RFA Empire Gull

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Empire gull 1977 Marchwood.jpg
Empire Gull (L3513)
History
Name
  • LST 3523 (1944–47)
  • HMS Trouncer (1947–56)
  • SS Empire Gull (1956–70)
  • RFA Empire Gull (1970–80)
Operator
  • Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy (1944–56)
  • Atlantic Steam Navigation Company Ltd (1956-61)
  • British-India Steam Navigation Company Ltd (1961-70)
  • British-Royal-Fleet-Auxiliary-Ensign.svg  Royal Navy (1970–80)
Port of registryCivil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom (1956–70)
Ordered24 April 1944
Builder G.T. Davie Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd., Lauzon, Quebec
Yard number970
Laid down20 December 1944
Launched9 July 1945
CommissionedOctober 1945
Decommissioned3 September 1978
Identification IMO number:  5103704
FateArrived Santander for demolition, 18 March 1980
General characteristics
Type Landing Ship, Tank
Tonnage4,820 GRT
Displacement4,980 long tons (5,060 t) full load
Length347 ft 6 in (105.92 m)
Beam55 ft 1 in (16.79 m)
Draught12 ft 2.5 in (3.721 m)
Propulsion2 × 4-cylinder triple expansion [1] steam engines
Speed10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h) [1]
Complement63, plus accommodation for 80 troops

RFA Empire Gull (L3513) was a landing ship, tank of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. She was familiarly known as the "Black Pig" [2] and was one of the last serving British LSTs. She was built as LST 3523, one of the Empire Ships, and later commissioned as HMS Trouncer. [3] During the Suez Crisis she was pressed into Government service as SS Empire Gull. In 1970 she was transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as RFA Empire Gull, serving for ten years before being scrapped.

Contents

History

LST 3523 was built by Davie Shipbuilding and Repairing Co Ltd, Lauzon, Quebec, launched on 9 July 1945, [4] and completed in October 1945. [5] In 1947 she was commissioned as HMS Trouncer.

After spending some time mothballed on the River Clyde, she was pressed into service as SS Empire Gull during the Suez Crisis of 1956. She was operated under the management of the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company until 1961, when management passed to the British-India Steam Navigation Company. In 1970, she was transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and was renamed RFA Empire Gull, [1] and allocated pennant number L3513. She served in the Mediterranean and later between Marchwood and Antwerp [1] and also between Liverpool and Belfast. She was scrapped in Santander, Spain in 1980. [4]

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Empire Celtic was a ferry which was built in 1945 as Landing Ship, Tank LST 3512 for the Royal Navy. In 1946 she was chartered by the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company Ltd, converted to a ferry and renamed Empire Celtic. In 1956, she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for a few months during the Suez Crisis as HMS Empire Cedric. She served until 1960 and was scrapped in 1965.

Empire Curlew was a 4,273 GRT ferry that was built in 1945 as LST Mk.3 HMS LST 3042 by Harland & Wolff, Govan, Scotland for the Royal Navy. In 1947, she was renamed HMS Hunter. During the Suez Crisis in 1956, she was transferred to the Ministry of Transport and renamed Empire Curlew. She served until 1962, when she was scrapped.

Empire Cymric was a 4,820 GRT Ferry that was built in 1944 by Harland & Wolff Ltd, Belfast as LST (3) HMS LST 3010 for the Royal Navy. She was transferred to the Koninklijke Marine in 1945, serving as HNLMS LST 3010. In 1947, she was transferred back to the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Attacker. The ship was requisitioned by the Ministry of Transport in 1954 and renamed Empire Cymric. Requisitioned briefly during the Suez Crisis in 1956 as HMS Empire Cymric, she served until 1962, and was scrapped in 1963.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "RFA Empire Gull 1970 - 1978". RFA ASSOCIATION, Plymouth and District Branch. Retrieved 9 April 2010. GRT 4258 ... Marchwood -Antwerp/Zeebrugge runs
  2. ↑ "RFA Empire Gull". historicalrfa.org. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  3. ↑ "Landing Ship Gantry/ Tank". RFA ASSOCIATION, Plymouth and District Branch. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2010. RFA Empire Gull. L3513 (Ex LST 3523, Ex HMS Trouncer). RFA Service from 1970 - 1978
  4. 1 2 "LST (Landing Ship Tank/Troop)". Luton Model Boat. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  5. ↑ Mitchell, W. H. & Sawyer, L. A. (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. 360. ISBN   1-85044-275-4.
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