royal Fleet Auxiliary Historical Society. Retrieved 7 March 2009.
- ^ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy, Vol. 2. p. 72.
- ^ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy, Vol. 2. p. 99.
- ^ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy, Vol. 2. p. 104.
- ^ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy, Vol. 2. p. 101.
References
- 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.
- Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II. New York: Crescent Books. 1989.