HMAS Supply (AO 195) (formerly RFA Tide Austral (A99)) was a of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

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...

 (RFA) and the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 (RAN).

Originally name Tide Austral and intended to be the first ship of a post-World War II Royal Australian Fleet Auxiliary, manpower and financial shortages meant that when the Belfast-built ship was launched in 1955, she could not be accepted into Australian service. Instead, she was loaned to the RFA until 1962, when she was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Supply.

Supply operated as part of the RAN until her decommissioning at the end of 1985.

Design, construction, and acquisition

In the early 1950s, the RAN considered acquiring a fleet tanker to support their forces. It was suggested that Australia order a from the United Kingdom (the Royal Navy having ordered three ships of the design), as the backlog of Navy construction in Australian dockyards would prevent an Australian-built tanker from entering service until at least the late 1950s. The tanker was to be the first ship of a post-war Royal Australian Fleet Auxiliary, would be manned by merchant seafarers to reduce demand on RAN service personnel, and would reduce the RAN's dependency on foreign fuel suppliers. The acquisition was approved by the Defense Committee and the Cabinet of Australia

Cabinet of Australia

The Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers of the Crown, responsible to parliament. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister the Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, and serves at the former's pleasure. The strictly private...

 in August 1951, with the order placed by the end of the year.

The ship, which was to be named RAFA Tide Austral, was laid down by Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....

 Limited at Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 on 5 August 1952, and launched on 1 September 1954. The tanker was completed at the start of 1955, at a cost of £A3.13 million: 20% over the forecast price. However, financial difficulties and a manpower shortage meant that the RAN could not operate the ship, and efforts to find a merchant operator were unsuccessful. Efforts to sell the ship to another navy or a civilian operator also failed, but in March 1955, the British Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 offered to take Tide Austral on loan and operate her as part of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

RFA service

The tanker was operated by the British Admiralty with a civilian crew as a Royal Fleet Auxiliary under the name Tide Austral from 1955 to 1962. Her service under Admiralty control included various charter periods, including two years (1956-58) when she was employed at the Admiralty's discretion, operating in direct payment of a debt incurred for the taking over of Shell Tankers Ltd building berths.

RAN acquisition

In 1962, the ship was purchased by Australia and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy

Royal Australian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...

 on 15 August 1962, under her original name. She was renamed HMAS Supply on 7 September 1962 in a ceremony presided over by the wife of Rear Admiral Otto Becher

Otto Becher

Rear Admiral Otto Humphrey Becher CBE, DSO, DSC & Bar was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy. Born in Harvey, Western Australia, Becher entered the Royal Australian Naval College in 1922...

, the Australian Naval Representative in the United Kingdom

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...

.

RAN service

During her Australian service, Supply, accompanied initially by Royal New Zealand Navy

Royal New Zealand Navy

The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...

 (RNZN) frigate , and later by RNZN frigate , sailed to Moruroa

Moruroa

Moruroa , also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean...

 Atoll in official protest of the French Canopus atmospheric nuclear test

Canopus (nuclear test)

Canopus was the code name for France's first two-stage thermonuclear test, conducted on August 24, 1968 at Fangataufa atoll...

. Supply was part of the relief force sent to Darwin

Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

 following the destruction caused by Cyclone Tracy

Cyclone Tracy

Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, 1974...

 in 1974. In 1975, Supply was present for the proclamation of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

's independence from Australia, and later for the bicentennial of the United States of America's independence from Britain.

On 8 September 1980, Supply joined five other RAN vessels to form the Australia Squadron. The Squadron, which included HMA Ships , , , , and spent two months in the Indian Ocean as part of a flag-showing cruise; the largest RAN deployment since World War II.

Fate

HMAS Supply paid off on 16 December 1985, and was replaced by .