RFA Fort Victoria (A387)

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Career

Ordered:	24 April 1986
Laid down:	4 April 1988
Launched:	12 June 1990
Commissioned:	24 June 1994
Decommissioned:
Fate:	Active in service as of 2006.
Struck:
General Characteristics
Displacement:	31,565 tonnes
Length:	203.9 m
Beam:	30.3 m
Draft:	9.7 m
Propulsion:	2x Crossley-Pielstick V16 medium speed diesels driving fixed propellers.
Speed:	22 knots
Range:
Complement:	95 RFA 15 RN 24 RNSTS additional 154 RN Air Squadron personnel
Armament:	2 Phalanx CIWS 4 BMARC 30 mm guns
Aircraft:	Hangar for 3 EHI Merlin. 2spot flight deck
Motto:

RFA Fort Victoria (A387) is a combined fleet stores ship and tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Fort Victoria was ordered from Harland and Wolff in 1986, and was launched in 1990. Just a few weeks after being christened, on September 6, it became the target of two IRA bombs, one of them successfully defused. However, the device that exploded caused extensive damaged inside the engine room and several floodings, which were put under control after hours of work by emergency teams^[1]. This incident and other problems with the construction of the vessel meant it was not delivered until 1993, three years after originally planned. In 1998, the ship was fitted with the Phalanx CIWS. The vessel took part in Operation Telic during early 2003.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fort Victoria was adopted by the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and has been affiliated with the borough for over 10 years.

A battle ensign was presented to the borough in 2003 following the vessels participation in military operations in the Gulf. The ensign can be seen in the foyer of Barnsley Town Hall.

With its ability to supply anything from humanitarian supplies to fuel and ammunition, the ship proves itself as a vital ship in peacetime and war. A recent example of this the recent trouble in the Lebanon region where it played a key role supplying the Royal Navy and giving air support with a flight of Merlin MK1 helicopters from 814 squadron.

As of August 2006, the Fort Victoria is in Rosyth Dockyard in Fife, Scotland, as part of an assisted maintenance period, where she remains as of the 25th of September.