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| Ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary |
A - B - C - D - E - F - G Contents |
| Amphibious warfare ships |
| Replenishment ships |
| Miscellaneous ships |
This is a list of amphibious warfare ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary , the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom.
There are two types of amphibious warfare ships currently in service with the RFA as of 2024, totalling four vessels: One littoral strike ship RFA Argus (A135) and three Bay-class landing ships.
Argus and Lyme Bay make up the Littoral Response Group (South) which formed in September 2023. [1]
The three Bay class ships are projected to be removed from service by 2032. [2]
| List of current amphibious warefare ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dock landing ships | ||||||||
| Class / Type | Ship | Pennant No. | Image | In service | Out of service | Service life | Status | Ref. |
| Bay-class dock landing ship | Lyme Bay | L3007 |  | 26 November 2007 | — | 16 years, 293 days | Active | [3] |
| Cardigan Bay | L3009 |  | 18 December 2006 | — | 17 years, 271 days | Active | [4] [5] | |
| Mounts Bay | L3008 |  | 13 July 2006 | — | 18 years, 63 days | Active | [6] [7] | |
| Littoral Strike Ship | ||||||||
| Class / Type | Ship | Pennant No. | Image | In service | Out of service | Service life | Status | Ref. |
| — | Argus | A135 |  | 1 June 1988 | — | 36 years, 105 days | Active | [8] [9] [10] |
In service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary between 2006 and 2011, she was sold to the Royal Australian Navy. [11]
The Round Table-class landing ship logistics were a class of six ships, all of which would be named after Knights of the Round Table.
After the loss of RFA Sir Galahad and the damage to RFA Sir Tristam during the Falklands War, two commercial Roll-on/roll-off ferries were temporarily chartered. [12]
Two commercial Ro/Ro vessels bareboat chartered for additional freight carrying capacity with formation of the Joint Rapid Deployment Force (JRDF). [13]
Originally operated by the Royal Navy, in 1956 she was transferred to civilian administration as SS Empire Gull. She joined the RFA in 1970 and was in service until 1978, being the only Landing Ship Tank operated as an Royal Fleet Auxiliary. [14]
Three Dale-class tankers were converted into Landing Ship Gantry’s and were then reconverted back into tankers at the end of the Second World War. [15]
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by providing fuel and stores through replenishment at sea, transporting Royal Marines and British Army personnel, providing medical care and transporting equipment and essentials around the world. In addition the RFA acts independently providing humanitarian aid, counter piracy and counter narcotic patrols together with assisting the Royal Navy in preventing conflict and securing international trade. They are a uniformed civilian branch of the Royal Navy staffed by British merchant sailors. The RFA is one of five RN fighting arms.
RFA Orangeleaf was a Leaf-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom, and which served with the fleet for over 30 years, tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy and allied naval vessels around the world.
RFA Argus is a ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary operated by the Ministry of Defence under the Blue Ensign. Italian-built, Argus was formerly the container ship MVContender Bezant. The ship was requisitioned in 1982 for service in the Falklands War and purchased outright in 1984 for a four-year conversion to an Aviation Training Ship, replacing RFA Engadine. In 1991, during the Gulf War, she was fitted with an extensive and fully functional hospital to assume the additional role of Primary Casualty Receiving Ship. In 2009, the PCRS role became the ship's primary function. Argus is due to remain in service beyond 2030. In July 2022 it was reported that the future Littoral Strike Role would be assumed by Argus after a refit to convert her to this role. As of October 2023, Argus had started her deployment to serve as part of Littoral Response Group (South).
RFA Bayleaf (A109) was a Leaf-class support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom, which served with the fleet for 30 years, tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy vessels around the world.
RFA Oakleaf (A111) was a Leaf-class fleet support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom. Formerly the Swedish vessel MV Oktania, built by A. B. Uddevalla, Sweden, and completed in 1981, Oakleaf was added to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1986, before being decommissioned in 2007.
RFA Brambleleaf (A81) was a Leaf-class support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom. Originally built as MV Hudson Deep she was chartered by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 1980.
RFA Tidespring (A75) was a Tide-class replenishment oiler of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. As a replenishment oiler, her main purpose was to refuel other ships. The ship had a long career in the RFA, entering service in the early 1960s, and finally being decommissioned in 1991.
RFA Lyme Bay is a Bay-class auxiliary dock landing ship of the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). Ordered from Swan Hunter in 2000, the ship was launched in 2005. However, cost overruns and delays saw the shipbuilder removed from the project, and the incomplete ship was towed to Govan for finishing by BAE Systems Naval Ships. Lyme Bay entered service in late 2007; the last ship of the class to join the RFA.
RFA Cardigan Bay is a Bay-class landing ship dock of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). Built by BAE Systems, the ship was dedicated into the RFA at the end of 2006.
The Round Table class, also known as the Sir Lancelot class, was a British ship class designed for amphibious warfare missions in support of the main amphibious warfare ships. They were designated landing ship logistics (LSL).
Standing Royal Navy deployments is a list of operations and commitments undertaken by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy on a worldwide basis. The following list details these commitments and deployments sorted by region and in alphabetical order. Routine deployments made by the Navy's nuclear-powered submarines and their location of operations is classified.
His Majesty's Naval Service is the United Kingdom's naval warfare and maritime service. It consists of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve and Naval Careers Service. The Naval Service as a whole falls under the command of the Navy Board, which is headed by the First Sea Lord. This position is currently held by Admiral Sir Ben Key. The Defence Council delegates administration of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence.
The Rover class is a British ship class of five small fleet tankers, active from 1970 to 2017 with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom. One remains in service, having been sold to Indonesia; the rest have been scrapped or are awaiting disposal, including the one sold to Portugal. They are tasked with the replenishment at sea (RAS) of naval warships with fuel oils and with limited supplies of other naval stores. For RAS tasking, they can refuel a vessel on either beam and a third trailing astern and have a large flight deck to allow vertical replenishment with helicopters.
RFA Plumleaf (A78) was a Leaf-class support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom.
The Dale class consisted of three tankers chartered for service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom. In 1967. They served for a number of years supporting Royal Navy and allied fleet operations, during which one, Ennerdale, was lost. The remaining two were returned to their original owners in the mid-1970s.
A Littoral Response Group (LRG) is a Royal Navy task group usually consisting of one or two amphibious warfare ships, a company of Royal Marines and supporting elements primarily tasked with littoral warfare from the littoral areas. They were first deployed in 2020 and have been described by the Royal Navy as being more flexible and agile compared to previous amphibious task groups with an emphasis on forward-basing, precision strike capabilities, high mobility, modern command and control technology, networked autonomous systems and deception capabilities. Multiple LRGs can combine to form a more substantial Littoral Strike Group (LSG) and they can also join a UK Carrier Strike Group to form an Expeditionary Strike Force.
The Future Commando Force (FCF) is an in-progress modernisation programme and transformation of the role and operations of the Royal Marines. The FCF essentially retasks 40 Commando and 45 Commando with forming two Littoral Response Groups (LRGs) which will be permanently deployed, though other units from 3 Commando Brigade are also included in the composition of LRGs, as well as changing the role and operations of the Royal Marines and the equipment and tactics they use.
The Multi-Role Support Ship (MRSS) is a planned class of up to six multi-mission amphibious warfare ships in development for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The ships were first officially mentioned in the British government's 2021 defence white paper, titled Defence in a Competitive Age. In May 2024, funding for the ships was announced at the Sea Power Conference in London. They will replace the service's two Albion-class landing platform docks, three Bay-class landing ship docks and the multi-purpose support ship RFA Argus.
