RFA War Brahmin

RFA War Brahmin

 

 

 

Previous name:
Subsequent name:

Official Number:                    144353 

Class:                                      WAR CLASS Freighting Tanker

Pennant No:                            Y7.338 / X 91 / A 288

Laid down:
Builder:                                   Lithgows, Port Glasgow

Launched:                              28 November 1919

Into service:                            February 1920

Out of service:
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

 

28 November 1919  Launched by Lithgows Ltd, Port Glasgow as Yard Nr 720 named WAR BRAHMIN for the Shipping Controller

February 1920 Completed at a cost of £208,275.and placed under initial management of C.T. Bowring & Co Ltd, Liverpool. She was built with patent davits, the only one of her  Class so fitted. Her name is derived from the Indian word and refers to the highest  caste in the Indian caste system 

1921 Transferred to Admiralty management and manning as an RFA

23 September 1923 arrived at Singapore from Abadan

25 October 1923 Captain William J Yeomans as Master

8 December 1923 at Sierra Leone alongside HMS HOOD at 0900 - supplied 2,053 tons of FFO to the Battle Cruiser - cast off 2000 hrs

10 December 1923 at Sierra Leone alongside HMS REPULSE to refuel her

11 December 1923 Slightly damaged when in collision with  the cruisers HMS DANAE and HMS DELHI when fuelling the Special Service Squadron off Sierra Leone. Seven artisans from HMS HOOD transfered to repair the damage

12 December 1923 sailed to Trinidad to load cargo, then to Devonport for discharge and further repairs.

10 February 1924 at Devonport

16 February 1924 berthed at Gibraltar

18 February 1924 sailed Gibraltar

3 March 1924 berthed at Tinidad

6 March 1924 sailed Trinidad

31 March 1924 berthed Simonstown

3 April 1924 sailed Simonstown

25 April 1924 berthed Trinidad

5 June 1924 berthed Port Arthur

7 June 1924 sailed Port Arthur

29 June 1924 passed Dover and berthed at Sheerness the same day

1 September 1924 Captain J Gow RFA appointed as Master and Mr W Maybray RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

18 September 1924 passed Gibraltar

25 September 1924 at Port Said

27 September 1924 transit Suez Canal and arrived at Suez

9 October 1924 berthed at Abadan

12 October 1924 sailed Abadan

28 |October 1924 berthed at Singapore

31 October 1924 sailed Singapore

19 November 1924 arrived Abadan

28 November 1924 berthed at Aden

30 November 1924 sailed Aden

8 December 1924 at Abadan

27 December 1924 at the oil wharf at Kepple Harbour, Singapore

27 March 1925 Captain Frank J Delamotte RFA appointed as Master

10 July 1925 at the oil wharf at Kepple Harbour, Singapore

21 July 1925 in dry dock at Singapore

14 November 1925 in the Persian Gulf Fireman William Tubb discharged dead - apparent suicide - buried at sea

9 February 1927 at the oil wharf at Kepple Harbour, Singapore

9 May 1927 while secure alongside in SIngapore Harbour was struck by the ss Pinna (previously RFA Polshannon) a tanker under the ownership of Anglo Saxon Petroleum. Both vessels suffered slight damage

7 August 1927 arrived at the oil wharf Singapore from Abadan having sailed from that port on 19 July to partially discharge and sailed 8 August 1927 for Hong Kong

2 January 1928 Captain Donald R McCutchan RFA appointed as Master

 

Captain Donald  R McCutchan RFA

21 July 1928 Mr H M Scott RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

1 November 1928 at the oil wharft, Kepple Harbour, Singapore

8 and 9 March 1929 berthed at the oil wharf, Kepple Harbour, SIngapore

23 August 1929 Mr J E Hawthorn RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

27 August 1930  Captain J Martin-Smith DSC RFA (Lieutenant Commander RNR (Rtd)) appointed as Master

20 September 1930 Mr R Blacklock RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

5 March 1931 took on charge an E. Dent & Co Marine Chronometer No 57219 purchased by the Admiralty in April 1913. Previous been held on charge by HMS Emperor of India. Landed off charge on 7 January 1935 to HM Dockyard, Sheerness

28 August 1931 Mr G T Beed RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

1 October 1931 Captain L Elford RFA appointed as Master

26 November 1932 at Sea 11 miles east of Ras Marshas (Aden) Chief Steward C Y Sum discharged dead having been murdered by stabbing. Mess Room Boy Line Tone discharged dead - disappeared presumed drowned

4 April 1933 Mr J Atchison RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

5 July 1934 Captain J Martin-Smith DSC RFA (Lieutenant Commander RNR (Rtd)) appointed as Master

13 May 1935 Captain E Parker RFA appointed as Master

19 March 1938 at Gibraltar Bay Donkeyman Greaser Arthur John Richards discharged dead - presumed drowned

12 July 1938 James Alexander Gow discharged dead. He is buried in the Royal Naval Cemetery, Bermuda

 

Courtesy and © of The War Graves Photographic Project

 

11 August 1938 Mr F C Pavitt RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

15 August 1938 Captain Thomas H Card RFA appointed as Master

2 June 1939 Captain C F Smith RFA appointed as Master

18 October 1939 at Kingston, Jamaica Donkeyman Greaser William Denley discharged dead - drowned

4 February 1940 sailed Bermuda to Trinidad arrived 9 February 1940

11 February 1940 sailed Trinidad to Curacao and then Kingston, Jamaica arriving 14 March 1940

8 April 1940 sailed Kingston to Trinidad arriving 13 April 1940

17 April 1940 sailed Trinidad to Bermuda arriving 23 April 1940

28 June 1941 degaussing equipment fitted.

30 June 1941 sailed Trinidad to Bermuda arriving 9 July 1941

22 July 1941 sailed Bermuda for Baltimore for dry docking and refit arriving 27 July 1941

20 August 1941 sailed Baltimore to Norfolk, Virginia

21 September 1941 Mr Wilfred C Shortland RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

12 April 1943 Captain Archibald Hobson DSC RFA appointed as Master

28 June 1943 at Bermuda alongside HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH refuelling her - 534 tons of FFO supplied

21 August 1943 Mr J Cook RFA appointed Chief Engineer Officer

5 June 1945 under going repairs at Bermuda - completed 

20 June 1945 Captain Stanley M Woodward RFA appointed as Master

24 October 1945 sailed Kingston to Bermuda

24 November 1945 sailed Bermuda to Kingston arriving 29 November 1945

8 December 1945 arrived at Trinidad from Kingston

21 December 1945 sailed Trinidad to Bermuda arriving 30 December 1945

11 January 1946 sailed Bermuda to Portsmouth arriving 26 January 1946

13 February 1946 sailed Portsmouth to Liverpool arriving on 15 February 1946

27 April 1946 Mr G P O Summers RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

3 May 1946 Mr W H A Lawson RFA appointed Chief Engineer Officer

5 May 1946 at Liverpool reporting engine trouble

2 April 1947 Captain Albert  V Barton RFA appointed as Master

15 March 1948 Captain Stanley  M Woodward RFA appointed as Master

16 March 1948 3rd Officer A McKinnon RFA discharged dead.  He is buried in Kalkara Royal Naval Cemetery, Malta

7 September 1949 laid up in reserve in the River Fal

18 May 1950 Sailed for Devonport

27 February 1953 Sailed Immingham in tow after a long refit there to act as a water carrier between  Augusta and Malta and Casablanca and Gibraltar for some time after which she became a floating oil storage vessel at Gibraltar.

1958 Was briefly renamed when she starred as the Italian OLTERRA which was the Depot Ship  for Italian frogmen in the film “The Silent Enemy” starring Laurence Harvey  The scenes were shot at Gibraltar and depicted the frogmen’s wartime actions there during  which RFA DENBYDALE was seriously  damaged. Minor roles were also played by  RFA’s  AMHERST and EDDYBEACH

1959 sold for scrap

5 February 1960 arrived La Spezi in tow of the Dutch tug RODE ZEE for breaking up

 

Notes:

1. The Naples-registered OLTERRA was interred at Algeciras by the neutral Spanish authorities during WW2.  The Italian 10th Flotilla secretly used the ship as  their base to attack shipping across the Bay at Gibraltar by the use of underwater chariots. The ship was finally blown up by Lt “Buster” Crabb RNVR and Leading Seaman Knowles RN.