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Text=Displacement: 5,000-8,500 GRT|Length: 125-150 m|Beam: 15-18 m|Draft: 6-7.7 m|Mast: 22.5 m|Speed: 10-12 knots|Main Armament:Varies||Summary: Medium Tankers ranged from 5,000-8,500 tons (GRT). Older ships were driven by reciprocating steam engines or steam turbines with no LP exhaust. By the 1920's it was not uncommon for tankers to have diesel engines for improved efficiency. Fuel almost always oil, as this enabled them to refuel in the oil-exporting nations where they loaded their cargo. Older tankers were rarely mass produced but were occasionally built in classes of up to several dozen ships. They traded between ports that handled large volumes of petroleum products, both crude and refined. Prior to 1939 small numbers of tankers were used to carry edible products such as molasses, although the wartime fuel shortage generally forced them to serve as oil tankers. During the war, neutral vessels remained unarmed. Ships owned by belligerent nations received increasingly heavy armament as the war progressed. Tankers were high-value targets and received better protection than the average freighter.
