RFA War Krishna

RFA War Krishna

 

Previous name:
Subsequent name:

Official Number:                  143823 

Class:                                    WAR CLASS Freighting Tanker

Pennant No:                          Y7.335 / X88

Laid down:
Builder:                                  Swan Hunter WR, Low Walker
Launched:                            24 October 1919  
Into Service:                         26 November 1919
Out of service:                      31 December 1946
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.

 

 

27 November 1919 completed and placed under initial management of Lane and Mc Andrew Ltd, London.

19 May 1920 sailed Sydney, NSW for Melbourne, Victoria

28 May 1920 at Melbourne moored alongside HMS Renown to refuel her

7 July 1920 berthed at  Adelaide from Albany

9 July 1920 to 10 July 1920 at Adelaide moored alongside HMS Renown to refuel her

30 July 1920 at Sydney, NSW moored alongside HMS Renown to refuel her

6 August 1920 sailed Sydney, NSW

1921 transferred to Admiralty ownership but remained under commercial management

January 1922 under the management of Davies & Newman.

January 1922 sailed Devonport to Fayal, Azores to refuel HMS Constance

January 1922 while at anchor at Fayal, Azores was struck by HMS Constance which had come alongside the ships starboard side too fast causing damage to the hull. Sailed to Gibraltar for survey, dry docking and repair.

15 January 1923 arrived at Plymouth under the tow of RFA Fortol

17 February 1923 at Fayal, Azores alongside HMS Constance to refuel her

18 February 1923 sailed Fayal, Azores for Gibraltar

14 April 1923 berthed at Singapore from Abadan

19 April 1923 sailed from Singapore for Abadan

24 March 1924 sailed Colombo for Auckland, New Zealand  

22 April 1924 anchored at Auckland, New Zealand

12 May 1924 moored alongside HMS Hood to refuel her at Auckland, New Zealand - 2,000 tons FFO supplied

14 May 1924 moored alongside HMS Repulse to refuel her at Auckland, New Zealand - 2,000 tons FFO supplied

8 July 1925 Captain Frederick Stanley Browne appointed as Master and Mr W W Ridgeway RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

7 March 1927 sailed Sydney, NSW, Australia for Tarakan

30 April 1927 berthed at Garden Island, Sydney, NSW, Australia from Suva and discharged cargo for HMS Renown which was due to arrive in port on the 20 March 1927

20 July 1927 Captain J Reid RFA appointed as Master

28 July 1927 Mr D E Morgan RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

7 January 1928 Mr James Paton RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

24 February 1928 Captain Charles L Cutsforth RFA appointed as Master

July 1928 - first RFA to discharge her cargo into new oil tanks that had been built at Darwin in the Northern Territories, Australia.

5 August 1928 sailed Darwin 

11 August 1930 Captain W C T Barns RFA appointed as Master and Mr J R Flett RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

6 October 1931 Captain Frank  J Delamotte RFA appointed as Master

7 October 1931 Mr W W Ridgeway RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

11 October 1932 engines failed twice when sailing from H.M. Naval Base, Singapore to Abbadan. She was towed back from the Straits of Malacca on the second occasion.

16 October 1932 three officers from the ship were involved in a personal injury accident in a motor vehicle in Singapore

19 November 1932 struck by lightening while on passage in the Straits of Malacca

21 November 1932 berthed at Singapore from Rangoon.

24 November 1932 sailed from Singapore to Colombo

10 February 1933 Mr J A Macintosh RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

11 August 1933 fire broke out in fore hold which was containing naval stores while the ship was berthed at Hong Kong. Two fire boats attended and extinguished the blaze.

24 April 1934 Captain S G Kent RFA appointed as Master and Mr G C Dunning RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

 

Chief Engineer Officer G C Dunning RFA

 

28 July 1936 Captain R D Scanlon RFA (Lieutenant Commander RN (Retd)) appointed as Master

10 January 1939 Mr H R Bullimore RFA (Engineer Lieutenant Commander Royal Navy (Retd) appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

1 October 1939 sailed Port Said in convoy BLUE 3 to Gibraltar arriving on the 11 October 1939

13 October 1939 sailed Gibraltar in convoy HG3 to Liverpool

October 1939 ten of her Chinese firemen refused to sail in the ship and were placed in detention

November 1939 undertook paravane running trials with long and short wires

18 January 1941 Mr E M Phillips RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

19 May 1942 Captain F L Finch RFA appointed as Master

26 September 1942 Mr H Marshall RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

22 February 1943 in collision with Dutch ship mv Macoma causing slight damage

22 June 1943 sailed Tripoli in convoy KMS16 to Alexandria arriving 27 June 1943

29 July 1943 sailed Alexandria in convoy GUS 11 to Malta arriving 3 August 1943

14 August 1943 sailed Malta in convoy KMS22 to Alexandria arriving on 19 August 1943

30 September 1943 sailed Alexandria in convoy GUS17 to Malta arriving on 3 October 1943

13 October 1943 sailed Malta in convoy KMS28 to Alexandria arriving on 18 October 1943

25 December 1943 Chief Engineer Officer Harry Marshall RFA discharged dead. He is buried in Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cememery, Egypt in Plot 4, Row J Grave 9

 

 

 

13 January 1944 Captain Richard Henry Pullman Mayhew RFA appointed as Master

18 January 1944 Mr E M Phillips RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

4 February 1944 sailed Port Said in convoy GUS30 to Malta arriving on 11 February 1944

21 June 1944 sailed Augusta in convoy VN48 to Naples arriving the next day

28 June 1944 sailed Naples under escort to Piombino arriving 21 July 1944

21 July 1944 sailed Citta Vechia under escort 

21 August 1944 sailed Naples in convoy VN60A to Citta Vechia arriving the next day

25 August 1944 sailed Citta Vechia under escort

11 September 1944 sailed Naples under escort to Piombino arriving 14 September 1944

21 September 1944 sailed Leghorn under escort to Piombino arriving 22 September 1944

9 January 1945 was damaged when in collision with USS The Cottonwoods at Mar Grande, Taranto 

16 April 1945 sailed Taranto independently to Bari arriving 18 April 1945

21 April 1945 sailed Bari in convoy AH31/2 to Ancona arriving the next day

24 April 1945 sailed Ancona in convoy HA31A

26 April 1945 arrived at Taranto

24 May 1945 sailed Taranto independently  to Port Said arriving 29 May 1945

1 June 1945 sailed Suez independently to Aden arriving 6 June 1945

10 June 1945 sailed Aden independently

5 October 1945 at the Rangoon River, Burma Captain Richard Henry Pullman Mayhew RFA discharged dead from a self inflicted gunshot wound. He was buried in Rangoon Military Cemetery, Plot 2 grave 19

14 August 1945 sailed Trincomalee, Ceylon independently to Rangoon arriving  20 August 1945

6 July 1946 Seaman Mohamed Ahmed discharged dead. He died at the Combined Services Hospital, Trincomalee of renal failure

31 December 1946 laid up at Trincomalee

July 1947 handed over to the MOT for disposal

1947 purchased by Bulk Storage Co, ( P. Bauer, Managers) Trincomalee for use as a hulk name unchanged.

11 February 1949 left Trincomalee under tow

2 March 1949 arrived for breaking up at Karachi