Fort Rosalie class replenishment ship

The Fort Rosalie or Fort class is a class

Ship class

A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....

of fleet replenishment vessel

Combat stores ship

Combat stores ships, or Storeships were originally a designation given to captured ships in the Age of Sail and immediately afterward, used to stow supplies and other goods for naval purposes. Modern combat store ships are operated by the United States Navy...

of the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the British Ministry of Defence. The RFA enables ships of the United Kingdom Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world. Its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment...

. These ships are designed to replenish Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

ships with all kinds of armaments and victualling stores while under way.

They have the capacity to store 3,500 tons

Long ton

Long ton is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries. It has been mostly replaced by the tonne, and in the United States by the short ton...

of stores, including refrigerated items, in four holds. They are capable of replenishment at sea

Underway replenishment

Underway replenishment or replenishment at sea is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way.-History:...

(RAS), using three 10-ton and three 5-ton cranes and vertical replenishment (VERTREP). For the latter role there are generous flight facilities; a single spot flight deck

Flight deck

The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the...

, an emergency landing platform atop the hangar and a complement of up to four (but usually one) Fleet Air Arm

Fleet Air Arm

The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...

Westland Sea King

The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...

helicopters and the requisite maintenance facilities. As such, they are often used for aviation training.

Two ships were ordered in 1971, with the first entering service in 1978. RFA Fort Rosalie was originally known as Fort Grange, but was renamed in 2000 to avoid confusion with the new Fort Victoria class replenishment oiler RFA Fort George

RFA Fort George (A388)

RFA Fort George was a combined fleet stores ship and tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.Fort George was ordered from Swan Hunter in late 1987. The ship was laid down in 1989, launched by the wife of the Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral Sir Jock Slater in 1991 and commissioned in 1993...

.

Both ships saw service in the Falklands War

Falklands War

The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...

, the then Fort Grange being shadowed by Argentine Air Force

Argentine Air Force

The Argentine Air Force is the national aviation branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. , it had 14,606 military and 6,854 civilian staff.-History:...

C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...

aircraft while still 1,000 nm

Nautical mile

The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...

from the combat area and Fort Austin being attacked while sitting in San Carlos water

San Carlos, Falkland Islands

San Carlos is a settlement in northwestern East Falkland, lying south of Port San Carlos on San Carlos Water. It is sometimes nicknamed "JB" after a former owner, Jack Bonner.-History:...

Ships

Name	Pennant	Builder	Commissioned	Fate
Fort Rosalie RFA Fort Rosalie Two ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have borne the name RFA Fort Rosalie:* RFA Fort Rosalie was a stores ship launched in 1944 and scrapped in 1973... (Ex-"Fort Grange")	A387	Scott Lithgow Scott Lithgow -History:The Company was formed in 1967 by the merger of Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and Lithgows. Scott Lithgow was based in Port Glasgow and Greenock on the lower Clyde in Scotland. Scott Lithgow was nationalised and subsumed into British Shipbuilders in 1977... , Greenock.	6 April 1978	Active as of 2011
Fort Austin	A386	Scott Lithgow Scott Lithgow -History:The Company was formed in 1967 by the merger of Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and Lithgows. Scott Lithgow was based in Port Glasgow and Greenock on the lower Clyde in Scotland. Scott Lithgow was nationalised and subsumed into British Shipbuilders in 1977... , Greenock.	11 May 1979	Undergoing regeneration as of 2011

Ships

See also