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, , 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.
They were given traditional RFA names, reusing three names that had been used for the Second World War-era s. They were not fitted with equipment to allow them to replenish ships at sea, and were classified instead as 'Mobile Reserve Tankers'.
The smallest, RFA Ennerdale was also the shortest lived. She hit a coral reef and sank off Port Victoria on 1 June 1970. The wreck was subsequently destroyed with explosives fired from Wessex helicopters to prevent an oil spillage from threatening the Seychelles.
was returned to her original owners in 1974, but remained in service until 1977. 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. She was the last to leave service with the RFA, being returned in 1977 and commencing service under her old name of Edenfield.
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. These vessels were the largest in the RFA fleet at the time.
Comparison
Dale-Class Mobile Reserve TankersTonnagesNameGross register tonnageNet register tonnageDeadweight tonnageDisplacement (full load tonnage)Derwentdale42,34328,28873,37588,555Dewdale35,64224,50463,58867,000Ennerdale29,18918,06649,20962,000DimensionsNameLength oaBeamDraughtDepthDerwentdale798ft 11in117ft 10in42ft 6in55ft 4inDewdale774ft 6in107ft 10in41ft 5in55ftEnnerdale710ft98ft 7in37ft 6in51ft 10in Machinery & SpeedNameEnginebhpShaftSpeedDerwentdale1 x Hitachi/B&W 9-cylinder diesel20,700bhpsingle shaft15.5 knotsDewdale1 x H&W/B&W 9-cylinder diesel17,000bhpsingle shaft15 knotsEnnerdale1 x Krupp/B&W 8-cylinder diesel16,800bhpsingle shaft15.5 knots
Ships
Name Pennant Builder Laid down Launched Completed In RFA Service Fate (ex-Halcyon Breeze)A221Hitachi, Innoshima, Japan -18 January 1964April 19641967 – 1975to previous owners, then sold and renamed Alnajdi (ex-Edenfield)A129Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Northern Ireland -5 March 19652 July 1965August 1967 - September 1977to previous owners as Edenfield, then sold and renamed World Field (ex-Naess Scotsman)A213Kieler Howaldstwerke Kiel, Germany -31 August 196219631967 – 1970Wrecked and sunk on 1 June 1970
Derwentdale
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. She began her RFA charter on 17 June 1967.
Dewdale
Dewdale was launched as Edenfield for Hunting (Eden) Tankers Ltd, managed by Hunting & Son Ltd, by Harland & Wolff on 5 March 1965 and began her charter on 14 August 1967.
Ennerdale
Ennerdale was launched on 31 August 1963 as Naess Scotsman for the Anglo-Norness Shipping Co Ltd and began her charter in July 1967.
See also List of replenishment ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Notes
References