RFA War Sepoy

RFA War Sepoy

 

Previous name:
Subsequent name:

Official Number:                    142773

Class:                                      WAR CLASS Freighting Tanker - 5 cargo tanks

Pennant No:                           Y7.322 / X83

Laid down:
Builder:                                   William Gray & Company, Hartlepool
Launched:                              5 December 1918
Into Service:                           1921
Out of service:                       19 July 1940 
Fate:                                        Scuttled.

 

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.

 

6 February 1919 completed and placed under initial management of Hunting & Sons Ltd, London

20 April 1919 berthed at Singapore from Suez

23 July 1919 Fireman Thomas McGill appeared before the Marine Magistrates' Court, Hong Kong charged with desertion on or about 12 July 1919. He pleaded Guilty. He was sentenced to four weeks hard labour and was fined two days pay.

14 January 1920 was at Homg Kong

26 February 1920 at Nagasaki, Japan alongside HMS Cario to refuel her

30 July 1920 arrived Suez from Abadan

19 September 1920 at sea at 32.34N 31.13E Seaman Liu Khan discharged dead from heart failure. He had signed on at Hong Kong on 14 January 1920

8 October 1920 Fireman Ng Wan discharged dead. He died in 82nd General Hospital, Constantinople from malaria. He is buried in Haidar Pasha Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey

 

Courtesy and © of The War Graves Photographic Project

 

1 December 1920 in the Albert Dry Dock,  Tanjong Pagar, Singapore

4 December 1920 to 1 January 1921 alongside the East Wharf, Singapore

1921 transferred to Admiralty ownership but remained under commercial management

16 April 1921 berthed at Sheerness from Port Arthur

17 September 1921 arrived Malta from the Persian Gulf while on passage to Devonport  

25 September 1921 berthed at Devonport from the Persian Gulf

27 November 1921 berthed at Devonport from Abadan

1922 carried the first load of oil to the new Admiralty tanks at Singapore

July 1922 she was the first RFA to load cargo at Abadan since RFA SANTA MARGHERITA and had to wait 10 days lying at anchor in the river for the cargo of Admiralty special fuel which the early refineries had difficulty in making.

11 May 1923 to 14 May 1923 alongside the oil wharf at Keppel Harbour, Singapore

21 May 1923 in dry dock at Keppel Harbour, Singapore

11 June 1923 alongside the oil wharf at Keppel Harbour, Singapore

29 June 1923 alongside the oil wharf at Keppel Harbour, Singapore

24 August 1923 alongside the main wharf at Keppel Harbour, Singapore

26 September 1923 berthed at Singapore from Tarakan to discharge

22 October 1923 alongside the oil wharf at Keppel Harbour, Singapore

17 December 1923 alongside the oil wharf at Keppel Harbour, Singapore

21 December 1923 alongside the East Wharf, Singapore

20 March 1924 alongside the oil wharf at Keppel Harbour, Singapore

24 April 1924 to 25 April 1924 alongside the oil wharf at Keppel Harbour, Singapore

5 June 1924 Captain G L Capsey RFA appointed as Master and Mr A Nicholls RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

7 June 1924 at Honolulu alongside HMS REPULSE to refuel her

30 August 1924 berthed at Singapore from Abadan

1 October 1924 sailed Singapore to Hong Kong

30 October 1924 sailed Abadan

31 January 1925 Bosun John Williamson discharged dead at 24.41N 42.24W - by accident he fell from the boat deck to the main deck and fractured his skull. He was buried at sea.

14 December 1926 Chief Engineer Alexander Scott RFA discharged dead - he drowned at sea. He is remembered in Glasgow Western Necropolis.

 

 

 

 

16 November 1926 Captain G St.L Capsey RFA appointed as Master

21 January 1927 Mr J Mackintosh RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

11 April 1928 Mr Sidney J M Esson RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

19 June 1929 Captain Charles H Noel RFA appointed as Master

 

Captain Charles H Noel RFA

 

2 May 1930 Mr C E Harland RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

21 November 1930 Captain T Drever RFA appointed as Master

25 November 1930 sailed from Liverpool to St. Kitts

15 March 1932 Mr G C Dunning RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

 

Chief Engineer Officer G C Dunning RFA

 

29 January 1933 sailed Gibraltar

6 May 1933 Mr D E Morgan RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

24 May 1933 Captain W H Green RFA appointed as Master

20 June 1934 Mr F Campbell RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

22 August 1935 Captain R C E Neyroud RFA appointed as Master

6 May 1936 grounded when entering the River Tyne

9 February 1937 transferred to Admiralty management and manning as an RFA at Swansea.

3 July 1937 grounded at Sheikh Shaaib in the Persian Gulf. Refloated and proceeded to Colombo under her own steam and was repaired there by Messrs J. Walker & Sons

7 December 1937 in collision with TWAKOW NO 1698 while entering Keppel Harbour, Singapore

8 December 1937 to 10 December 1937 alongside the oil wharf, Keppel Harbour, Singapore

23 May 1938 Captain A MacDonald RFA appointed as Master

9 July 1938 Mr W H A Lawson RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

6 February 1939 suffered damage to the port side of her engine room whilst bunkering the cruiser  HMS VINDICTIVE at Trinidad.

26 July 1939 Mr D L Walls RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

1 April 1939 sailed Falmouth for Sheerness

September 1939 became the Port oiler at Dover

1 November 1939 Captain T G Bennett RFA (Lieutenant Commander RN (Retd)) appointed as Master

3 November 1939 Mr G A Calvert  RFA appointed as Chief Engineer Officer

21 January 1940 was damaged by the destroyer HMS WREN coming alongside

10 March 1940 Donkeyman William J Dickens discharged dead.

19 July 1940 bombed and bady damaged by fire at Dover. Salvage Officers report advised that the condition of the ship was such that repairs were not practical. Ship to be beached.

25 July 1940 Further damaged during another air raid and burned out. She was hit amidships and broke in two, the deck forming a hinge between the fore and aft sections. She’d been loaded with drummed oil stocks from ashore as  the tanks there were deemed adequate for foreseen requirements. After she’d broken in two, the next few weeks were spent extricating the drummed oil from holds inclined at 45°. With the assistance of RFA CELEROL, which was brought from Sheerness for the purpose of extricating as much contaminated FFO as possible,  this was transferred to shore tanks where it was later treated with Teepol to settle out the water.

7 September 1940 scuttled with holds full of concrete blocking the western entrance at Dover Harbour. A second ship (non RFA) - the Minnie de Larrinaga was also scuttled. The blocking was to prevent the entry of submarines into the port. A further block ship - the 'Spanish Prince' was lying over the bows and forward section of the War Sepoy.

 

Map of Dover Harbour used with permission of the Dover Harbour Board

2 May 1950 removal of these three ships by a salvage company engaged by the Dover Harbour Board commenced

July 1962 a ten year task of cutting up the RFA War Sepoy and the Minnie de Larrinaga and removing them was completed by the Dover Harbour Board.

26 April 1964 the western entrance of the Harbour was reopened