RFA Wave Victor ( A220 ) RFA " Wave Victor " ( A220 ) was a 8 , 187 GRT Wave - class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary built at Haverton Hill - on - Tees by Furness Shipbuilding Company . She was built in 1942 as Empire Bounty for the Ministry of War Transport ( MoWT ) . She was transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1946 and renamed " Wave Victor " with Pennant number X130 . Her pennant number was later changed to A220 . She served until scrapped in 1981 . Description . " Empire Bounty " was laid down at the yards of the Furness Shipbuilding Company , Haverton Hill - on - Tees on 16 November 1942 . She was yard number 356 . " Empire Bounty " was launched on 30 September 1943 and completed in February 1944 . " Empire Bounty " was recorded on Lloyd ' s Register as being long , with a beam of and a depth of . She was propelled by two steam turbines driving a single screw . The turbines were made by Richardsons , Westgarth & Co Ltd , Hartlepool . Career . Empire Bounty . " Empire Bounty " entered service for the MoWT , and was operated on their behalf by the Anglo - Saxon Petroleum Company , of London . Her Official Number was 169126 and she used the Code Letters GCBT . " Empire Bounty " was a member of a number of convoys during the Second World War , mostly between Liverpool and New York . Her first crossing was with Convoy UC 14 , leaving Liverpool on 1 March 1944 and arriving at New York on 11 March . She returned to America with Convoy UC 28 , departing Liverpool on 1 July 1944 and arriving at New York on 12 July . " Empire Bounty " made one further voyage to New York that year , leaving Liverpool on 28 December and reaching her destination on 8 January 1945 , having sailed via Belfast Lough . She returned to Britain with Convoy CU 54 , departing New York on 19 January 1945 and reaching Liverpool on 22 January , from where she made for the Isle of Grain . " Empire Bounty " sailed with four more convoys before the end of the war , all between Liverpool and New York . She sailed from Liverpool with Convoy UC 54A on 28 January 1945 , arriving on 9 February . " Empire Bounty " sailed from Milford Haven on 29 January . She returned with Convoy CU 59 , departing on 19 February 1945 and arriving at Liverpool on 1 March , from where she headed to the Clyde . Two journeys back to America with convoys followed , with Convoy UC 59A between 6 March 1945 and 17 March , having sailed from Milford Haven , and with Convoy UC 66A from 2 May 1945 to 13 May . " Empire Bounty " put into Fayal with an unspecified defect that her master stated could only be repaired in the United Kingdom . She sailed from Fayal on 17 May and arrived at West Hartlepool on 29 May . Repairs took until 23 June to complete . Wave Victor . " Empire Bounty " and the remaining MOWT operated tankers of her class were transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1946 and " Empire Bounty " was renamed " Wave Victor " . She was allocated Pennant number X130 . In 1952 , there was a fire on board " Wave Victor " whilst she was anchored off Greenock , Renfrewshire . On 17 January 1954 , " Wave Victor " was sailing down the Bristol Channel when a fire broke out in the engine room . The fire was reported at 17 : 24 , and five minutes later was stated to be " out of control " . At 17 : 37 a message was broadcast by radio that the ship was to be abandoned . Several tugs and lifeboats , as well as the corvette came out to the ship , but by then the fire was raging out of control and the crew abandoned her , fearing the explosion of her bunkers . The tug " Nirumand " brought six firemen from Swansea to the ship , which was off Bull Point , Devon . Acting Chief Engineer George McBain remained aboard so the vessel could not be claimed by private tugs under marine salvage laws . The ship continued to drift , and after some time several of the crew and a fire fighting team re - boarded her and brought the fire under control . The fire was extinguished by 12 : 00 the next day . She was subsequently towed back to Swansea , and then to Wallsend on Tyne to be repaired . She was loaned to the Air Ministry in 1960 , and transferred to Gan , the location of RAF Gan , as a refuelling hulk . She remained in this role until replaced in 1971 by RFA " Wave Ruler " , and was then laid up in Manila Bay in 1975 . She was finally scrapped in 1981 .