| RFA Northmark | |
|---|---|
| Career (Germany) |  |
| Name: | Nordmark |
| Laid down: | 14 November 1936 |
| Launched: | 5 October 1937 as Westerwald |
| Commissioned: | 6 January 1939 as Nordmark |
| Fate: | Captured, May 1945 |
| Career (UK) |  |
| Name: | Northmark |
| Acquired: | May 1945 |
| Commissioned: | July 1947, as HMS Bulawayo |
| Decommissioned: | October 1950 |
| Fate: | Scrapped, 4 October 1955 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 22,500 long tons (22,861 t) full load |
| Length: | 584 ft (178 m) |
| Beam: | 72 ft 6 in (22 m) |
| Draught: | 30 ft 3 in (9 m) |
| Propulsion: |
Steam turbine with double reduction gearing, 21,590 shp (16,100 kW) 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) |
| Complement: |
133 (German) 292 (British) |
Nordmark (later Northmark) was a former German Navy fast fleet oiler which was allocated to the Royal Navy by the Inter-Allied Repatriations Commission when British forces entered Copenhagen on 9 May 1945.
She arrived at Rosyth on 8 August 1945 and the following month went to Hebburn-on-Tyne for survey and repairs and conversion for service with the British Pacific Fleet, but the war ended and she was placed in reserve instead. She was renamed Northmark in January 1946 and was considered as an Royal Fleet Auxiliary-manned oiler, but the cost of modifications was considered to be unjustifiable and a follow-up proposal was taken up after approval was given to operate her as a naval ship. She therefore never served as an RFA, but was refitted for service in 1947 and on completion was renamed HMS Bulawayo in July 1947. She served as such until she was scrapped in 1955.
The original article can be found at RFA Northmark and the edit history here.