RFA ''Wave Victor'' (A220) was an Wave-class fleet support tanker of 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 ...

built at Haverton Hill-on-Tees by

Furness Shipbuilding Company The Furness Shipbuilding Company was a shipbuilding company in Haverton Hill, Stockton on Tees, England. It was established during the First World War and operated from 1917 until 1979. Establishment The yard was initially established as an e ...

. She was built in 1942 as ''Empire Bounty'' for the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...

(MoWT). She was transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1946 and renamed ''Wave Victor'' with

Pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

X130. Her pennant number was later changed to A220. She served until scrapped in 1981.

Description

''Empire Bounty'' was laid down at the yards of the

Haverton Hill-on-Tees Haverton Hill is an area within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. Once considered a part of Billingham, Haverton Hill was once a thriving industrial community which has suffered significant depopulat ...

on 16 November 1942. She was yard number 356. ''Empire Bounty'' was launched on 30 September 1943 and completed in February 1944. ''Empire Bounty'' was recorded on

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

as being long, with a beam of and a depth of . She was propelled by two steam turbines driving a single screw. The turbines were made by Richardsons, Westgarth & Co Ltd,

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

Career

Empire Bounty

''Empire Bounty'' entered service for the MoWT, and was operated on their behalf by the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company, of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Her

Official Number Official numbers are ship identifier numbers assigned to merchant ships by their flag state, country of registration. Each country developed its own official numbering system, some on a national and some on a port-by-port basis, and the formats hav ...

was 169126 and she used the

Code Letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...

GCBT. ''Empire Bounty'' was a member of a number of convoys during 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 ...

, mostly between

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Her first crossing was with Convoy UC 14, leaving Liverpool on 1 March 1944 and arriving at New York on 11 March. She returned to America with Convoy UC 28, departing Liverpool on 1 July 1944 and arriving at New York on 12 July. ''Empire Bounty'' made one further voyage to New York that year, leaving Liverpool on 28 December and reaching her destination on 8 January 1945, having sailed via

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to th ...

. She returned to Britain with Convoy CU 54, departing New York on 19 January 1945 and reaching Liverpool on 22 January, from where she made for the

Isle of Grain Isle of Grain (Old English ''Greon'', meaning gravel) is a village and the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula within the district of Medway in Kent, south-east England. No longer an island and now forming part of the peninsula, the area is ...

. ''Empire Bounty'' sailed with four more convoys before the end of the war, all between Liverpool and New York. She sailed from Liverpool with Convoy UC 54A on 28 January 1945, arriving on 9 February. ''Empire Bounty'' sailed from

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

on 29 January. She returned with Convoy CU 59, departing on 19 February 1945 and arriving at Liverpool on 1 March, from where she headed to the

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

. Two journeys back to America with convoys followed, with Convoy UC 59A between 6 March 1945 and 17 March, having sailed from Milford Haven, and with Convoy UC 66A from 2 May 1945 to 13 May. ''Empire Bounty'' put into

Fayal Faial Island (), also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group (Portuguese: ''Grupo Central'') of the Azores. The Capelinhos Volcano, the westernmost point of the island, may be considered the westernmost point of E ...

with an unspecified defect that her master stated could only be repaired in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. She sailed from Fayal on 17 May and arrived at

West Hartlepool West Hartlepool was a predecessor of Hartlepool, County Durham, England. It developed in the Victorian era and took the name from its western position in the parish of what is now known as the Headland. The former town was originally formed in ...

on 29 May. Repairs took until 23 June to complete.

Wave Victor

''Empire Bounty'' and the remaining MOWT operated tankers of her class were transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1946 and ''Empire Bounty'' was renamed ''Wave Victor''. She was allocated Pennant number X130. In 1952, there was a fire on board ''Wave Victor'' whilst she was anchored off

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

. On 17 January 1954, ''Wave Victor'' was sailing down the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...

when a fire broke out in the engine room. The fire was reported at 17:24, and five minutes later was stated to be "out of control". At 17:37 a message was broadcast by radio that the ship was to be abandoned. Several

tugs A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

and

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

, as well as the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

came out to the ship, but by then the fire was raging out of control and the crew abandoned her, fearing the explosion of her bunkers. The tug ''Nirumand'' brought six

firemen A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also a ...

from

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

to the ship, which was off

Bull Point Bull Point is the most southerly part of East Falkland, and of the two main islands of the Falklands. It is at the far end of Lafonia, near Eagle Passage, and forms part of the west shore of the Bay of Harbours. A 1500 ha tract has been i ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. Acting Chief Engineer George McBain remained aboard so the vessel could not be claimed by private tugs under

marine salvage Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, re-floating a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Today, protecting the coastal environment from ...

laws. The ship continued to drift, and after some time several of the crew and a fire fighting team re-boarded her and brought the fire under control. The fire was extinguished by 12:00 the next day. She was subsequently towed back to

, and then to Wallsend on Tyne to be repaired. She was loaned to the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

in 1960, and transferred to

Gan The word Gan or the initials GAN may refer to: Places *Gan, a component of Hebrew placenames literally meaning "garden" China * Gan River (Jiangxi) * Gan River (Inner Mongolia), * Gan County, in Jiangxi province * Gansu, abbreviated ''Gā ...

, the location of

RAF Gan Royal Air Force Station Gan, commonly known as RAF Gan, is a former Royal Air Force station on Gan island, the southern-most island of Addu Atoll, which is part of the larger groups of islands which form the Maldives, in the middle of the Indian ...

, as a refuelling hulk. She remained in this role until replaced in 1971 by RFA ''Wave Ruler'', and was then laid up in

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...

in 1975.She was finally scrapped in 1981.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wave Victor Wave-class oilers Tankers of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary 1943 ships Empire ships Ministry of War Transport ships World War II tankers Steamships of the United Kingdom Tankers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1954 Ships built on the River Tees