Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Blue Ensign

Abbreviation RFA
Formation 1905
Purpose Auxiliaries
Region
 United Kingdom
Owner Ministry of Defence
Commodore RFA
 Cdre Robert Dorey[1]
Staff
 1,850 personnel[2]
Website
Fleet 13 ships
Queen's Colour

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence.[3] The RFA enables ships of the Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world. Its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment at sea (RAS). It also transports Army and Royal Marine personnel, as well as supporting training exercises, and engaging in anti piracy and anti drug smuggling operations.

The RFA counts a forward repair ship and landing vessels amongst its assets. RFA personnel are members of the Ministry of Defence civil service, and sponsored reservist members of the Armed Forces, who wear Merchant Navy rank insignia with naval uniforms and are under naval discipline when the vessel is engaged on warlike operations. RFA vessels are commanded and crewed by these civilians, augmented with regular and reserve Royal Navy personnel to perform specialised military functions such as operating and maintaining helicopters or providing hospital facilities.

History

The RFA was first established in 1905 to provide coaling ships for the Navy in an era when the change from sail to coal-fired steam engines as the main means of propulsion meant that a network of bases around the world with coaling facilities or a fleet of ships able to supply coal were necessary for a fleet to operate away from its home country. Since the Royal Navy of that era possessed the largest network of bases around the world of any fleet, the RFA at first took a relatively minor role.

The RFA firstly became heavily relied on by the Royal Navy during World War II, when the British fleet was often far from available bases, either due to the enemy capturing such bases, or, in the Pacific, because of the sheer distances involved. WWII also saw naval ships staying at sea for much longer periods than had been the case since the days of sail. Techniques of Replenishment at Sea (RAS) were developed. The auxiliary fleet comprised a diverse collection, with not only RFA ships, but also commissioned warships and merchantmen as well. The need for the fleet to be maintained was unambiguously demonstrated by WWII.

After 1945, the RFA became the Royal Navy's main source of support in the many conflicts that the Navy was involved in. The RFA performed important service to the Far East Fleet off Korea from 1950 until 1953, when sustained carrier operations were again mounted in Pacific waters. During the extended operations of the Konfrontasi in the 1960s, the RFA was also heavily involved. As the network of British bases overseas shrank during the end of the Empire, the Navy increasingly relied on the RFA to supply its ships during routine deployments.

The RFA played an important role in the largest naval war since 1945, the Falklands War in 1982 (where one vessel was lost and another badly damaged), and also the Gulf War, Kosovo War, Afghanistan Campaign and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In July, 2008, the RFA was presented with a Queen's Colour, an honour unique to a civilian organisation.[4][5][6]

Fleet

USS Donald Cook receives fuel during a replenishment at sea (RAS) with RFA Wave Ruler.
MV Hartland Point, a Point-class sealift ship available to the Ministry of Defence as part of a private finance initiative.

Ships in RFA service carry the ship prefix RFA, standing for Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and fly the Blue Ensign defaced with an upright gold killick anchor. All Royal Fleet Auxiliaries are built and maintained to Lloyd's Register and Department for Transport standards. Most RFA ships are armed, typically with at least two 20 mm GAM-B01 anti-aircraft guns and a number of 7.62 mm L7 GPMGs.

The most important role provided by the RFA is replenishment at sea (RAS), therefore the mainstay of the current RFA fleet are the replenishment ships.[7] The Wave-class, Orangeleaf and Rover-class are 'Fleet Tankers', which primarily provide under way refuelling to Royal Navy ships, but can also provide a limited amount of dry cargoes. Orangeleaf and the remaining Rover-class will be replaced by the new Tide-class 'Fast Fleet Tankers' that were ordered in February 2012. The four new tankers have been ordered from DSME, South Korea with design support from Britain's BMT Defence Services.[8]

Fort Victoria is a 'one-stop' replenishment ship, capable of providing under way refuelling and dry cargoes (I.e rearming, victualling and spares). The older Fort Rosalie-class class provide only dry cargoes. The Wave-class, Fort Victoria and the Fort Rosalie-class have generous aviation facilities, providing aviation support and training facilities and significant vertical replenishment capabilities. They are capable of operating and supporting several Merlin and Lynx Wildcat helicopters, both of which are significant weapons platforms. The presence of aviation facilities on RFA ships allows for them to be used as 'force multipliers' for the task groups they support in line with Royal Navy doctrine.

The RFA is tasked with the role of supporting Royal Navy amphibious operations through ts three Bay-class dock landing ships (LSD). Typically one Bay-class is also assigned as a permanent 'mothership' for Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessels in the Persian Gulf.

Two unique support ships in the fleet are the repair vessel Diligence and the aviation training ship Argus. Both of these ships are converted former merchantmen. Diligence is a former North Sea oil industry support ship tasked with fleet repairs and maintenance. In 2007 she underwent a major refit intended to extend her operational life for ten years. Argus, a converted roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) container ship, is tasked with peacetime aviation training and support. On active operations, she becomes the Primary Casualty Receiving Ship (PCRS); essentially a hospital ship. She cannot be described as such - and is not afforded such protection under the Geneva Convention - as she is armed. She can, however, venture into waters too dangerous for a normal hospital ship. Argus completed a refit in May 2007 intended to extend her operational life to 2020.[9]

The Point-class sealift ships were acquired in 2002 under a £1.25bn private finance initiative with Foreland Shipping known as the 'Strategic Sealift Service'. These ships are Merchant Navy vessels leased to the Ministry of Defence as and when needed. Originally six ships were part of the deal, allowing the MoD use of four of the ships with two being made available for commercial charter, these latter two were released from the contract in 2012.[10]

The Ministry of Defence also maintains a single commercial tanker under permanent charter, the Maersk Rapier.[11] The ship is tasked with supplying fuel to the United Kingdoms various naval establishments at home and overseas, as well as providing aviation fuel to RAF stations at Cyprus, Ascension and the Falklands.[11] The MoD charters the vessel to commercial companies during periods where she is not in use for defence purposes.[11][12]

As of 2015, there are 13 ships in service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary with a total displacement of approximately 301,000 tonnes. These figures exclude the five merchant navy vessels under charter to the Ministry of Defence.

Replenishment

Class Ship Pennant No. Entered service Displacement Type Note
8 in Service
Wave-class RFA Wave Knight A389 2003 31,500 tonnes Replenishment ship [13]
RFA Wave Ruler A390 2003 31,500 tonnes Replenishment ship [14]
Leaf-class RFA Orangeleaf A110 1979 37,874 tonnes Replenishment ship [15]
Rover-class RFA Gold Rover A271 1974 16,160 tonnes Replenishment ship [16]
RFA Black Rover A273 1974 16,160 tonnes Replenishment ship [17]
Fort Victoria-class RFA Fort Victoria A387 1994 33,675 tonnes Replenishment ship [18]
Fort Rosalie-class RFA Fort Rosalie A385 1978 23,384 tonnes Replenishment ship [19]
RFA Fort Austin A386 1979 23,384 tonnes Replenishment ship [20]

Amphibious warfare

Class Ship Pennant No. Entered service Displacement Type Note
3 in Service
Bay-class RFA Lyme Bay L3007 2007 16,160 tonnes Dock landing ship auxiliary [21]
RFA Mounts Bay L3008 2006 16,160 tonnes Dock landing ship auxiliary [22]
RFA Cardigan Bay L3009 2006 16,160 tonnes Dock landing ship auxiliary [23]

Miscellaneous

Class Ship Pennant No. Entered service Displacement Type Note
2 in Service
Argus RFA Argus A135 1988 28,081 tonnes Aviation training & hospital ship [24]
Diligence RFA Diligence A132 1984 10,853 tonnes Forward repair ship [25]

Ministry of Defence

Owner Ship Class Entered service Displacement Type Note
Foreland Shipping MV Hurst Point Point-class 2002 23,000 tonnes Ro-ro sealift
MV Eddystone Point-class 2002 23,000 tonnes Ro-ro sealift
MV Hartland Point Point-class 2002 23,000 tonnes Ro-ro sealift
MV Anvil Point Point-class 2003 23,000 tonnes Ro-ro sealift
A.P. Moller–Maersk Group MV Maersk Rapier 2003 35,000 DWT Tanker

Rank Insignia

Officers

Department Colours

With the exception of the executive (deck) department, RFA officer rank slides use a colour identification system for the different departments on ship.

Logistics and Supply Marine Engineering Systems Engineering Communications
       

Rates

See also

Ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

A - B - C - D - E - F - G
H - I - J - K - L - M - N
O - P - Q - R - S - T - U
V - W - X - Y - Z

Amphibious assault ships
Replenishment ships
Miscellaneous ships
Lists of ships operated by or in support of Her Majesty's Naval Service
Related articles

References

    1. ↑ Our organisation - Royal Fleet Auxiliary, royalnavy.mod.uk
    2. ↑ gov.uk MoD - Quarterly Civilian Personnel Report, table 2 page 5, October 2014
    3. ↑ Royal Fleet Auxiliary, royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
    4. ↑ Journal of the Flag Institute, Issue 128, p. 20
    5. ↑ Gunline, April 2008, p. 7
    6. ↑ Gunline, Sept 2008, p. 1
    7. ↑ Britain's Modern Royal Navy, Paul Beaver, Patrick Stephens Limited, 1996, ISBN 1-85260-442-5
    8. ↑ "Britain’s Navy: Supplies are From MARS". Defence Industry Daily. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
    9. ↑ BBC News: Refit of navy ship RFA Argus ends, bbc.co.uk
    10. ↑ Strategic Sealift Service, publications.parliament.uk, 2 Sep 2013
    11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Bush, Steve (2014). British Warships and Auxiliaries. Maritime Books. p. 50. ISBN 1904459552.
    12. ↑ Hired Tankers Hansard Written Answers - House of Commons, publications.parliament.uk, 27 October 2003
    13. ↑ "RFA Wave Knight (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    14. ↑ "RFA Wave Ruler (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    15. ↑ "RFA Orangeleaf (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    16. ↑ "RFA Gold Rover (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    17. ↑ "RFA Black Rover (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    18. ↑ "RFA Fort Victoria (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    19. ↑ "RFA Fort Rosalie (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    20. ↑ "RFA Fort Austin (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    21. ↑ "RFA Lyme Bay (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    22. ↑ "RFA Mounts Bay (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    23. ↑ "RFA Cardigan Bay (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    24. ↑ "RFA Argus (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
    25. ↑ "RFA Diligence (official webpage)". royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy. Retrieved 23 April 2015.

    Bibliography

    The Royal Fleet Auxiliary - A Century of Service. Adams/Smith. London 2005. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-259-3.

    External links