[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki40\/rfa-darkdale-wikipedia\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki40\/rfa-darkdale-wikipedia\/","headline":"RFA Darkdale – Wikipedia","name":"RFA Darkdale – Wikipedia","description":"before-content-x4 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia History United Kingdom Name Empire Oil (1940) RFA Darkdale (1940\u201341) Owner Operator Royal Fleet","datePublished":"2018-12-03","dateModified":"2018-12-03","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki40\/author\/lordneo\/#Person","name":"lordneo","url":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki40\/author\/lordneo\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9645c498c9701c88b89b8537773dd7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9645c498c9701c88b89b8537773dd7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Enzyklop\u00e4die","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/wiki4\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/download.jpg","url":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/wiki4\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/download.jpg","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ac\/St-Helena-Jamestown.jpg\/220px-St-Helena-Jamestown.jpg","url":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/a\/ac\/St-Helena-Jamestown.jpg\/220px-St-Helena-Jamestown.jpg","height":"115","width":"220"},"url":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki40\/rfa-darkdale-wikipedia\/","about":["Wiki"],"wordCount":1614,"articleBody":"     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});before-content-x4From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaHistoryUnited KingdomNameEmpire Oil (1940)RFA Darkdale (1940\u201341)OwnerOperatorRoyal Fleet Auxiliary (1940\u201341)Port of registryBuilderBlythswood Shipbuilding Company, ScotstounLaid downOctober 1939Launched23 July 1940CompletedNovember 1940FateSunk by U-68, 22 October 1941General characteristicsClass and typeDale-class fleet tankerTonnage8,145\u00a0GRT, 4,743\u00a0NRTLength468\u00a0feet 0\u00a0inches (142.65\u00a0m)Beam56\u00a0feet 3\u00a0inches (17.15\u00a0m)Draught33\u00a0feet 3\u00a0inches (10.13\u00a0m)Depth39\u00a0feet 8\u00a0inches (12.09\u00a0m)PropulsionScrew propellerArmament1 \u00d7 4.7-inch gun1 \u00d7 12-pounder gun2 \u00d7 “Pig trough” rocket launchers2 \u00d7 Hotchkiss machine guns2 \u00d7 Marlin machine guns2 \u00d7 Lewis gunsParachute and cable rockets       (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});after-content-x4RFA 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.Description[edit]Empire Oil was 468\u00a0feet 0\u00a0inches (142.65\u00a0m) long, with a beam of 56\u00a0feet 3\u00a0inches (17.15\u00a0m). She had a depth of 39\u00a0feet 8\u00a0inches (12.09\u00a0m),[1] and a draught of 33\u00a0feet 3\u00a0inches (10.13\u00a0m).[2] She was assessed at 8,145\u00a0GRT, 4,743\u00a0NRT.[2] The ship was powered by a four-stroke single cycle single acting diesel engine which had six cylinders of 291\u20448 inches diameter by 591\u204416 inches stroke. The engine was built by J G Kincaid & Co Ltd, Greenock, Renfrewshire.[1] As RFA Darkdale, her armament comprised a 4.7-inch gun, a 12-pounder gun, two “pig trough” rocket launchers, two Hotchkiss machine guns, two Marlin machine guns and two Lewis guns with parachute and cable rockets.[3]       (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});after-content-x4History[edit]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.[3] Built for the Ministry of Shipping, her port of registry was Glasgow.[1] The United Kingdom Official Number 165991 was allocated.[2]Empire Oil was subsequently transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as RFA Darkdale.[3]In August 1941 she arrived at Saint Helena, as fleet oiler for the South Atlantic and refuelled a number of Royal Navy ships there including the cruiser HMS\u00a0Dorsetshire and the aircraft carrier HMS\u00a0Eagle. 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, broke in two and sank.[3] Forty-one men were lost and two men on deck were blown clear and survived.[4] Seven men, including the captain, were ashore. The lost crew are commemorated on the Cenotaph at Jamestown and at the Tower Hill Memorial in London.[3]  View from James Bay towards Jamestown, Saint HelenaThe wreck leaked fuel oil, posing a potential environmental threat to the coastal waters of Saint Helena. In April 2012 a team from Salvage and Marine Operations, an arm of the Defence Equipment and Support organisation Ministry of Defence (MOD), left for Saint Helena to examine the wreck.[3][4] The ice patrol ship HMS\u00a0Protector surveyed it in October 2012 to provide additional sonar imagery.[4] In 2015, Salvage and Marine Operations divers drained 1,944 cubic metres (68,700\u00a0cu\u00a0ft) of oil from the ship’s tanks. Royal Navy divers also removed 38 shells from the two main guns.[5]       (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});after-content-x4References[edit]15\u00b055\u203207\u2033S 5\u00b043\u203221\u2033W\ufeff \/ \ufeff15.91861\u00b0S 5.72250\u00b0W\ufeff \/ -15.91861; -5.72250Coordinates: 15\u00b055\u203207\u2033S 5\u00b043\u203221\u2033W\ufeff \/ \ufeff15.91861\u00b0S 5.72250\u00b0W\ufeff \/ -15.91861; -5.72250     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});after-content-x4"},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki40\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Enzyklop\u00e4die"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki40\/rfa-darkdale-wikipedia\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"RFA Darkdale – Wikipedia"}}]}]