Copyright © 2008 – 2021 Christopher J White. The advent of the nuclear-powered submarine finally made this technology redundant. They were built by four different Yards and had four different machinery arrangements although all were motor vessels. As the demand for fuelling ships became more acute as WW1 progressed, these ships lent themselves to rapid conversion into tankers by plating over the bottom sludge door joints and installing a pipeline and pumps. 28 July. I pray that FSS goes better for the RFA crews of the future when the ships eventually arrive. Unfortunately their hands are somewhat tied by a combination of a fairly unique requirement and a bunch of very shouty pollies demanding that the ships are UK built irrespective of actual capacity……. They have already had varied careers both supporting the RN and operating independently, In this article we examine their construction, design and service history. RFA personnel are trained in line with their counterparts in the Merchant Navy but with additional naval training to equip . Did we learn about shipbuilding in South Korea in this period? Royal Fleet Auxiliary USS De Wert (FFG-45) HSM-77 Saberhawks Fort Victoria-class replenishment oiler United Kingdom. When it comes to disaster relief a big vessel with lots of space for supplies and landing craft to bring it to shore is far more useful, whereas the Rivers can get into smaller ports when flying the flag so I think that sort of force mix works quite well. In a carefully-worded statement, the MoD has confirmed the Fleet Solid . The Submarine Service has gone from being one of the top three to a struggling also ran. The two oldest Fort class FSS have been laid up for some time, although nominally still part of the RFA fleet, are unlikely to sail again. Sadly, no one in procurement seems to understand that ships need stores and fuel, and seem to disregard the RFA’s importance. I gained a lot of life experience and many skills during my time. A shortage of engineers is confining some Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships to port, the BBC understands. Small teams from A&P and CL can also be sent out to provide engineering support to vessels deployed overseas. RFAs have decoys(Sea Gnat with Chaff, IR and Active jammer rounds) and 20/ 30mms along with a load of RM to do Force Protection and to man the 50cals, GPMGs and Mini Guns. A Fleet Solid Support Ship is a type of Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ship designed to supply solids, such as ammunition, explosives and food, to Royal Navy ships at sea. The vessels are urgently required but political complications and a misguided initial plan for an entirely open international competition have delayed the process. This comprised 561 Officers, 244 Chief or Petty Officers and 820 ratings with a further 86 Officers and 131 Ratings under training. In a statement sent to Naval Technology . The Ranger class were designed by Rowland Baker and were intended to replace the “Belgol” class of 2,000 ton tankers, however as their was a distinct lack of tanker capacity during the war, the “Belgol” class remained in service throughout the war. Current operation Alongside in . This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website, by continuing to use the site you agree to cookies being used.Accept Cookies More info. It should, however, be noted that with their light armament and volatile cargo, in a shooting war, life on an RFA is arguably a more risky prospect than a warship. 21,655 Views. Amphibious warfare ships. Likely to deploy on CSG21. The ground attack Harriers were not really much use as carrier planes without Sea Harriers. 235 talking about this. This book pieces together for the first time all of the various elements that go into military action. The doctrine is based upon lessons of history and connects that history with current policy and technology. Ironically, had they chosen to dispose in the early teens when day rates for DSV were high, she’d have been snapped up. The total time the ship is unavailable might be reduced by a more frequent, but lighter maintenance cycle. BURMA was fitted out with the express object of oiling the British Fleet at sea, being capable of towing another vessel and supplying her with oil fuel, or else being towed by a Dreadnought and supplying her with oil fuel at the same time. Can anyone explain why the decision was taken to dispose of Fort George rather than the two older ships? That tells you everything about its future. However, RFA Largs Bays would not survive the defence cuts set by the British Government in 2010. And Goalkeeper was already far superior to Phalanx. Various modifications were made and all 6 were then placed under the commercial management of Messrs Lane & MacAndrews Ltd with LEAF names in common with other converted ships running as Admiralty tankers under that firm’s management. Handling explosives is always done most carefully……. RFA flotilla today consists of a very mixed bag of 13 vessels, three of which are inactive and at very low readiness. However, RFA Largs Bays would not survive the defence cuts set by the British Government in 2010. I worked for two years in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and this job however very challenging was also very beneficial. Active Tankers. Featuring every kind of ship from aircraft carriers and destroyers to auxiliary vessels, this is a peerless resource for any enthusiast of naval history. Also I’ve always liked the look Of Fort Vic and the now gone George, I like the bridge up front instead of at the rear with the tides, also I like how they were fitted for Sea wolf missile silos But never got them, Atleast the possibility was there I suppose!. That was one advantage of Goalkeeper vs Vulcan, at 30mm it was much more powerful so more range and ceiling but wouldn’t be much over 3km effective. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) provides logistical support to the Royal Navy. Commissioned between 2006 and 2007 the Bay-class land ships were a force of four vessels (Largs Bay, Lyme Bay, Mounts Bay and Cardigan Bay). The decision of which to go was essentially made on the fact Victoria had just completed a refit, and the George had yet to start. Replace It with FSU type containers embarked on a STUFT which is what happened in 1982 when it was called Stena Inspector. Read more: Retainer Class Armament Support Ships. SCOTT (Copy 1): From the John Holmes Library Collection. All ships in the Royal Navy are called "Her Majesty's ships" (Or HMS for short), because by constitution the Queen owns them and has command over them. The treasury balks at the mention of building a single class of ships, why on Earth do we leave it so that we have to ask for 5 at once? Facts & figures. The three ships completed during WW2 were defensively armed with 1 x 12 pdr and 2 x 20 mm A.A. guns. 28, 2003) -- The Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Landing Ship Logistic RFA Sir Galahad (L 3005) arrives in the Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr delivering the first shipment of humanitarian aid from coalition forces. Hi Philip The Royal Fleet Auxiliary came into being on the 3rd of August 1905, before that all the RFA's ships started with HMS. This logistic model, which might also include contributions from tankers of allied nations, would allow the task group to be sustained at sea for long periods if required in the future. My job was difficult as I had to spend four months at a time at sea and I found this difficult. or sign up with email Home. Very true. Inaugural refit/inspection likely to commence soon. The gatling gun fires 20mm ammunition at either 3,000 or 4,500 rounds-per-minute with a burst length of continuous, 60, or 100 rounds.” The yard secured the 140 million Ministry of Defence contract in 2000, securing its future and reviving shipbuilding in the north east. Unless otherwise credited, images used under Open Government License. Show more. Plus the Clyde at Inchgreen. And if we’d built 4 Batch 2 Rivers with a hangar instead of 5 without then they would have been able to undertake the West Indies guard ship role instead of using the Bays. All six were triple expansion engined and single-screwed coal burners which varied between 700 and 870 tons. - our consultants are –Tom Adams MBE MCIJJames R Smith RFA 1/O(X) (ret'd). In the 1930’s the then Director of Stores William Gick CBE [later to become Sir William Gick CB, CBE] was becoming concerned about the age of the RFA Fleet, especially those ships which were nearing the end of their useful service life, and it was decided that the RFA needed a fleet of modern tankers to service the needs of the Royal Navy. You can not have one point something available in the real world you can only work in whole numbers. I’m sure most RFA ships have two 30mm cannons. In maintenance at A&P Falmouth. Background. RFAs hang well back from the front line . Alongside in Portland. On a public forum, you get public readers. I - I would have allowed the launcher box to tilt back to the deck ( they have good azimuth angle) and have a small guide rail or 2 inside the box slide out to take the weight, and that way it doesnt have a temporary platform to be installed and all the loaders are at same level and with the loading canister. 18+ knots . They were originally designed with names of oil bearing countries with the OL suffix, but their military appearance and Naval names caused difficulties with the United States Neutrality Act. H. Gresham Carr mentions the Royal Naval . T - When contacting the team if it is related to the content of the site please contact Chris White, or if you have a problem with accessing the content please contact the Webmaster. The RFA supports numerous operations, from war-fighting and counter-piracy in hostile environments, to relief and evacuation in . RFA Tidespring (A136) 100% (1/1) Tidespring RFA . Q - Commodore David Eagles, Commander of the RFA said recently the RFA is considering the “one ship, two crews” model where the entire crew swaps every 4 months. Completed major refit in Falmouth Nov 20. After this they were employed in filling naval tanks at world-wide bases in company with other RFA freighting tankers. This site has no official endorsement by the RN or MoD. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is civilian-manned fleet of ships owned by the United Kingdoms Ministry of Defence, created in 1905. Continue with Facebook . No 2nd Class passengers were carried, but there was a steep social drop in accommodation in 8 and 10-berth cabins for 320 Steerage Class passengers. B - That means a Tide class can hold enough fuel to sustain a carrier for 31 days? Well the comment I put on this page regards legislation of double hulled tankers. Spares are a bit of an issue. As mentioned many times before the new Forts being combined stores ships and tankers lead to a “jack of all trades master of none” situation, they simply don’t have enough fuel or dry stores capacity to support a major task group. Should any person wish to use or copy any part of this site, it's images or articles then written permission must be obtained from the Editor. It is gluves off stuff. Today only the Oto with DART ammo does it. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Bayleaf will sail into Portland Port for the last time on Wednesday. I am struggling as we head towards 7, probably 6, A-boats how the Submarine Service are going to maintain availability. Building warship auxiliaries as something in between Warship and Commercial practice. 21 May 2021. We need to replace Diligence. For the latest updates about this unit visit the Royal Navy forum. There were six ships in this Group which were all former Port of London Authority hoppers used for working with the dredgers. RFA . Chart reflecting fleet service of RFA tugs 1 Historical summary - World War One - Committee on Distribution of Tugs (1917) - Tug Section - The Inter-war period - World War Two - Tug Distribution Committee (1939 . This was published under . So you want to remove a proven and recently upgraded Phalanx that has air and surface engagement capability, on- mount along with at mount ammo reloads and a deep magazine full of penetrator rounds with a missile system with between 11 or 21 rounds that you need to fire 2 missiles per target to get a 99% kill oh and you cannot reload it at sea? Facts & figures. Here we look at the status of the fleet and how it may be employed this year. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) delivers worldwide logistic and operational support to Royal Navy military operations. In total 12 ships, more than 30 aircraft and 4,500 . Join now to ask and comment! A research note on the history of ships, places, organisations and events associated with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Ocean Tugs of the RFA Thomas A Adams MBE ! If our Harriers had been built to the same standard as AV8x then they would have been worth keeping. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFA_Diligence_(A132). Miscellaneous ships. The term can also refer to the programme to replace the RFA's existing solid support ships, the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) Fleet Solid Support (FSS) programme. It also transports Army and Royal Marine personnel, as well as supporting . Drawing from recently declassified and previously unpublished reports from the official inquiry, Dr Paul Brown details the true story behind the dramatic events that led to the loss of six British ships – HMS Antelope, Ardent, Coventry ... The RFA deliver worldwide logistical and operational support for the wide range of tasks the Royal Navy undertakes, such as war-fighting, counter-piracy, humanitarian and disaster relief and counter-narcotics operations. The competition to build the Fleet Solid Support ships is due to be relaunched in ‘Spring’ this year. But sans radar then no. All are shown in Official Documents as having served as Royal Fleet Auxiliaries. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by providing fuel and stores through replenishment at sea, transporting Royal Marines and British Army . Would have been good to see the newer Rivers have hangars but UAV’s will increasingly offer a good solution to most surveillance work. There is experience we can bring in from international partners and for FSS, part of that might be around design. Captain David Eagles, 52, of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, admitted the measures were 'tough' but necessary to safeguard against Ebola. If you cannot find what you are looking for then please email Troop Logos. A full suite of decoys and upgrading the now obsolete Phalanx to Sea Ram with two per vessel backed up by two 30mm cannon should be the minimum. Tornado was far too useful at the time. Like the RN, the RFA is looking at every option to further increase the availability of its ships. Tide Class. After the end of the War, which they all survived, they were returned to their owners and resumed their previous names. Returned from 3 years in the Caribbean, Mar 20. Total range. The first vessel in the class is due to be commissioned into the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) service in 2016. The RFA enables ships of the United Kingdom Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world. . I am old fashioned. The Loire class support ships (4x) are quite small , c 3000 t. Sort of. It was deemed one aircraft type had to be completely removed to save money and there was no way it was going to be the Tornado. The future two (with an option for a third one) Fleet Solid Support Ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary will replace the ageing RFA Fort Austin and RFA Fort Rosalie. Join Community Forum Staff View All hawkey01 Super Moderator. Only the 4 Tides, sometimes referred to as ‘MARS tankers’, have been delivered. Since being delivered from the builders in South Korea, each of the 4 Tide-class takers underwent a 3-month UK Customisation, Capability Assessment Trials and Support (UKCCATS) package at A&P Falmouth where they received military weapons and communications fit. Military customisation - the integration of sensitive UK . 4 loading and 4 supervising ? Plymouth, Devon, UK. They will also conduct cross-decking of stores and vertical replenishment (VERTREP) tasks amongst the ships. The Strategy explicitly says all other naval ships, including Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships and other Navy ships such as patrol, mine countermeasures, hydrographic and amphibious ships, should be subject to open competition, unless there are compelling national security reasons to constrain a particular procurement to national providers. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary has three "Landing Ships Dock Auxiliary", essential for Britain's amphibious operations and power projection around the world. If we said it had to be UK-only, we would be limiting options far too early in the procurement process… What we are very clear about, and what Prime Minister has said, is that a significant proportion of build and integration that has to be done in UK.”. PORT OF LONDON AUTHORITY HOPPER NO 3 was renamed BARKOL after Barking and so on. N One suck from the Fort Vic would empty her since the legislation on double hulled tankers. Storyline: Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The 10-year Future In-Service Support (FISS) contract was renewed in 2018 and awarded to A&P, CL and UK Docks. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a civilian-manned fleet of the UK's Ministry of Defence which has and does enable ships of the Royal Navy to maintain their tasking around the world both in peace and war. The Sea Harriers FA2 were at end of life- remember they were mostly 20 yr old rebuilds of the original Sea Harriers, thats why the RN got some GR7/9 to maintain skills While operating together in the Gulf of Aden, HMAS Newcastle and the UK's Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) replenishment ship Fort Victoria, conducted a . 20mm can only be solid. These two tankers were to be placed in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary fleet and as such their main duty would be the fuelling at sea of ships of the Royal Navy, so some consideration had to be given to the special arrangements needed to equip these ships to fulfil this function. His father, also named John, was a blacksmith. If our SSN’s are going to spend more and more time in the Indian Ocean they will need support. 934.3K views. Embroidered and printed personalised Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service T Shirts, Polos, Sweatshirts, Hoodies and Sports Garments. Casualty Ship. Building warship destroyers, frigates, and submarines is seen as a largely a white collar domain. They are . They were designed to act as Escorts on Atlantic Convoys during the First World War, whilst also bringing cargoes of oil fuel from the United States to Britain. Commissioned between 2006 and 2007 the Bay-class land ships were a force of four vessels (Largs Bay, Lyme Bay, Mounts Bay and Cardigan Bay). And yes better sensors. O - The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) of the United Kingdom is the main component keeping the Royal navy fueled and stored while at sea, RFA Ships are owned by the UK Ministry of defense and are crewed by civilians (except for manning certain weapons, helicopters and other specialist equipment) Edited note: RFA Crews are trained to man and operate . It does not correct any projectiles. Shipping . Mason, deployed as part of the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, is supporting maritime security operations . After about two years on active service, each vessel is docked at Cammell Laird to have an inaugural refit and hull survey to maintain their Lloyds Certification. RFA Wave Knight is a Wave-class fast fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) of the United Kingdom tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy vessels around the world.. Returned from 8 months in the Caribbean in late Dec 20. Viccy had a very problematic build, commissioning and acceptance, involving transfer from H&W to the old Lairds and eventually to FMRO at Portamouth. J - I would go look and see how much bunkers a QE burns at top speed. RFA Wave Ruler was laid up to save on running costs and crew while her sister ship and the 4 Tides provide adequate tanker numbers. Royal Fleet Auxiliary Vessels. The Sea Harriers were scrapped by Brown. The boats need a secure ‘base ship’. The Tornadoes were more realistic in the middle east. It makes it a ‘hit’ weapon rather than fuzed exploding rounds when nearby. Continue with Google. Royal Navy. So attempting some crude maths, based on the figure of 600 tonnes of fuel required for 5 days of carrier sailing, and some information from google about the fuel capacity of the tide class (24000m^3) and the density of F-76 marine diesel (~776kg/m^3). In the case of our Bay-class Landing Ship Docks, that means facilitating amphibious operations by offloading troops in even the roughest weather conditions. The UK's Carrier Strike Group has sailed with the Indian Navy for a range of exercises in the Bay of Bengal. If you are talking that it keeps correcting where it sends its projectiles any AA guns does it. The big wing would have allowed the Harrier to adopt the larger Pegasus as used in Harrier 2. Or what else made it superior? This was the 2006 plan for 11 new ships to recapitalise the fleet. 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