The Wave class was a class of twenty
replenishment oiler
A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers.
Th ...
s built for service supporting the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
(RN) during the later years of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. They were subsequently transferred to the
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
The RF ...
(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
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
conflicts such as the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
.
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 displacement, able to carry of
fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...
.
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
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. The company was dissolved multiple times since but thes ...
, Haverton Hill-on-Tees, three by
Harland & Wolff at their yard in
Govan
Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...
, and the remaining five by Sir J. Laing & Sons Ltd, at
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
.
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 War. RFAs , , , , , , , and all served there in support of allied fleet units and task forces.][ 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
See also
* List of replenishment ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Notes
References
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wave Class Oiler
Auxiliary replenishment ship classes
Wave