The Dale class consisted of three

tankers Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanke ...

chartered for service for the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

in 1967. They served for a number of years supporting

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

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 The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

, in the waters of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. They were given traditional RFA names, reusing three names that had been used for the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

-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 Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

. was returned to her original owners in 1974, but remained in service until 1977. During this time ''Dewdale'' saw service with the

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...

task force during the British withdrawal in 1967, and was then active then on the

Beira Patrol The Beira Patrol was a blockade of oil shipments to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) through Beira, Mozambique, resulting from United Nations trade sanctions on Rhodesia. Background Rhodesia's government unilaterally declared the former colony's inde ...

s. She was the last to leave service with the RFA, being returned in 1977 and commencing service under her old name of ''Edenfield''.

Ships

Notes

References

* {{Dale class tanker Auxiliary replenishment ship classes Dale class tanker