RFA Servitor  

RFA Servitor entered RFA service in 1915 as an Attendant Class oiler being deployed as a harbour oiler at Rosyth and other ports along the Firth of Forth.

She was sold out of service in September 1922 into commercial ownership and towed to the Canadian Great Lakes

During World War 2 she was acquired by the US Navy and commissioned as US Rotary (YO148) in February 1943

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The Naval Oiler SOUTHMARK

Followers of the history of Naval Oilers in the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, we are certain, will have heard of the ex-German Naval Tanker WESTERWALD which, just after the Second World War, served as the British Naval oiler NORTHMARK but how many of you know of her sister oiler SOUTHMARK? Here is a brief extract of her career.

The German Dithmarschen Class was originallly envisaged to comprise of nine oilers but this was subsequently reduced to six and, in the event, only five ever entered service and of these only twosurvived the end of WW2, one of which was DITHMARSCHEN herself. She was laid down on 6 June 1936 and launched by F Schichau GmbH, Danzig as Yard Nr 1358 on 12 June 1937. She was completed on 20 July 1938.

She initially supplied Kriegsmarine ships during the Spanish Civil War. On the outbreak of WW2 she operated with the battle cruisers SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU (flagship) and then later in Norwegian waters.

KMS DITHMARSCHEN

She was lying at Bremerhaven when British Forces entered the port and seized her on 9 May 1945 and she was temporarily renamed SOUTHMARK. The Inter-Allied Reparations Committee allocated her to the United States and she was renamed USS DITHMARSCHEN (IX-301) on 2 May 1946 and sailed from Bremerhaven for the USA 6 days later under the command of Captain Adolph W Maddox USNR. She arrived at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for conversion for USN service on 19 May. After completion of the conversion she was renamed USS CONECUH (AO-110) (after the Conecuh River in Alabama) on 1 October 1946 and was classified as a Fleet Oiler. However, owing to a lack of funds and more pressing needs, she was quickly taken out of service again and was placed in reserve just over three weeks later on 24 October. She remained in reserve for the next six years.

She was brought forward from reserve and reclassified as a Fleet Replenishment Tanker on 4 September 1952. She was finally commissioned as USS CONECUH (AOR-110) on 16 February 1953 with Commander Mason B Freeman USN in command.

Commander Mason handed over command to Captain Richard R Hay USN on 3 June 1953. 

USS CONECUH (AOR-110)

She only served in the United States Navy for three years before again being decommissioned on 3 April 1956 and was transferred to the United States Maritime Commission for retention in the Maritme Reserve Fleet on the James River and here she languished until she was stricken from the Navy Lisy on 1 June 1960 and was placed on the Disposal List.

She was purchased on 1 November 1960 for $136,688 by the Southeastern Rail and Steel for demolition.

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RFA Serbol

RFA Serbol 

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RFA Serbol was a 2000t Belgol Class Tanker which entered Service in January 1918.

In January 1940 she was deployed for use as a Gunnery Training Ship for one day per week for DEMS Gunners under the direction of the Flag Officer, Belfast.

On 2 January 1940 on what must have been her first training session for the DEMS Gunners at the entrance to Belfast Lough some 4” practice projectiles were fired, ricocheted and fell into the town of Bangor. The projectiles caused some damage to buildings in the town but luckily there were no casualties.

There is no indication in the Admiralty War Diary if this training was allowed to continue.

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