RFA ''Wave King'' (A182) was a 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 Govan by Harland & Wolff Ltd. In 1945, she served in the Far East with the British Pacific Fleet, designated

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upon joining the United States fleet. On 6 May 1945 ''Wave King'' and ''Wave Monarch'' were with the Logistic Support Group 300 miles south-east of Miyako to refuel Task Force 57 which was launching air strikes against island targets in the

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campaign. ''Wave King'' struck a rock north of

São Luís de Maranhão SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U. ...

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, on 9 August 1956 and suffered severe damage. She was withdrawn from service as a result and was laid up at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

later in 1956. She arrived at

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

on 16 April 1960 for scrapping.

References

Wave-class oilers Tankers of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary 1944 ships Ministry of War Transport ships Ships built in Govan Ships built by Harland and Wolff Maritime incidents in 1956 {{UK-aux-ship-stub