Previous name:                     PAPENDRECHT, LOTHRINGEN

Subsequent name:               PAPENDRECHT

Official Number:              159160

Class:                                      Fleet Attendant Oiler

Pennant No:                           A159

Laid down:
Builder:                                   Rotterdam Dry Dock, Rotterdam
Launched:                              17 April 1940
Into Service:                           1941
Out of service:                        1946
Fate:                                        Broken up

Items of historic interest involving this ship: -

Background Data: Launched for commercial owners soon after the start of WW2, she was unable to escape from her builder’s yard when the Germans invaded Holland owing to the magnetic mining of the New Waterway. After seizure by the Germans, who altered her decks and fittings considerably for replenishment at sea duties, she sailed as a supply tanker. Her capture by the British provide a valuable insight into the German methods of replenishment at sea, as having no bases, they had been forced to experiment and had evolved the buoyant rubber hose.

17 April 1940 launched by Rotterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij N.V, Rotterdam as Yard Nr 220 named PAPENDRECHT for N.V. Maatschappij Motorschip ‘Papendrecht’

14 November 1940 seized by the Kriegsmarine Authorities, placed under management of J.T. Essberger Hamburg and renamed LOTHRINGEN. Completed for service as a supply ship with oiling at sea equipment. Crewed by 35 members of the German Mercantile Marine, 1 x  Naval Officer and 45 x Naval ratings.

7 March 1941sailed Schiedam

8 March 1941arrived Cherbourg for minor repairs

As the German Naval Auxiliary LOTHRINGEN

Courtesy of Rob van Leeuwen, Holland

11 March 1941 sailed Cherbourg for Brest thence St Nazaire arriving on the 20 March 1941

21 March 1941 sailed St Nazaire for Brest 

11 May 1941 sailed La Pallice for the mid-Atlantic for U-boat refuelling operations

15 June 1941 after suffering slight damage from aircraft from the aircraft carrier HMS EAGLE, she was captured intact in position 19.49 N 30.30 W, NW of the Cape Verde Islands, by the cruiser HMS DUNEDIN in Operation Salvage. She was taken to Bermuda by a  Prize Crew and her cargo was taken as a prize. The status of the ship was left in abeyance until the cessation of  hostilities and she was temporarily registered in Hamilton and  was renamed EMPIRE SALVAGE

Photo taken from an aircraft from HMS Eagle of HMS Dunedin with the captured

German naval tanker LOTHRINGEN later to become RFA Empire Salvage

1941 renamed Empire Salvage

4 July 1941 Captain George W Callaway RFA (Lieutenant Commander RN (Retd)) appointed as Master

5 July 1941 Mr J B D Payne RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

2 September 1941 Temporary Electrical Lieutenant Brian Toller Whinney RNVR and Temporary Electrical Lieutenant Stanley Edmund  Jenner, G.M., RNVR awarded a Mention in Despatches for rendering a bomb safe onboard

23 September 1941 the first Official Record of her when she sailed from Bermuda to Halifax arriving on 26 September 1941

5 October 1941 sailed Halifax in Convoy HX153 to the Clyde arriving on 18 October 1941

October 1941 Conducted OAS trials on the Clyde, using captured rubber hoses from the German supply tanker GEDANIA

20 November 1941 sailed the Clyde to Scapa Flow arriving 22 November 1941to conduct extensive OAS trials with RFA GRAY RANGER

8 December 1941 conducted OAS trials with RFA BLUE RANGER

December 1941 conducted OAS trials with destroyers of the Home Fleet

21 December 1941sailed Scapa Flow to Lyness arriving the next day

6 January 1942 sailed Oban in Convoy WN 228 to Methil  and then convoy FS 696 diverting to the Tyne arriving on 10 January 1942

13 January 1942 at Newcastle for repairs, the fitting of a gyro compass and defensive armament. 

16 March 1942 fitted with aviation spirit stowage prior to deployment to Halifax, Nova Scotia for duties as Station Oiler there

18 April 1942 surveyed at Newcastle and registered in London for service with the Admiralty as  RFA EMPIRE SALVAGE

11 May 1942 sailed the Tyne in convoy FN704 to Methil arriving the next day

13 May 1942 sailed Methil in convoy EN84 to Oban arriving on 15 May 1942

15 May 1942 joined convoy ON95 which had sailed Liverpool to Cape Cod Bay. The largest ship in the convoy was noted as straggling - arrived Halifax 27 May 1942

29 May 1942 sailed Halifax in convoy HJ3 to St John, Newfoundland arriving on 31 May 1942

26 December 1942 joined convoy ON 153 which had sailed Liverpool on the on 11 December 1942, from St. John's, Newfoundland arriving New York on the 31 December 1942

22 January 1943 sailed New York in convoy HX 224 to Loch Ewe arriving on 6 February 1943

9 February 1943 sailed Loch Ewe in convoy WN393 to Scapa Flow arriving the next day

22 February 1943 sailed Scapa Flow  in convoy WN397 to Methil arriving 24 February 1943

4 April 1943 Refit at the Tyne. Completed 22 April 1943

6 April 1943 Mr C M Martin RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

14 May 1943 sailed Milford Haven in convoy ON 184 to New York

19 August 1943 Donkeyman John Sands discharged dead. He is buried in El Alia Cemetery, Algeria in Plot 12 Row D Grave 35

Courtesy of and © The War Graves Photographic Project

21 August 1943 sailed Algiers in Convoy KMS 23 to Birzerta arriving 23 August 1943

17 September 1943 sailed Bizerta to Malta arriving on 19 September 1943

8 October 1943 In collision with the American ss JOEL R POINSETT but damage to both vessels was slight

19 October 1943 Sailed Naples in Convoy NV 4 to Malta arriving 21 October 1943

15 November 1943 sailed Bizerta in Convoy UGS22 to Augusta arriving 17 November 1943

26 November 1943 sailed Augusta in convoy AH10 arriving at Taranto the next day

14 January 1944 sailed Bari in convoy HA18 to Augusta arriving 16 January 1944

17 January 1944 sailed Augusta in convoy VN16 arrived Naples on 18 January 1944

14 February 1944 Damaged by USS BROOKLYN when oiling alongside in a heavy swell. Damaged caused to her starboard side, starboard bridge and boat deck supports were badly damaged and stove in. The MoWT Surveyor declined to issue a seaworthiness certificate until the damage was repaired

2 May 1944 sailed Naples in Convoy NV36 to Augusta arriving the next day

13 May 1944 sailed Algiers in Convoy GUS 39 to Hampton Roads arriving 29 May 1944

7 June 1944 sailed Hampton Roads to New York arriving the next day

10 June 1944 sailed New York in Convoy HX295 thence Convoy WN 600 to Rosyth arriving 27 June 1944

30 June 1944 sailed Rosyth in Convoy FS1499 to the Tyne arriving on 1 July 1944

12 September 1944 sailed from the Tyne in Convoy FN 1477 to Methil arrived the next day

14 September 1944 sailed Methil in Convoy EN 435/2 arrived Loch Ewe - ship detached to Scapa Flow arriving 16 September 1944

20 September 1944 sailed Scapa Flow and joined Convoy EN 437/2 arrived Loch Ewe - ship detached to Milford Haven arriving on 22 September 1944

24 September 1944 sailed Milford Haven in Convoy OS90 for Port Said - passed Gibraltar 2 October 1944

12 October 1944 arrived Port Said for Suez Canal transit

14 October 1944 sailed Suez to Aden arrived on 19 October 1944

24 October 1944 sailed Khor Kwal to Abadan

28 October 1944 sailed Abadan

13 January 1945 sailed Trincomalee, Ceylon with RFA Wave King and RFA Echodale with a RN Unit as Force 69 to take part in Operation Meridan One - an air attack on the oil refineries at Palembang to put them out of action - the largest and most important oil refinery in the Far East. They were joined in the fuelling area south of Sumatra by RFA ARNDALE which was despatched from Freemantle 2 days later..

27 January 1945 arrived Trincomalee

18 February 1945 sailed Trincomalee

24 April 1945 sailed Akyab to Kyaukpyu arriving the next day

15 May 1945 sailed Kyaukpyu to Trincomalee arriving on 20 May 1945

26 May 1945 sailed Trincomalee

1 June 1945 arrived Bombay for repairs and  was transferred back to the Netherlands Govt and chartered by the MoWT. The British Govt back-paid the Netherlands Shipping and Trading Ltd the sum of £46,200 for use of the ship from 1 December 1943

4 June 1945 sailed Bombay

30 June 1945 in collision with the landing ship HMS ROCKSAND

August 1945 RFA’s forming the logistics support group to the British Pacific Fleet included RFA’s ARNDALE, BACCHUS(2), BISHOPDALE, BROWN RANGER, CEDARDALE, DINGLEDALE, EASEDALE, EMPIRE SALVAGE, GREEN RANGER, RAPIDOL, SERBOL, WAVE EMPEROR, WAVE GOVERNOR, WAVE KING, WAVE MONARCH and HMS (later RFA) OLNA (2)

30 August 1945 damaged the cruiser HMS CEYLON while oiling at anchor north of Penang, Malaysia

23 September 1945 sailed Trincomalee to Madras and then back to Trincomalee

29 September 1945 at Trincomalee, Ceylon sailing on 19 October 1945 to Singapore

16 November 1945 sailed Singapore for Hong Kong thence Okinawa

23 January 1946 assigned to Force C to establish British naval port facilities at Kure and Sasebo in Japan

26 January 1946 at Hong Kong - sailed to Okinawa 31 January 1946

13 February 1946 at Kure. Sailed to Shanghai arriving on 24 February 1946

27 February 1946 arrived Hong Kong

28 February 1946 2nd Officer Keith Nelson Howard RFA discharged dead. He is buried in Sai Wan War Cemetery, Hong Kong in Plot 1 Row F, Grave 15

Courtesy of and © The War Graves Photographic Project

3 March 1946 sailed Hong Kong arrived Bombay 21 March 1946

2 April 1946 sailed Bombay to Abadan arriving on 10 April 1946

12 April 1946 sailed Abadan arriving Suez 25 April 1946

26 April 1946 sailed Port Said. Passed Malta GC 30 April 1946

15 May 1946 arrived Portsmouth.

16 May 1946 handed back to her original owners Van Ommeren's Scheeps, Rotterdam and renamed PAPENDRECHT  

25 July 1957 sailed Tail of the Bank

February 1964 sold for breaking up to Japanese interests

15 April 1964 arrived for breaking up at Onomichi, Japan by Onomichi Zosen