Fort Victoria class replenishment oiler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
|
|
| RFA Fort Victoria | |
|
Fort Victoria-class |
|
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 32,300 (full) tons |
| Length: | 203 m |
| Beam: | 30 m |
| Draught: | 10 m |
| Propulsion: | 2 shafts, Crossley-Pielstick V-16 diesels, 23,904 bhp |
| Speed: | 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 95 RFA / 15 RN / 154 FAA / 24 RNSTS civilians |
| Armament: | |
| Aircraft: | up to 5 × Westland Sea King or AgustaWestland EH101 (3 in hangar) |
The Fort Victoria or Fort class is a class of replenishment oiler of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, a role that combines the missions of a tanker and stores supply ship. As such they are designated auxiliary oiler replenisher (AOR).
Six ships were planned to supply the Type 23 class frigates in their North Atlantic anti-submarine role. The Type 23 was at the time planned to be a low cost, lightly armed class. The Fort class ships were therefore expected to defend both themselves and the Type 23 with the Sea Wolf vertical launch surface-to-air missile (SAM).
The lessons of the Falklands War and the end of the Cold War lead to a re-evaluation of this plan. The Type 23 emerged as a much more potent, multi-role vessel and the requirement for the Fort class was reduced from six to two.
Fort Victoria was built by Harland & Wolff and Fort George by Swan Hunter and the ships entered service in 1993.
[edit] Ships
- Fort Victoria - (A387) - built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, commissioned June 24, 1994, under "assisted maintenance" at Rosyth Dockyard
- Fort George - (A388) - built by Swan Hunter, Wallsend, commissioned 16 July 1993
[edit] References
- Britain's Modern Royal Navy, Paul Beaver, Patrick Stephens Limited, 1996, ISBN 1-85260-442-5
[edit] See also
- Fort Rosalie or Fort (i) class RFA auxiliary replenishers
|
||||||||
