Subsequent name: Lady Saniya
Official Number: 180988
Class: KIN CLASS Coastal Salvage Vessel
Pennant No: A281
Laid down: 20 April 1944
Builder: A Hall, Aberdeen
Launched: 17 January 1945
Into Service: 1950
Out of service: 1960
Fate: 1 April 1992 Sold Commercially
Items of historic interest involving this ship: –
Background Data: Originally a class of eleven ships was planned but two were cancelled and of the remaining nine, seven saw brief service as RFA’s. They were re-rated as Mooring, Salvage and Boom Vessels in 1971. All were equipped with lifting horns and heavy rollers forward which enabled them to lift 200 tons dead-weight over the bows. In wartime they were armed with 2 x 20 mm AA guns and had a complement of 34
17 January 1945 launched by Alexander Hall & Co Ltd, Aberdeen as Yard Nr 701 named HMS KINBRACE. Named after a small community in Strath Beg in east Sutherland in Scotland
30 April 1945 completed
January 1946 based at Immingham on east coast clearance work including the American Liberty ship Horace Binney which had been mined on 8 May 1945 thirty six miles from Flushing and beached off Deal where it broke in two.
July 1946 at Harwich working on Horace Binney
6 May 1947 at Dover engaged in the salvage of HMS CODRINGTON which had been bombed and sunk in the Harbour on 27 July 1940
HMS CODRINGTON
6 May 1948 Mr J Marshall appointed as Chief Engineer Officer
15 June 1948 arrived River Tyne from Rosyth
18 June 1948 berthed at Pilot Tier, River Tyne
25 June 1948 berthed at Pilot Tier, River Tyne
4 August 1948 berthed at Pilot Tier, River Tyne
10 August 1948 berthed at Pilot Tier, River Tyne
26 August 1948 the South Shields Daily News reported …
2 October 1948 berthed on the Pilot Tier, South Shields
2 November 1948 sailed the River Tyne for Rosyth
December 1948 at Sheerness flying the RFA Blue Ensign
31 January 1949 at Dover Magistrates’ Court Steward Alexander F Carver pleaded Guilty to stealing a radio ashore – reported in the Dover Express newspaper of 4 February 1949
11 February 1949 sailed Dover for Sheerness
7 March 1949 Captain Roy Souter appointed as Master
25 May 1949 arrived at the River Tyne from Rosyth
June 1949 at Hull with RFA KINLOSS was involved in the salvage of ss Brabo also with LC10 and LC11
25 August 1949 the Shields Daily News newspaper reported …
11 October 1949 the Shields Daily News newspaper reported …
December 1949 at Chatham
15 December 1949 sailed River Tyne for Rosyth
June 1950 arrived at Dover
14 July 1950 raised the first portion of RFA WAR SEPOY, which had been sunk as a blockship during WW2 and was now lying badly corroded in 2 parts, during clearance operations on the Western Entrance to Dover Harbour
17 August 1950 another section of RFA WAR SEPOY was raised at Dover
RFA KINBRACE
29 March 1951 sailed from Dover for Sheerness for engine repairs and a refit
27 April 1951 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway
8 May 1951 entered No:8 dry dock at Chatham Dockyard
11 May 1951 Mr H C Shepherd (Lieutenant (E) RN (ret)) appointed as Chief Engineer Officer
30 May 1951 floated out from No: 8 dry dock in Chatham Dockyard
6 July 1951 sailed from Chatham Dockyard
10 Juy 1951 arrived at Dover
17 August 1951 raised a further section of RFA WAR SEPOY
November 1951 / April 1952 raised the aft section HMS FOYLEBANK (a naval flak ship) which had been bombed and sunk by German aircraft on 4 July 1940 in Portland Harbour from a depth of 90 feet.The fore part had already been raised in 1949
HMS FOYLEBANK
May 1952 returned to Dover
1 June 1952 Captain W H Harrison appointed as Master
17 June 1952 along with her sister RFA UPLIFTER and another tug, succeeded in refloating the British steamer BARON DOUGLAS which had been beached by tugs near Hastings after she had been hit in thick fog by the Yugoslav vessel KORENICA ten miles east of the Royal Sovereign Light Vessel. Her Master and Crew received £2,500 salvage money
25 November 1952 sailed Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway and then onto Sheerness
February 1953 until October 1953 at Dover
10 April 1953 Captain H J Perrett RD (Commander RNR (Ret)) appointed Master
21 December 1953 from No: 3 dry dock at Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway returning later the same day into Chatham Dockyard
1 March 1954 sailed from Chatham Dockyard to the River Medway then to Sheerness
April 1954 while engaged on the removal of a block ship at Dover Harbour was placed on standby to assist in the recovery of a Sea Hawk jet fighter which had crashed in the sea off Mablethorpe at the mouth of the River Humber
6 April 1954 the Birmingham Daily Post reported …
7 January 1955 sailed from Chatham Dockyard to the River Medway
9 March 1955 at Eastern Dock, Dover involved in damage involving the port lifting horn to greenheart fender which the Harbour Master sought replacement for at a cost of £152. There was no damage to the ship
17 June 1955 sailed from Dover for Portland and involved with RFA SWIN in the raising of HMS/m SIDON at Portland Harbour when twelve members of the crew and a Naval Doctor from HMS MAIDSTONE were killed
21 June 1955 the Portsmouth Evening News reported –
24 June 1955 submarine was raised and beached near Chesil Beach Causeway for the bodies to be removed
5 July 1955 entered Portland Harbour
1 September 1955 refloated the Panamanian-registered CAPTAIN LUKIS which was lying beached in Sandwich Bay and it was then lightened by RFA ROBERT MIDDELTON
September 1955 until February 1956 at Dover
February 1956 in refit by Badgers, London
13 April 1956 Mr A Butler appointed as Chief Engineer Officer
June 1956 at Dover
27 August 1956 sailed after a boiler clean for Malta stopping at Plymouth and Gibraltar to refuel. The C in C Nore was reminded by the Admiralty that the Officers and crew would need to sign Foreigh Going Articles
2 November 1956 Captain H M Campbell appointed as Master
3 December 1956 deployed on Operation Musketeer – the Suez Crisis – until 22 December 1956 – the entire crew qualified for the award of the Naval General Service Medal (1915) with the “Near East” Clasp
5 December 1956 involved with other ships in opening up obstructions in the Suez Canal under the directions of the United Nations
31 January 1957 arrived Malta along with her sister RFA KINGARTH after Suez Operation
15 February 1957 returned U.K. from Suez
3 May 1957 moved from No: 4 dock at Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway
7 December 1957 Captain D M Gentle appointed as Master
30 January 1958 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway
February 1958 to December 1958 at Dover
4 June 1958 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway
7 July 1958 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway
12 February 1959 Captain John W Boyes appointed as Master
22 February 1959 Mr A E Daw appointed as Chief Engineer Officer
9 July 1959 was at Chatham for a boiler clean and steam generator repairs and the fitting of a new crankshaft
19 August 1959 sailed from Chatham Dockyard into the River Medway
November 1959 at Dover with a boiler clean
January 1960 returned to working on the removal of RFA WAR SEPOY at Dover
March 1960 deployed to Devonport for a research project followed by a boiler repairs at Chatham
13 March 1960 at Devonport moved from Plymouth Sound to No: 2 jetty on RFA ENVOY
22 March 1960 at Devonport on Slip Jetty
23 March 1960 at Devonport moved from Slip Jetty to No: 4 jetty
30 March 1960 moved from No: 2 jetty to Plymouth Sound
9 May 1960 commenced a refit at Portsmouth followed by reserve at Chatham
15 June 1961 berthed at Chatham Dockyard on HMS MANXMAN
6 May 1963 Admiralty Board approval was given to convert her and her sisters KINGARTH and UPLIFTER into Mooring, Salvage and Boom Vessels
20 December 1965 entered Chatham Dockyard from the River Medway
22 May 1967 arrived Greenock for conversion to diesel propulsion by James Lamont & Co Ltd.
29 May 1967 conversion began. She was re-engined with 1 x British Polar Atlas diesel engine. 630 bhp. 9 knots. Single screw
14 September 1967 British registry closed
12 May 1968 conversion completed at a cost of £184,000 and she was transferred to PAS at Portland where she replaced the BDV BARNDALE
10 July 1968 towed BARNDALE from Portland to Devonport
20 May 1971 off Portland recovered a ditched Wessex helicopter
May 1973 assisted in the salvage of the midget submarine XE 8 that had been sunk under tow off Portland in 1945. The submarine was then put on display at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford
17 July 1974 off Chesil Beach, Portland raised Westland Wessex HAS3 (XP138) from NAS737 which had crashed in the sea on approach to the Naval Air Station at Portland
July 1979 arrived at Portsmouth
3 December 1979 arrived at Portsmouth
21 May 1987 was transferred to the Reserve Ships Unit at Portsmouth
9 December 1988 towed by NIMBLE to Rosyth to replace KINLOSS to serve with the Naval Construction Research Establishment as the ARE Trials Vessel
15 December 1989 – laid up at Rosyth
1990 on the Disposal List Rosyth
May 1991 replaced by CAMERON
1 April 1992 sold to SC Chambers, Liverpool
11 May 1992 sailed Rosyth in tow and was laid up at Port Penrhyn in North Wales
1994 purchased by the Australian firm Morris Catering who had a contract to supply services to 32,000 UN troops in Somalia
October 1994 at Malta to Somalia, UN support
1998 was seen laid up at Ajman Creek near Dubai
2001 purchased by unknown Middle Eastern buyers
20 September 2004 now renamed LADY SANIYA arrived Alang, India to be broken up
Notes:
Was managed by Risdon Beazeley Ltd, Southampton during WW2