RFA Olmeda at sea | |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | RFA Olmeda |
Builder | Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallend, Tyne and Wear |
Yard number | 2004 |
Laid down | 27 August 1963 |
Launched | 19 November 1964 |
Commissioned | 18 October 1965, as Oleander |
Decommissioned | January 1994 |
Renamed |
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Identification | IMO number: 6501331 |
Fate | Arrived Alang for demolition, 17 August 1994 |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Ol-class tanker |
Displacement | 33,240 long tons (33,773 t) full load |
Length | 648 ft (198 m) |
Beam | 84 ft 2 in (25.65 m) |
Draught | 24 ft (290 in) |
Propulsion | 2× Pametrada steam turbines, double reduction geared, single shaft |
Speed | 21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h) |
Range | 10,000 nmi (19,000 km) at 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h) |
Complement |
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Armament |
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Aircraft carried | 3× Wessex or Sea King helicopters |
Service record | |
Operations: |
RFA Olmeda (A124) was an Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The ship was renamed from Oleander after two years in operation.
In the last action of the Falklands War, Olmeda helped recapture the South Sandwich Islands.
The second of her class, Olmeda came into service in late 1965 as Oleander. As with its sister ships, Olmeda's early service was routine. However, in 1967, the ship had to be renamed from Oleander to Olmeda to avoid confusion with HMS Leander. [1]
In the Second Cod War, Olmeda supported Royal Navy ships twice. [1]
Olmeda saw extensive service during the Falklands War, being one of the first ships to head south. Olmeda refuelled numerous ships of the Task Force including HMS Hermes, HMS Invincible, and the SS Uganda. [1]
After the Argentine surrender of the Falkland Islands, Olmeda, Yarmouth, Endurance and the tug Salvageman sailed to the South Sandwich Islands where Argentina had established a base in South Thule since 1976. Following a demonstration of Yarmouth's guns, the ten Argentine military personnel surrendered. Before leaving South Thule, Yarmouth was refueled by Olmeda on 21 June, which may have been the most southerly underway replenishment in the history of the Royal Navy. [2]
In 1993, the ship was decommissioned and sold for scrap. Breaking up commenced at Alang on 23 December 1994. [1]
The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory and, as such, rely on the United Kingdom for the guarantee of their security. The other UK territories in the South Atlantic, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, fall under the protection of British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI), formerly known as British Forces Falkland Islands (BFFI), which includes commitments from the British Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. They are headed by the Commander, British Forces South Atlantic Islands (CBFSAI), a brigadier-equivalent appointment that rotates among all three services.
The Falklands War was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial dependency, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The conflict began on 2 April, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, followed by the invasion of South Georgia the next day. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with an Argentine surrender on 14 June, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders were killed during the hostilities.
This is a list of the naval forces from the United Kingdom that took part in the Falklands War, often referred to as "the Task Force" in the context of the war. For a list of naval forces from Argentina, see Argentine naval forces in the Falklands War.
Operation Keyhole was a British special operation to recapture Thule Island in the South Sandwich Islands during the Falklands War. The operation took place from 19 to 20 June 1982.
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RFA Fort Rosalie was the lead ship of her class of Royal Fleet Auxiliary fleet replenishment ships. Fort Rosalie was originally named RFA Fort Grange, but was renamed in May 2000 to avoid confusion with the now-decommissioned RFA Fort George. On 31 March 2021, the ship was withdrawn from service.
HMS Yarmouth was the first modified Type 12 frigate of the Rothesay class to enter service with the Royal Navy.
Corbeta Uruguay base was an Argentine military outpost established in November 1976 on Thule Island, Southern Thule, in the South Sandwich Islands. It was vacated and mostly demolished in 1982 following Britain's victory against Argentina in the Falklands War.
Operation Journeyman was a Royal Navy operation in which a naval taskforce was secretly sent to the Falkland Islands in November 1977 to prevent an Argentine invasion.
Admiral of the Fleet John David Elliott Fieldhouse, Baron Fieldhouse, was a Royal Navy officer. He commanded five submarines and a frigate before achieving higher command from the 1970s. Following the invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentine forces in April 1982, Fieldhouse was appointed Commander of the Task Force given responsibility for "Operation Corporate", the mission to recover the Falkland Islands. The campaign ended in the surrender of Argentine forces in June 1982. He became First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff in December that year and, in that role, persuaded the British Government to fund the replacement of ships lost in the Falklands War. He went on to be Chief of the Defence Staff from 1985 until his retirement in 1988.
These are some of the key weapons of the Falklands War used by both sides.
HMS Endurance was a Royal Navy ice patrol vessel that served from 1967 to 1991. She came to public notice when she was involved in the Falklands War of 1982. The final surrender of the war, in the South Sandwich Islands, took place aboard Endurance.
RFA Wave Ruler is a Wave-class fast fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) of the United Kingdom tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy vessels around the world.
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The Battle of San Carlos was a battle between aircraft and ships that lasted from 21 to 25 May 1982 during the British landings on the shores of San Carlos Water in the 1982 Falklands War. Low-flying land-based Argentine jet aircraft made repeated attacks on ships of the British Task Force.
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Junella was a fishing trawler, best known for her service with the Royal Navy during the Falklands War. She was built in 1975 for J Marr & Son, a Hull-based fishing company. On 11 April 1982 she was taken up from trade by the British government and commissioned into the Royal Navy. She was fitted with Second World War era minesweeping gear at Rosyth Dockyard, manned by Royal Navy sailors and allocated to the 11th Mine Countermeasures Squadron. She sailed on 26 April but was unable to commence sweeping until after the 14 June Argentine surrender. In the meantime she was utilised to transfer troops and stores between ships and landed special forces troops at San Carlos. Demining operations commenced on 21 June. Junella returned to the United Kingdom on 11 August, carrying a defused Argentine mine.