Dale-class tanker

Class overview
Name	Dale class
Builders	Kieler Howaldstwerke ; Hitachi ; Harland & Wolff ;
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	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);
Propulsion	Burmeister 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;

Last updated June 30, 2024

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]

Ships

Name	Pennant	Builder	Previous name	Fate
Derwentdale	A221	Hitachi	Halcyon Breeze	Returned in 1974
Dewdale	A129	Harland & Wolff	Edenfield	Decommissioned in September 1977
Ennerdale	A213	Kieler Howaldstwerke	Naess Scotsman	Wrecked on 1 June 1970

Notes

1 2 3 4 Olver. "Dale Group Mobile Reserve Tankers (AOM)". Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
1 2 3 "RFA Dewdale". Royal Fleet Auxiliary Historical Society. Retrieved 8 March 2009.

Related Research Articles

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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.

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[daleclass-1] 1 2 3 4 Olver. "Dale Group Mobile Reserve Tankers (AOM)". Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2009.

[HRFAdew-2] 1 2 3 "RFA Dewdale". Royal Fleet Auxiliary Historical Society. Retrieved 8 March 2009.

[1]

[2]

v t e Dale-class tanker
Derwentdale Dewdale Ennerdale
List of replenishment ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary