| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: | Royal Fleet Auxiliary Royal Australian Navy Chilean Navy |
| Built: | 1953–1963 |
| In commission: | 1955–1985 |
| Completed: | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Replenishment oiler |
| Displacement: | 26,000 long tons (26,417 t) full load or 27,400 long tons (27,840 t) (Tidepool & Tidespring) |
| Length: | 583 ft (178 m) |
| Beam: | 71 ft (22 m) |
| Draught: | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Parmetrada steam turbines 3 × Babcock and Wilcox boilers or 2 × Foster Wheeler watertube steam boilers (Tidepool & Tidespring) double reduction gearbox, single shaft |
| Speed: | 17 knots (20 mph; 31 km/h) |
| Complement: | 90 (RFA) |
The Tide class was a series of replenishment oilers used by the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and the Chilean Navy.
The class was based on HMS Olna, which had served with the British Pacific Fleet during World War II.[1] Three ships were laid down for the RFA in 1953, while a fourth was ordered by the RAN at the same time.[1] Two more ships, built to a modified design, were launched in 1962.
Upon completion, the Australian Tide Austral could not be accepted into service because of manpower and financial difficulties. The ship was instead loaned to the RFA until 1962, when she was returned to the RAN and commissioned as HMAS Supply.[1]
The first three ships were removed from service and scrapped during the late 1970s. The two modified ships saw service in the Falklands War, after which one was sold to the Chilean Navy and still in service as of 1996,[2] while the other remained with the RFA and was scrapped in 1992. Supply remained with the RAN until 1985.