RFA Fort Victoria (A387)
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| history | |
| Commissioned: | April 23, 1986 |
| Keel laying: | September 15, 1988 |
| Launch: | May 4th 1990 |
| Commissioning: | June 24, 1994 |
| Decommissioning: | expected in 2019 |
| Home port: | London |
| Data | |
| Displacement: | 36 580 ts |
| Length: | 204 m |
| Width: | 30.4 m |
| Draft: | 9.75 m |
| Drive: | 2 Crossley-Pielstick PC2.6 B diesel engines with 23,580 hp each |
| Top speed: | 22 knots |
| Range: | 10,000 miles at 15 knots |
| Crew: | 134 seamen, 154 aircrew |
| Armament: | 2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS guns, 4 × 30 mm guns |
| Airplanes: | 5 helicopters of the types Merlin , Sea King or Sea Lynx |
The RFA Fort Victoria (A387) is a fleet supply ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and lead ship of the Fort Victoria class . It is used to support and supply ships of the British Navy on global missions.
history
The Fort Victoria and her sister ship Fort George were mid-1980s of the support ships for the time being planned frigates of the Duke class designed. The Fort Victoria was commissioned in 1986 and laid down in 1988 at Harland & Wolff in Belfast . The ship was launched on May 4, 1990.
On September 6, 1990, a few days before the planned handover to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary , which was Fort Victoria objective of a terrorist attack the IRA while still was at dressing in the shipyard. The group had deposited an explosive device in the ship's engine room below the waterline. His explosion tore a hole in the hull, which penetrated water into the ship, and there are strong list got. Only after several hours could the ship stabilize and prevent a complete sinking. Large parts of the propulsion system were also destroyed. The following day the IRA threatened a second attack on the ship and two weeks later a second explosive device was discovered inside the ship, but it was defused in good time.
The severe damage caused by the attack delayed the delivery of Fort Victoria by around three years. Since Harland & Wolff had no repair capacity available immediately after the attack, it was towed to Cammell Laird in Birkenhead and repaired there. In early 1993 she was finally handed over to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and officially put into service in June 1994. In 1998 the ship was equipped with two Phalanx CIWS guns for air defense .
From October 2001 to March 2002, Fort Victoria was part of Operation Veritas , which served to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan . It supported the HMS Illustrious aircraft carrier association consisting of twelve other ships and submarines in the Indian Ocean . In January 2003, she left the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal Portsmouth and was part of the 40-ship British task force during the Iraq War .
In 2006 the ship was again in service in the Indian Ocean and was off the coast of Oman when the war between Israel and Lebanon broke out in July . The naval association was immediately ordered off the coast of Lebanon to evacuate British citizens from the country as part of Operation Highbrow . On July 20, eight days after the start of the war, the Fort Victoria arrived on site. Their main task was to supply other warships, including the French dock landing ship Mistral .
construction
Since the Fort Victoria was originally intended to support the Duke- class frigates in submarine hunting , special attention was paid to ensuring that its propulsion system was particularly quiet during its construction. Stealth technology has also been integrated to a large extent in order to minimize the radar signature.
task
The main task of Fort Victoria is to supply British warships with fuel and food on the open sea . It can supply two warships simultaneously. Due to its large flight deck, on which heavy Chinook transport helicopters can also be used, and the five helicopters carried, it is also used in amphibious landing operations . For this purpose it is also possible to take up to 200 additional soldiers from the Royal Marines on board.
literature
- Ministry of Defense (Ed.): The Royal Navy Handbook . Conway Maritime Press, London 2003, ISBN 0-85177-952-2 .
Web links
- Official website (English)