Nordmark (later Northmark) was a former Kriegsmarine (German navy) combination oiler and supply vessel which was allocated to the Royal Navy by the Inter-Allied Repatriations Commission when British forces entered Copenhagen on 9 May 1945.

Design

To support naval operations in the Atlantic Ocean, the German Navy ran trials with various vessels in the 1920s and early 1930s. After testing two vessels of an intermediate type, the design evolved into the Dithmarschen-class. Six were built altogether, one of which was never completed. As Germany did not possess any ports on the Atlantic Ocean or any overseas bases, the Dithmarschen-class combined the roles fulfilled by tanker, repair ship, ammunition ship and dry cargo ship. The ships were even equipped with a small hospital. The main cargo were almost 9,000 tons of fuel oil and 400 tons of lubricating oil. As it was probable that the ships were underway for an extended time, the range was at . The maximum speed was 23 knots. A heavy armament was fitted, consisting of three 15 cm/L48 guns, two 3,7 cm Flak and four 2 cm Flak anti-aircraft guns and eight machine guns.

Construction

The ship was laid down at the Schichau-Werke shipyard in Elbing East Prussia (now Elbląg, Poland) on 14 November 1936, and was launched on 5 October 1937 with the name Westerwald. and was completed on 6 January 1939.

Bulawayo was scrapped in 1955.

See also

  • USS Conecuh (AOR-110)

Citations

References

  • One stop replenishment is history