Wave-class oiler

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RFA Wave Conqueror.jpg
RFA Wave Conqueror, pictured in 1952
Class overview
NameWave class
Builders
Operators
Preceded by Ranger class
Succeeded by Surf class
Built1943–1946
In commission1944–1974
Completed20
General characteristics
Type Replenishment oiler
Displacement16,476 long tons (16,740 t) to 16,483 long tons (16,748 t)
Length
  • 465 ft (142 m) (p/p)
  • 492 ft (150 m) (o/a)
Beam64 ft 4 in (19.61 m)
Draught28 ft 6 in (8.69 m)
Propulsion
  • Parsons double reduction geared turbines
  • 3 drum type boilers
Speed15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Capacity11,900 long tons (12,091 t)

The Wave class was a class of twenty replenishment oilers built for service supporting the Royal Navy (RN) during the later years of the Second World War. They were subsequently transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom, after the end of the war, and went on to support British and allied fleet units in Cold War conflicts such as the Korean War.

Contents

Design and construction

The expanding needs of the Royal Navy to carry out long range operations away from friendly fueling and replenishment stations led to the ordering of a number of tankers of around 16,500 long tons (16,765 t) displacement, able to carry 11,900 long tons (12,091 t) of fuel oil. [1] These would allow the Royal Navy and its allies increased flexibility, particularly in the Pacific theatre, where there were large expanses of water and few friendly fuel stations. A total of twenty ships were eventually built by three British yards; 12 by the Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees, three by Harland & Wolff at their yard in Govan, and the remaining five by Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, at Sunderland. [1] [2]

Service

Thirteen of the 20 of the ships were initially built for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT), which assigned them to be operated by various merchant shipping lines. Consequently, most were named with the standard MoWT prefix "Empire". [2] The remaining MoWT owned oilers were transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1946 and all were given "Wave" names. [1] [2] Several of the RFA ships served in the Far East during the Second World War, while the class was heavily involved in the Korean War. RFAs Wave Sovereign, Wave Baron, Wave Premier, Wave Prince, Wave Chief, Wave Knight, Wave Regent, Wave Laird and Wave Conqueror all served there in support of allied fleet units and task forces. [3]

The class began to be retired from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in the late 1950s, with Wave Commander and Wave Liberator the first to be sold for scrapping in 1959. [2] Most of the remaining vessels had been scrapped by the mid-1960s, but refits and modifications allowed several to continue in service until the mid-1970s, with Wave Chief the last to be retired, in 1974.

Ships

NamePennantBuilderLaunchedOriginal nameFate
Wave Baron A242 Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees19 February 1946Empire FloddenScrapped in 1972
Wave Chief A265 Harland & Wolff, Govan30 August 1946Empire EdgehillScrapped in 1974
Wave Commander A244Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees21 April 1944Empire PaladinScrapped in 1959
Wave Conqueror A245Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees27 November 1943Empire LawScrapped in 1960
Wave Duke A246 Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland16 November 1944Empire MarsScrapped in 1969
Wave Emperor A100Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton-Hill-on-Tees16 October 1944Scrapped in 1966
Wave Governor A247Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton-Hill-on-Tees30 November 1944Scrapped in 1960
Wave King A182Harland and Wolff, Govan21 July 1944Scrapped in 1966
Wave Knight A249Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland22 October 1945Empire NasebyScrapped in 1964
Wave Laird A119Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland3 April 1946Empire DunbarScrapped in 1970
Wave Liberator A248Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees9 February 1944Empire MilnerScrapped in 1959
Wave Master A193Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland20 May 1944Empire SalisburyScrapped in 1963
Wave Monarch A264Harland and Wolff, Govan6 July 1944Sold as oil hulk in 1960
Wave Premier A129Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees27 June 1946Scrapped in 1960
Wave Prince A207Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland27 July 1945Empire HeraldScrapped in 1971
Wave Protector A215Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees20 July 1944Empire ProtectorMarch 1958 (hulked at Malta); Broken up in 1963.
Wave Regent A210Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees29 March 1945Scrapped in 1960
Wave Ruler A212Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees17 January 1946Empire EveshamScrapped in 1977
Wave Sovereign A211Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees20 November 1945January 1966 (withdrawn in Singapore); Scrapped in May 1967
Wave Victor A220Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees30 September 1943Empire Bounty1971, having spent part of the of the 1960s as a Fuel Hulk at RAF Gan

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Jane's Fighting Ships. p. 81.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy, Vol. 2. pp. 383–4.
  3. ↑ Rottman. Korean War Order of Battle. pp. 143–4.

References

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