MV Adula was one of nine Royal Dutch/Shell oil tankers converted to become a Merchant Aircraft Carrier (MAC ship). The group is collectively known as the Rapana class.
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | MV Adula |
| Operator | Anglo Saxon Royal Dutch/Shell |
| Builder | Blytheswood |
| Launched | 28 January 1937 |
| Fate | Scrapped Briton Ferry 1953 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 8,040 GRT |
| Length | 465 ft (142 m) (pp) 482.75 ft (147.14 m) (oa) |
| Beam | 59 ft (18 m) |
| Draught | 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h) |
| Complement | 100 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | Four Fairey Swordfish |
MV Adula was built at Blytheswood and completed in March, 1937 as an oil tanker for the Royal Dutch/Shell line. She was converted at Falmouth to a MAC ship, entering service in February 1944.[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]
At the end of the war, Adula was reconverted to an oil tanker. She served in this capacity until broken up for scrap at Briton Ferry in May 1953.
References
edit- ^ "MV Adula Aircraft Carrier Profile". Fleet Air Arm Archive. Archived from the original on 6 July 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ H.T. Lenton & J. J. Colledge (1973). Warships of World War II. Ian Allan. p. 296. ISBN 0-7110-0403-X.