Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Flag of the RFA

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA; German: Royal Fleet Auxiliary) is one for Marine belonging, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense under standing flotilla . In it are auxiliary ships of the British Royal Navy organized. She is a flotilla of the British fleet and is led by the Commodore RFA . The ship names begin with the abbreviation RFA . Most of the staff consists of civilians trained according to the rules of the merchant navy who wear a uniform similar to the Royal Navy . The flag of the RFA is the Blue Ensign , the British service flag at sea, with a gold anchor.

history

The RFA was founded in 1905 in order to be able to supply the ships of the Royal Navy with coal as far as possible, as the sailing ships were increasingly being replaced by steamships . Since then, the RFA has been involved in all military operations by the British armed forces. In the Second World War and the Falklands War , the RFA had the biggest losses. For the last time an RFA vehicle was lost in the Falklands War with the landing ship RFA Sir Galahad .

assignment

Even today, the RFA ensures the supply of the Royal Navy with fuel , ammunition , water and food . The RFA also has troop transports , dropships and training ships .