Historical RFA recording the History and Honour of the RFA

Time 2020-11-18 10:04:15

Web Name: Historical RFA recording the History and Honour of the RFA

WebSite: http://www.historicalrfa.org

ID:119888

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recording,the,Historical,

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- our consultants are Tom Adams MBE MCIJJames R Smith RFA 1/O(X) (ret'd)Since the creation of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1905 the ships of the Service have, during the month of November -On this day –While undocking at Liverpool in 1921 RFA SCOTOL had four collisions with other ships in the same basin. If you are going to have a collision or two or three or … make it worth while!The Master of RFA SPRUCOL docked the ship at Grangemouth in 1920 and sold the ships ropes – which weighed a reported 2 tons 9¾ cwt – he was sentenced to 4 months imprisonment at Falkirk Sheriff’s CourtIn 1952, while RFA WAVE CHIEF was at anchor during the Korean campaign, the “MAN OVERBOARD” signal was sounded. The Captain’s pet parrot had flown overboard. A lifeboat was hastily lowered and after much trouble with the starting of its engine, the soggy bird was rescued – much to the dismay of those who objected to its early morning squawking!RFA TIDESPRING (1) had anchored in Mevagissey Bay near Plymouth overnight and when the anchor was raised the following morning, a fisherman’s lobster basket containing a couple of lobsters had caught on one of the flukes. The basket was retrieved aboard, the lobsters were taken out and replaced with a bottle of Hankey Bannister whisky on which the Captain had written “Thanks for the lobsters with the compliments of the RFA” and lowered back into the water which must have been a pleasant surprise for the fisherman concerned.RFA TIDESPRING (1) was being inspected by an Admiral down in the Falkland Islands shortly after the 1982 conflict and he asked the Quartermaster on duty at the gangway “What would you do if you spotted a swimmer in the water approaching the ship?” The Quartermaster replied “I’d offer him a cup of tea as it is a long way to swim from Argentina”. The Admiral apparently was not in the slightest bit amused!In the early 80’s when monies were being raised for the SIR GALAHAD Lifeboat Fund, a number of innovative ideas transpired, some of which raised a large amount of money in their own right. One intrepid AB raised a small fortune by competing in a Ship’s Marathon doing laps around the Upper Deck of a particular ship dressed in nothing but his DMS Boots and a policeman’s helmet, both items of apparel protecting his feet and head from the scorching sun but unfortunately these did not help much with other parts of his anatomy which caused him to walk around somewhat gingerly for a few days afterwards!. On reaching Plymouth he was even interviewed on the local TV news which no doubt helped to cheer the locals up a bit.RFA BLACK RANGER was exercising with the submarine HMS THULE when the latter accidentally tried to surface underneath the oiler and a funny signal was sent by the submarine which read “Only Thules rush in where Rangers fear to tread”RFA OLYNTHUS (1) was supporting HMS EXETER, HMS AJAX and HMAS ACHILLES just prior to the Battle of the River Plate and a signal was reportedly sent to her saying “If the GRAF SPEE” comes your way – let her through”On 26 July 1924 His Majesty King George V reviewed his Fleet at Spithead it being the first such large scale Fleet Review since 1914In addition to the ships of the Royal Navy one ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary also took part - RFA Thermol. One newspaper reported the presence of RFA Thermol as 'One of the new craft necessitated by the oil-burners of our large naval vessels and submarines'The press report also provided its readers with an image of RFA Thermol -For more than 20 years the heaviest ship in the Royal Australian Navy was the Tide class fast fleet tanker, HMAS Supply, ex RFA and HMAS Tide Austral.During the early 1950s it became apparent to the leaders of the RAN that there was a need for a ‘Force multiplier’ to allow the generally short-legged ships of the RAN to work further and longer at sea. The light fleet carrier HMAS Sydney was capable of refuelling her escorts as was the later carrier HMAS Melbourne. Using the carrier to top up the smaller ships had the effect of reducing the carrier’s fuel range. Thus, the idea of a fleet replenishment tanker, as was used during the Second World War by the US and German navies was well received.During 1963, the RFA HQ in London began to appreciate that simple communication to RFA personnel afloat about current events in the RFA service was not being covered adequately in the “Naval Store Journal”. This was a two monthly glossy magazine produced for shore store establishments in which the RFA was given ½ page covering mainly Captain and Chief Engineer appointments.To overcome this lack of internal publicity and communication section 2A of the Naval Store Department then located at the Empress State Building in London produced and distributed a RFA News Letter to ships at sea. This was a 20 to 24 page newsletter “Duplicated” onto softish paper then in vogue with government departments, the heading from news letter number 6 appears below.In 1918 British Naval Forces were sent to the Baltic to keep the sea lanes open to the newly independent states of Estonia, Latvia and the Free City of Danzig enabling them to secure their freedom. Danzig had been created on 10 January 1920 in accordance with the 1919 Treaty of Versailles.To support the Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships were deployed and these included the 2,000 ton Belgol class tanker RFA Prestol. The Editor of www.historicalrfa.org and the Committee of the RFA Historical Society wish to make clear that this site is the product of private research and is not affiliated to any other organisation. Any opinions expressed on this website are those of the individuals concerned and may not necessarily reflect those of the Editor. When contacting the team if it is related to the content of the site please contact Chris White, or if you have a problem with accessing the content please contact the Webmaster. This site does not represent the views or opinions of the Commodore RFA or the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service.Should any person wish to use or copy any part of this site, it's images or articles then written permission must be obtained from the Editor.This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website, by continuing to use the site you agree to cookies being used.Accept Cookies More info.

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