RFA Tidereach
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![]() RFA Tidereach with the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes
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History | |
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Name | RFA Tidereach |
Builder | Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend |
Yard number | 1847 |
Laid down | 2 June 1953 |
Launched | 2 June 1954 |
In service | 30 August 1955 |
Out of service | March 1978 |
Identification |
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Fate | Sold for scrap, 22 February 1979 |
Notes | [1] |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Tide-class replenishment oiler |
Displacement | 26,000 long tons (26,417 t) |
Length | |
Beam | 71 ft 3 in (21.72 m) |
Draught | 32 ft 1 in (9.78 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h) |
Complement | 90 RFA |
Armament | Fitted for, but not with, light AA guns |
RFA Tidereach (A96) was a Tide-class replenishment oiler of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom. She entered service in August 1955 and served until March 1978.[2]
Design and construction
[edit]Tidereach was planned to operate with a normal complement of 100 Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel. She was fitted with the latest abeam rigs with automatic tension winches and an astern fuelling rig. The ship was able to carry 8,500 tons of Furnace Fuel Oil, 4,600 tons of diesel oil and 1,900 tons of avcat.[3]
The construction of Tidereach was carried out in the north east of England by Swan Hunter. She was laid down on 2 June 1953 and was launched the following year, on 2 June 1954. She displaced fully loaded, 26,000 tons, was just over 583 ft in overall length and was capable of 17 knots.[4]
Operational history
[edit]Tidereach was involved in the 1956 Suez Crisis and was deployed as part of Operation Musketeer, actively involved between 6 November and 22 December. Two days later she arrived at Malta’s Grand Harbour along with RFA’s Brown Ranger, Wave Victor and Wave Liberator. She had been assisting the Royal Navy with the exit of Anglo-French military units out of Port Said, Egypt.[1]
Decommissioning and fate
[edit]She was then laid up in Portsmouth for disposal. On 22 February 1979 she was sold for scrap, and left Portsmouth under tow on 16 March 1979. On 20 March 1979 she arrived at Bilbao, Spain to be broken up.[2]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b "RFA Tidereach - Historical RFA". historicalrfa.uk. 15 October 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
- ^ a b "RFA Tidereach". Historical RFA. 15 October 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ Adams & Smith 2005, p. 93.
- ^ Puddefoot 2005, p. 185.
Bibliography
[edit]- Adams, Thomas A; Smith, James R (2005). The Royal Fleet Auxiliary A Century of Service. Chatham Publishing, Lionel Leventhal Ltd, London. ISBN 1-86176-259-3.
- Puddefoot, Geoff (2009). The Fourth Force The Untold Story of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary since 1945. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-046-8.