MV Rapana
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | MV Rapana |
| Owner: | Anglo Saxon Royal Dutch/Shell |
| Operator: | Anglo Saxon Royal Dutch/Shell |
| Builder: | Wilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam, Netherlands |
| Launched: | March 1935 |
| Renamed: | Rotula 1950 |
| Fate: | Scrapped Osaka 1958 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 8,017 tons (gross) |
| Length: | 463 feet (141 m) (pp) 481 ft (147 m) (oa) |
| Beam: | 59 ft (18 m) |
| Draught: | 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) |
| Propulsion: |
Diesel one shaft 4,000 bhp |
| Speed: | 13 knots (24 km/h) |
| Complement: | 100 |
| Armament: |
1 x 4 inch 8 x 20 mm |
| Aircraft carried: | Four Fairey Swordfish |
| Honours and awards: | Atlantic 1944-1945 |
MV Rapana was one of nine Anglo Saxon Royal Dutch/Shell oil tankers converted to become a Merchant Aircraft Carrier (MAC ship). The group is collectively known as the Rapana class.
Rapana was launched in March 1935 at Wilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam, Netherlands as an oil tanker and completed in April, 1935. She was converted to a MAC ship by Smiths Dock, North Shields, completing in July 1943.[1]
As a MAC ship, she had no aircraft hangar, and continued to carry normal cargoes, although operating under Royal Navy control. Only her air crew and the necessary maintenance staff were naval personnel [2].
After the war, MV Rapana was reconverted and returned to merchant service as an oil tanker and served in that role until scrapped in Osaka in 1958. She was renamed Rotula in 1950.
References
- ↑ "HMAS Rapana Aircraft Carrier Profile". Fleet Air Arm Archive. http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Ships/Rapana.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
- ↑ H.T. Lenton & J. J. Colledge. Warships of World War II. Ian Allen. p. 296. ISBN 0-7110-0403-X.
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