Wave class oiler
Encyclopedia
The Wave class was a class of replenishment oiler
s built for service supporting the Royal Navy
during the later years of the Second World War. They were subsequently transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
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
.
. 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 and Wolff
at their yard in Govan
, and the remaining five by Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, at Sunderland.
. 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.
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. 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.
Replenishment Oiler
A replenishment oiler or fleet tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds, which can replenish other ships while underway in the high seas. Such ships are used by several countries around the world....
s built for service supporting the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
during the later years of the Second World War. They were subsequently transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the British Ministry of Defence. The RFA enables ships of the United Kingdom Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world. Its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment...
after the end of the war, and went on to support British and allied fleet units in Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
conflicts such as the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
Design and construction
The expanding needs of the Royal Navy to carry out long range operations away from friendly fuelling and replenishment stations led to the ordering of a number of tankers of around 16500 LT (16,765 t) displacement, able to carry 11900 LT (12,091 t) of fuel oilFuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
. 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 and Wolff
Harland and Wolff
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....
at their yard in Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
, and the remaining five by Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, at Sunderland.
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". The remaining MOWT owned oilers were transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1946 and all were given "Wave" names. Several of the RFA ships served in the Far East during the Second World War, while the class was heavily involved in the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. RFAs Wave Sovereign
RFA Wave Sovereign (A211)
RFA Wave Sovereign was a Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and was built at Haverton Hill by Furness Shipbuilding. She was extensively modified in the early 1960s....
, Wave Baron, Wave Premier, Wave Prince
RFA Wave Prince (A207)
RFA Wave Prince was a Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. She was built by Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd at Sunderland and was employed as an underway replenishment oiler. During 1961-1962 she was modified extensively, laid up at Devonport in August 1965 and arrived in...
, Wave Chief
RFA Wave Chief (A265)
RFA Wave Chief was a Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary that was built in 1946 as SS Empire Edgehil by Harland & Wolff, Govan, Renfrewshire, United Kingdom....
, Wave Knight, Wave Regent, Wave Laird
RFA Wave Laird (A119)
RFA Wave Laird was an Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. She was built in 1946 as Empire Dunbar by Sir J Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham for the Ministry of Transport and completed at Wave Laird. She served until 1961 when she was laid up at HMNB Devonport...
and Wave Conqueror all served there in support of allied fleet units and task forces.
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. 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
RFA Wave Chief (A265)
RFA Wave Chief was a Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary that was built in 1946 as SS Empire Edgehil by Harland & Wolff, Govan, Renfrewshire, United Kingdom....
the last to be retired, in 1974.
Ships
| Name | Pennant | Builder | Launched | Original name | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave Baron | A242 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 19 February 1946 | Empire Flodden | Scrapped in 1972 |
| Wave Chief RFA Wave Chief (A265) RFA Wave Chief was a Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary that was built in 1946 as SS Empire Edgehil by Harland & Wolff, Govan, Renfrewshire, United Kingdom.... |
A265 | Harland and Wolff Harland and Wolff Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland.... |
30 August 1946 | Empire Edgehill | Scrapped in 1974 |
| Wave Commander | A244 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 21 April 1944 | Empire Paladin | Scrapped in 1959 |
| Wave Conqueror | A245 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 27 November 1943 | Empire Law | Scrapped in 1960 |
| Wave Duke RFA Wave Duke (A246) RFA Wave Duke was a Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary built at Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd at Sunderland. She saw service during the Korean War. She was laid up at Devonport on 30 April 1960, and arrived at Bilbao to be scrapped on 25 December 1969.... |
A246 | Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd | 16 November 1944 | Empire Mars | Scrapped in 1969 |
| Wave Emperor | A100 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 16 October 1944 | Scrapped in 1966 | |
| Wave Governor | A247 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 30 November 1944 | Scrapped in 1960 | |
| Wave King | A182 | Harland and Wolff | 21 July 1944 | Scrapped in 1966 | |
| Wave Knight | A249 | Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd | 22 October 1945 | Empire Naseby | Scrapped in 1964 |
| Wave Laird RFA Wave Laird (A119) RFA Wave Laird was an Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. She was built in 1946 as Empire Dunbar by Sir J Laing & Sons Ltd, Sunderland, Co Durham for the Ministry of Transport and completed at Wave Laird. She served until 1961 when she was laid up at HMNB Devonport... |
A119 | Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd | 3 April 1946 | Empire Dunbar | Scrapped in 1970 |
| Wave Liberator | A248 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 9 February 1944 | Empire Milner | Scrapped in 1959 |
| Wave Master RFA Wave Master (A193) RFA Wave Master was a Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.She was built as Empire Salisbury by Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, and transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1946. She was laid up at Singapore on 23 September 1962, and scrapped at Jurong in May 1963.... |
A193 | Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd | 20 May 1944 | Empire Salisbury | Scrapped in 1963 |
| Wave Monarch | A264 | Harland and Wolff | 6 July 1944 | Sold as oil hulk in 1960 | |
| Wave Premier | A129 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 27 June 1946 | Scrapped in 1960 | |
| Wave Prince RFA Wave Prince (A207) RFA Wave Prince was a Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. She was built by Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd at Sunderland and was employed as an underway replenishment oiler. During 1961-1962 she was modified extensively, laid up at Devonport in August 1965 and arrived in... |
A207 | Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd | 27 July 1945 | Empire Herald | Scrapped in 1971 |
| Wave Protector | A215 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 20 July 1944 | Empire Protector | Scrapped in 1963 |
| Wave Regent | A210 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 29 March 1945 | Scrapped in 1960 | |
| Wave Ruler RFA Wave Ruler (A212) Wave Ruler was a that was built in 1946 as Empire Evesham by Furness Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Haverton Hill-on-Tees, Co Durham, United Kingdom for the British Ministry of Transport. In 1947, she was transferred to the Admiralty and commissioned into the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as Wave Ruler... |
A212 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 17 January 1946 | Empire Evesham | Scrapped in 1977 |
| Wave Sovereign RFA Wave Sovereign (A211) RFA Wave Sovereign was a Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and was built at Haverton Hill by Furness Shipbuilding. She was extensively modified in the early 1960s.... |
A211 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 20 November 1945 | Scrapped in 1966 | |
| Wave Victor RFA Wave Victor (A220) RFA Wave Victor was a 8,187 GRT Wave-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary built at Haverton Hill-on-Tees by Furness Shipbuilding Company. She was built in 1942 as Empire Bounty for the Ministry of War Transport . She was transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1946 and... |
A220 | Furness Shipbuilding Company | 30 September 1943 | Empire Bounty | Chartered to Air Ministry in 1960 |