Lewin of Greenwich Naval History & Forum

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) service of the Royal Navy is civillian crewed and it delivers worldwide logistical and operational support for the wide range of tasks the Royal Navy undertakes including warfighting, counter-piracy, humanitarian and disaster relief, and counter-narcotics operations.
Established in 1905 to provide coaling ships for the Royal Navy, in support of operations around the world. As propulsion evolved, oil tankers took over that role. During the Second World War, the Royal Navy became heavily reliant on the RFA and Stores Ships, Aviation Stores Ships and other specialist ships helped it to maintain that role.
Some years ago I started to compile a Classification List for the RFA and have tried to update it a bit today, to take into account recent arrivals. I attach it as a PDF file for reference:

RFA Black Ranger, workhorse of the fleet

I did not know that they also had manning problems?
From Savetheroyalnavy.org
RFA Wave Ruler in good condition after recent Cammell Laird refit but sadly laid up in Royal Seaforth Dock, Merseyside due to cash & manpower shortages with rumours of potential sale to Brazil.
See - https://www.facebook.com/savetheroyalna ... =3&theater - for photos.

MoD awards £1 Billion Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship support contracts
Today the MoD has announced the award of the Future In-Service Support (FISS) contracts worth a total of £1Bn to provide maintenance support for 17 vessels of the naval service. For the RN this is broadly good news, efficiently sustaining a large part of the fleet, strengthening shipyards while offering greater competition and diversity amongst its suppliers.
Maintenance support for the ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary has been successfully provided over the last decade through ‘cluster contacts’ awarded to Cammell Laird and A&P Falmouth. In 2018 the MoD requested tenders to renew these contracts for the next 10 years (from March 2019 to June 2028). For the new competition the 13 RFA ships, together with HMS Scott, HMS Protector, HMS Echo and HMS Enterprise were grouped into four different ‘lots’.
The slightly more surprising news is that CL have also won the new £262 million contract for lot-3 which comprises four newly-built Tide class tankers (RFA Tidespring, Tiderace, Tidesurge and Tideforce).
A&P Falmouth is just completing the UK Customisation, Capability Assessment Trials and Support (UKCCATS) work to fit the Tide tankers class with naval equipment after their construction in South Korea. RFA Tidesurge is currently conducting sea trails and work is well underway on the final ship, RFA Tideforce in Falmouth
Full article here:
https://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/mod-aw ... contracts/

a few random photos of the superb RFA at work from the RN end of the equipment...

Great shots there Tim , good to see some from these under praised vessels

READY FOR ANYTHING
I am not plugging the book, altho it appears to be a bargain at £10, but found the description in this link historically interesting.
See - https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Ready-F ... cWBI41XyII

BRIGHT FUTURE FOR RFA HISTORY
17 April 2019
Naval historians have pledged to tell the long, proud – and occasionally tragic – story of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary more comprehensively in future.

Despite supporting the Royal Navy for 114 years through war and peace – playing a key front-line role with the British Pacific Fleet and re-taking the Falklands (losing RFA Sir Galahad and nearly losing her sister Sir Tristram to Argentine bombs) especially – there is no museum dedicated to the auxiliary service.

The service supports Royal Navy ships wherever they go, delivering food, fuel, fresh water, spare parts, ammunition and other supplies – which means British warships are not reliant on ports and naval bases.

In addition, RFA vessels support amphibious operations – three Bay-class ships carry Royal Marines and their equipment – serve as mother ships to minehunters in the Gulf, and provide humanitarian aid and act as bases for counter-drugs team in the Caribbean.

Museums float on collections, we need to ensure we build up our collection of RFA material and to ensure we continue to build on our links with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Professor Dominic Tweddle
More than 60 RFA vessels have been sunk or damaged in time of war; others, such as tanker Ennerdale, foundered when she struck an uncharted rock off the Seychelles while supporting regular RN operations.

Chris White of the RFA Historical Society has created a ‘virtual museum’ in the form of an extremely comprehensive and detailed website which documents the history of the auxiliary service from its official inception to the present day.

There is a small section of the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth dedicated to the RFA’s mission and sacrifices – a section which will now expand after Mr White and the RN’s umbrella museum agreed to work more closely together to showcase the auxiliary.

They used the second visit of the RFA’s newest operational tanker to Portsmouth – Tidesurge – to announce the link-up during an official reception on board the Tide-class ship also attended by sponsor, Joanna, Lady Woodcock, and the head of the service, Commodore Duncan Lamb RFA.

“Whilst we do represent and do collect items from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, it is important that we build a better relationship. Museums float on collections, we need to ensure we build up our collection of RFA material and to ensure we continue to build on our links with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary,” said Professor Dominic Tweddle, Director General of the NMRN.

Now back at sea, Tidesurge is conducting training in Scotland before she takes over duties as the tanker used by the RN’s premier training organisation FOST to prepare British and foreign warships for operational duties off the Devon and Cornish coasts.

From - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... L5NDpJuCSo
Which includes photos of Tidesurge.

Please see attached which is dated today and posted on this thread as it covers several classes.

RFA OFFICER WINS GLOBAL SEAFARER OF THE YEAR AWARD

RFA Chief Officer Susan Cloggie-Holden RFA won the prestigious Global Seafarer of the Year award at the Lloyd’s List Europe Awards at the Hilton Hotel, Park Lane, London.
Susan was the first Royal Fleet Auxiliary Female Champion and is the Chair of the RFA Women's Network. She launched a new Female-to-Female Mentoring scheme for RFA Women, and was a founding member of the Maritime UK Women in Maritime Taskforce.
"I’m extremely proud of this award which I received 19 years to the day after I stepped on board my first RFA ship as a Cadet,” said Susan.

Continues with photo at:
https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... arer-award

HMS Tartar...RFA Reliant...HMS Ark Royal....RFA Olmeda...RFA Resurgent...c1972.