Oligarch
British Fleet oiler
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| Name | Oligarch | ||
| Type: | Fleet oiler (Ol) | ||
| Tonnage | 6,894 tons | ||
| Completed | 1918 - Workman, Clark & Co Ltd, Belfast | ||
| Owner | The Admiralty (Royal Fleet Auxiliary), London | ||
| Homeport | London | ||
| Date of attack | 30 Jun 1943 | Nationality:  British | |
| Fate | Damaged by U-453 (Egon Reiner Freiherr von Schlippenbach) | ||
| Position | 32° 57'N, 21° 10'E - Grid CO 5712 | ||
| Complement | ? men (? dead and ? survivors). | ||
| Convoy | GTX-3 | ||
| Route | Gibraltar (21 Jun) - Port Said | ||
| Cargo | Admiralty fuel oil | ||
| History | Completed in August 1918 as steam tanker British Lantern for the Shipping Controller, London. 1937 sold to the Admiralty and converted to the fleet oiler Oligarch. She served in some convoys on the route to Murmansk, for this she was fitted with a dummy funnel. Post-war: On 14 April 1946 the Oligarch was scuttled in the Red Sea on position 27°30N/34°45E, loaded with obsolete ammunition and poison gas shells. | ||
| Notes on event | At 22.57 hours on 30 June 1943, U-453 fired a spread of four torpedoes at three ships of convoy GTX-3 about 40 miles northwest of Derna, observed one hit and heard three detonations. Only the Oligarch (Master Thomas Elder) was damaged in this attack, but managed to reach Tobruk. The fleet oiler proceeded to Alexandria for repairs in September 1943 and returned to service. | ||
| On board | We have details of 3 people who were on board. | ||
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