Sprite-class tanker

The Sprite class were a class of spirit tankers that served with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, supporting the Royal Navy during the Second World War. They went on to support British and allied fleet units during the Cold War.

Class overview
Name: Sprite class
Builders: Blythswood Shipbuilding Company Ltd
Operators: Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Preceded by: Dale class
Succeeded by: Ranger class
Built: 19401943
In commission: 19411964
Completed: 2
Retired: 2
General characteristics
Type: Spirits tanker
Displacement: 965 long tons (980 t)
Length: 204 ft 6 in (62.33 m)
Beam: 33 ft 3 in (10.13 m)
Draught: 12 ft 9 in (3.89 m)
Propulsion: Triple-expansion engines, 900 ihp (670 kW)
Speed: 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h)

Class overview

Two ships were eventually built by the Blythswood Shipbuilding Company Ltd, Airsprite and Nasprite. They entered service in the during the Second World War and were used to carry aviation fuel and petroleum.[1] Both survived the war, serving mainly in British waters and the Mediterranean Sea, and continued in service until being retired in the early 1960s and scrapped soon afterwards.[2]

Ships

Name Pennant Builder Laid down Launched Completed Fate
Airsprite A115 Blythswood Shipbuilding Company Ltd September 1941 22 December 1942 16 February 1943 Scrapped in 1965
Nasprite A252 Blythswood Shipbuilding Company Ltd April 1940 28 November 1940 11 February 1941 Scrapped in 1964

Notes

  1. Jane's Fighting Ships. p. 82.
  2. Olver. "Sprite Class Tankers". Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2009.

References

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