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RFA Darkdale

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History
RFA EnsignUK
Name
  • Empire Oil (1940)
  • RFA Darkdale (1940–41)
BuilderBlythswood Shipbuilding Company, Scotstoun
Laid downOctober 1939
Launched23 July 1940
CompletedNovember 1940
FateSunk by U-68, 22 October 1941
General characteristics
Class and typeDale-class fleet tanker
Tonnage8,145 GRT

RFA Darkdale was a Dale-class fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), launched on 23 July 1940 as Empire Oil, completed in November 1940 and transferred to the RFA as Darkdale. She was sunk during the Second World War on 22 October 1941 by the German submarine U-68. Her wreck in James Bay off Jamestown, Saint Helena continued to leak oil, posing a potential environmental threat to the coastal waters of Saint Helena, until Ministry of Defence divers drained the ship's tanks in 2015.

History

The 8,145 GRT Empire Oil was built by Blythswood Shipbuilding Company of Scotstoun, Glasgow. She was laid down in October 1939, launched on 23 July 1940, completed in November 1940 and transferred to the RFA as Darkdale.[1]

In August 1941 she arrived at Saint Helena, tasked as fleet oiler for the South Atlantic. She refuelled a number of Royal Navy ships there including the cruiser HMS Dorsetshire and the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. At anchor in James Bay in the early hours of 22 October 1941, she was struck by four torpedoes from the German submarine U-68, commanded by Karl-Friedrich Merten. The ship broke in two and sank.[1] 41 men were lost. Two men on deck were blown clear and survived.[2] Seven men, including the captain, were ashore.[1]

The lost crew are memorialized on the Cenotaph at Jamestown and at the Tower Hill Memorial in London.[1]

View from James Bay towards Jamestown, Saint Helena

The wreck continued to leak fuel oil, posing a potential environmental threat to the coastal waters of Saint Helena. In April 2012 a team from Salvage and Marine Operations,[1] an arm of the MOD's Defence Equipment and Support organisation,[2] left for Saint Helena to examine the wreck.[1] The ice patrol ship HMS Protector surveyed it in October 2012 to provide additional sonar imagery.[2]

In 2015, Salvage and Marine Operations divers successfully drained 1,944 cubic metres (68,700 cu ft) of oil from the ship's tanks. Royal Navy divers also removed 38 shells belonging to the two main guns.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "UK team to survey wreck of RFA tanker sunk by WWII German U-boat in St Helena". MercoPress. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Protector remembers wartime tanker with service in St Helena". Navy News. 17 October 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  3. ^ "RFA's flag flies on its most hallowed wreck as divers honour the Darkdale". Navy News. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
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