{{Short description|1945 landing ship, tank of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary}} {{other ships|SS Empire Gull|HMS Trouncer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}} {{Use British English|date=October 2017}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image= Empire gull 1977 Marchwood.jpg |image_caption=''Empire Gull (L3513)'' }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country= |flag= |name=*''LST 3523'' (1944–47) *HMS ''Trouncer'' (1947–56) *SS ''Empire Gull'' (1956–70) *RFA ''Empire Gull'' (1970–80) |namesake= |ordered=24 April 1944 |builder=G.T. Davie Shipbuilding & Repairing Co Ltd., Lauzon, Quebec |yard_number=970 |laid_down=20 December 1944 |launched=9 July 1945 |acquired= |commissioned=October 1945 |decommissioned=3 September 1978 |in_service= |out_of_service= |operator=*{{navy|United Kingdom}} (1944–56) *Atlantic Steam Navigation Company Ltd (1956-61) *British-India Steam Navigation Company Ltd (1961-70) *{{navy|United Kingdom|RFA}} (1970–80) |renamed= |struck= |reinstated= |identification=*{{IMO Number|5103704}} |registry={{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} (1956–70) |motto= |nickname= |honours= |fate=Arrived Santander for demolition, 18 March 1980 |notes= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |type=Landing Ship, Tank |tonnage=4,820 GRT |displacement= {{convert|4980|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}} full load |length={{convert|347|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|55|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on}} |draught={{convert|12|ft|2.5|in|m|abbr=on}} |propulsion=2 × 4-cylinder triple expansion<ref name="rfaaplymouthg2i1243"/> steam engines |speed={{convert|10|kn|mph km/h|lk=in}}<ref name="rfaaplymouthg2i1243"/> |range= |complement=63, plus accommodation for 80 troops |sensors= |EW= |armament= |armour= |notes= }} }} '''RFA ''Empire Gull (L3513)''''' was a landing ship, tank of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. She was familiarly known as the "Black Pig"<ref>{{cite web |title=RFA Empire Gull |url=http://www.historicalrfa.org/rfa-empire-gull-ship-information |website=historicalrfa.org |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref> and was one of the last serving British LSTs. She was built as '''''LST 3523''''', one of the Empire Ships, and later commissioned as '''HMS ''Trouncer'''''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rfaaplymouth.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=180|title=Landing Ship Gantry/ Tank|publisher=RFA ASSOCIATION, Plymouth and District Branch|quote=RFA Empire Gull. L3513 (Ex LST 3523, Ex HMS Trouncer). RFA Service from 1970 - 1978|accessdate=9 April 2010|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727215300/http://rfaaplymouth.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=180|archivedate=27 July 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> During the Suez Crisis she was pressed into Government service as '''SS ''Empire Gull'''''. In 1970 she was transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary as '''RFA ''Empire Gull''''', serving for ten years before being scrapped.
==History== ''LST 3523'' was built by Davie Shipbuilding and Repairing Co Ltd, Lauzon, Quebec, launched on 9 July 1945,<ref name=Luton>{{cite web |url=http://www.lutonmodelboat.co.uk/history_lst.html |title=LST (Landing Ship Tank/Troop) |publisher=Luton Model Boat |accessdate=26 February 2009 |archive-date=29 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829021034/http://www.lutonmodelboat.co.uk/history_lst.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> and completed in October 1945.<ref name=Ships>{{cite book |author1=Mitchell, W. H. |author2=Sawyer, L. A. |name-list-style=amp |year=1995 |title=The Empire Ships |page=360 |publisher=Lloyd's of London Press Ltd |location=London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong |isbn=1-85044-275-4}}</ref> In 1947 she was commissioned as HMS ''Trouncer''.
After spending some time mothballed on the River Clyde, she was pressed into service as SS ''Empire Gull'' during the Suez Crisis of 1956. She was operated under the management of the Atlantic Steam Navigation Company until 1961, when management passed to the British-India Steam Navigation Company. In 1970, she was transferred to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and was renamed RFA ''Empire Gull'',<ref name="rfaaplymouthg2i1243">{{cite web|url=http://rfaaplymouth.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=1243|title=RFA Empire Gull 1970 - 1978.|publisher=RFA ASSOCIATION, Plymouth and District Branch|quote=GRT 4258 ... Marchwood -Antwerp/Zeebrugge runs|accessdate=9 April 2010}}</ref> and allocated pennant number ''L3513''. She served in the Mediterranean and later between Marchwood and Antwerp<ref name="rfaaplymouthg2i1243"/> and also between Liverpool and Belfast. She was scrapped in Santander, Spain in 1980.<ref name=Luton/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20111003104706/http://www.oldships.org.uk/SHIPS/SHIP_HTM/LST_3523.htm Colour photo of RFA Empire Gull] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110727215300/http://rfaaplymouth.org/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=180 Landing Ship Gantry/ Tank] (4 images)
{{LST-3 class tank landing ship}} {{Empire ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Gull}} Category:LST (3)-class tank landing ships Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Category:Amphibious warfare vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Category:1945 ships Category:Empire ships