Standard fast tanker type

The Standard Fast Tanker-Type or Wave-Class series was a type of tanker built at British shipyards during World War II . The units belong to the group of Empire ships .

details

The standard fast tanker type replaced the Norway type as the British standard war tanker in 1944 . With a load capacity of around 12,000 tons, it was slightly smaller than its predecessor and significantly faster at a speed of 15 knots. The higher speed made it possible to use the ships as single drivers outside of convoys. The arrangement of the ships with superstructures slightly forward of amidships and the engine room aft was similar to that of contemporary tankers.

In the years 1944 to 1946, 13 units of the standard fast type were built, which, contrary to the norm at the time, were all given names that began with " Wave " ", from which the term Wave class was derived. The ships were exclusively equipped with steam turbines as In addition to the pure transport of oil, the type of ship was also used during the war years to supply fuel to other ships at sea. For camouflage, numerous units of the type were provided with inoperable loading harnesses on deck, which should make them look like conventional dry freighters from a distance.

literature

• Mitchell, WH; Sawyer, LA: Empire Ships of World War II . Sea Breezes, Liverpool 1965.
• Standard tanker of the Second World War in: Die Seekiste 2/1951, p. 94/95

Web links

• The Wave class at Historical RFA (English)