RFA War Afridi

RFA War Afridi

 

 

Previous name:
Subsequent name:

Official Number:                    144340                                                                           

Class:                                      WAR CLASS Freighting Tanker - 7 cargo tanks

Pennant No:                           Y7.337 / X90

Laid down:
Builder:                                   Robert Duncan, Port Glasgow

Launched:                              11 November 1919
Into Service:                           29 January 1920

Out of service:                        1947

Fate:                                        Broken up

 

Items of historic interest involving this ship: -

Background Data: To combat the alarming losses of British merchant ships during WW1, the New Ministries and Secretaries Act was passed in December 1916, which provided for the appointment of a Shipping Controller with very wide powers “to take such steps as he thinks best for providing and maintaining an efficient supply of shipping”. On 20 December 1916, the first meeting of the Merchant Shipbuilding Advisory Committee took place where it was decided that an extensive shipbuilding programme should be started, the ships to be of a simple design and as far as possible to be of a standard type as regards hulls and engines. These new vessels for the Government were given a standard nomenclature, the prefix to their names being WAR. 821 vessels were ordered from U.K. yards and abroad and 416 were completed to Government order, 279 were sold and transferred to private owners before completion and the remainder were cancelled. Of the 416 completed to Government order, 15 were transferred to Admiralty service as oilers. They were all modified versions of the A and B Class standard dry cargo ships, known as the Z Class. All had 2 large dry cargo holds, 6 of them had 5 cargo tanks and the remaining 9 had 7 cargo tanks, specially designed for the carriage of heavy fuel oil. Most of them were initially under commercial management.

 

11 November 1919 After launching she was towed to the James Watt Dock at Greenock for her engines to be fitted.

29 January 1920  Ran trials and placed under initial management of C.T. Bowring & Co Ltd, Liverpool.

21 November 1920 berthed at Sharpness from Texas

17 January 1921 berthed at Templepreedy  from Port Arthur

1921 RFA manned

9 December 1921 while berthed on the River Clyde was hit by another vessel which had been involved in an accident with two other ships. All four ships were damaged - in the case of  War Afridi to her bow. The matter of blame was heard in the Scottish High Court in 1924. The other ships involved were the ss Bogota, the ss Alconda and a tug Samson

3 January 1922 in collision with a tug Waban - location currently unknown but reported in a US Congress report of 1926  

18 December 1922 berthed at Devonport after voyage from Abadan

16 May 1923 alongside the Oil Wharf, Singapore

21 May 1923 at the Main Dock, Kepple Harbour, Singapore

2 July 1923 alongside the Oil Wharf, Singapore

28 September 1923 to 2 October 1923 in dry dock, Singapore

12 November 1923 alongside the Oil Wharf, Kepple Harbour, Singapore

15 November 1923 alongside the Main Wharf, Kepple Harbour, Singapore

26 November 1923 Captain A Flower RFA as Master

24 December 1923 alongside the Oil Wharf, Kepple Harbour, Singapore

9 January 1924 at Abadan - sailed 13 January 1924

2 March 1924 1815hrs berthed alongside HMS Hood at King Georges Sound, Albany, Western Australia and supplied 2,006 tons of FFO to the battle cruiser

3 March 1924 cast off from HMS Hood and moored alongside HMS Repulse to refuel her

27 March 1924 berthed at Singapore - sailed 1 April 1924

12 April 1924 berthed at Singapore

4 May 1924 at Suez - sailed 9 May 1924

14 May 1924 arrived at Aden - sailed 15 May 1924

25 May 1924 berthed at Abadan

25 June 1924 berthed at Abadan sailed 28 June 1924

30 June 1924 at sea in the Persian Gulf at 26.20N 55.27E Sailor Lee Ah Poo discharged dead. He died from beri -beri. He had signed on at Singapore on 1 April 1924. He was buried at sea.

15 July 1924 at Suez to transit Suez Canal arrived Port Said the same day

20 July 1924 berthed at Malta until 27 August 1924

15 September 1924 at Port Said to transit the Suez Canal having sailed from Malta

16 September 1924 arrived Suez

30 September 1924 berthed Abadan

16 October 1924 berthed at the Oil Wharf, Kepple Harbour, Singapore - sailed 17 October 1924

1 November 1924 berthed at Hong Kong

7 November 1924 berthed at Singapore - sailed the same day

22 November 1924 berthed at Abadan - sailed 25 November 1924

9 December 1924 at Suez to transit the Suez Canal

11 December 1924 at Port Said sailed to Malta arriving 15 December 1924

20 March 1925 Captain H R Elsby RFA appointed as Master

22 June 1925 berthed at the Oil Wharf, Kepple Harbour

22 March 1926 Mr Charles A Smith RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

 

Chief Engineer Officer Charles A Smith RFA

 

6 May 1927 berthed at Freemantle from Abadan

24 May 1927 sailed Freemantle for Singapore

10 July 1927 arrived at Singapore from Abadan. Sailed same day to Hong Kong

3 August 1927 at the Oil Wharf, Kepple Harbour, Singapore

1 November 1927 while under tow from the oil wharf at Keppel Harbour, SIngapore by the tug Varuna was in collision with a Chinese coasting vessel Ban Teck Guan which caused minor damage to the RFA. (Reported in The SIngapore Free Press & Mercantile Advertiser of 2 November 1927)

24 February 1928 in the Albert Dry Dock, Tanjong Pagar

2 May 1928 Mr D E Morgan RFA appointed Chief Engineer Officer

22 November 1928 Captain Reginald  J Harland RFA appointed as Master

17 September 1930 Mr A C Fraser RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

25 February 1931 Captain R D Williams RD RFA (Commander RNR (retd)) appointed as Master

24 March 1932 Mr C J Falconer RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

23 November 1932 Captain W T Williams RFA appointed as Master

March 1933 while in dry dock at Devonport sand and brass filings were found in machinery - reported in the press and mentioned in Parliament as deliberate sabotage.

27 July 1933 Captain A L Jones RFA appointed as Master

11 March 1935 Mr W H A Lawson RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

3 October 1936 having sailed Darwin, Australia this day after discharging 8,000 tons of FFO into the Naval storage tanks there two male stowaways, both from the UK, were discovered on board. The ship was en route to the Persian Gulf. The stoways were transferred to RFA War Sirdar which was due at Darwin on the 10 October 1936

4 March 1937 Captain W H Green RFA appointed as Master

22 April 1937 came under full RFA control

23 October 1937 to 25 October 1937 in the Albert Dry Dock, Singapore

12 April 1938 at Lyness Seaman Low Ah Rue discharged dead. Death subject to Police enquiries

20 April 1938 Mr J Atchinson RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

25 April 1939 Mr L T Tomlinson RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

8 December 1939 sailed Gibraltar in convoy HG 10 with RFA’s THERMOL and WAR  BHARATA. arriving Devonport on 16 December 1939

7 Mar 1940 Captain J Gow RFA appointed as Master

10 May 1940 Mr D L Walls RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

13 January 1941 at Rosyth berthed along side HMS Hood to refuel her until the next day

8 March 1941 sailed Grangemeouth to Southend arriving 12 March 1941

16 June 1941 Mr William W Ridgway RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

27 August 1941 sailed Grangemeouth to Rosyth

28 October 1941 at Rosyth alongside HMS DUKE OF YORK refuelling her

12 August 1942 damaged the cruiser HMS LIVERPOOL at Rosyth.

3 October 1942 Captain Archibald Hobson DSC RFA appointed as Master

February 1943 In collision with RFA OLIGARCH

July 1943 fitted with tanks in forward hold to hold 120 tons of diesel oil

18 August 1943 Captain W H Green RFA appointed as Master

4 December 1943 Mr H R Bullimore RFA (Lieutenant Commander (E) (RN (ret)) appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

19 December 1944 at Rosyth alongside HMS COLOSSUS refuelling her with 1,650 tons of FFO

22 January 1945 at Leith until 28 January 1945

20 June 1945 on the Tyne until 21 September 1945

21 September 1945 sailed the Tyne but had to put back through defects

22 September 1945 sailed the Tyne 

30 August 1945 Captain Charles H Noel OBE RFA appointed as Master

5 September 1945 Mr R R Burgh RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

1 October 1945 passed Gibraltar

11 October 1945 arrived and sailed Port Said

26 October 1945 arrived at Abadan

1 April 1947 Captain L W J Hall RFA appointed as Master

9 April 1947 Mr A W Symonds RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

1947 at Hong Kong on Yard Craft agreement

12 April 1951 Hulked

14 April 1958 offered for sale by tender 'as she lies' at Hong Kong in the Straits Times of this day - page 11

August 1958 arrived for breaking up at Hong Kong