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RFA Cardigan Bay (L3009)
Encyclopedia
RFA Cardigan Bay (L3009) is a Bay-class landing ship dock 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). Built by BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
, the ship was dedicated into the RFA at the end of 2006. Cardigan Bay is active as of 2011.
Design and construction
The Bay class was designed as a replacement for the Round Table class logistics ships operated by the RFA. The new design was based on the Royal Schelde Enforcer design; a joint project between the Dutch and Spanish resulting in the Rotterdam class and Galicia classGalicia class landing platform dock
The Galicia class is a class of two 13,900 t landing platform dock ships, belonging to the Spanish Navy. Built in Ferrol, their mission is to carry amphibious warfare by transporting the bulk of the Infantería de Marina....
amphibious warfare ships. The main difference with the British ships is the lack of a helicopter hangar. The ships were originally designated "Auxiliary Landing Ship Logistics" or ALSL, but this was changed in 2002 to "Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary)" or LSD(A), better reflecting their operational role. Four ships were ordered; two from Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which...
, and two from BAE Systems Naval Ships
BAE Systems Naval Ships
BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions was a wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems, based at two shipyards on the River Clyde in Glasgow and BAE Systems' Filton offices...
.
The Bay class ships have a full load displacement of 16160 tonnes (15,904.7 LT). Each is 579.4 feet (176.6 m) long, with a beam of 86.6 feet (26.4 m), and a draught of 19 feet (5.8 m). Propulsion power is provided by two Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä
Wärtsilä is a Finnish corporation which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and energy markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include large combustion engines...
8L26 generators, providing 6000 hp, and two Wärtsilä 12V26 generators, providing 9000 hp. These are used to drive two steerable azimuth thrusters
Azimuth thruster
An azimuth thruster is a configuration of ship propellers placed in pods that can be rotated in any horizontal direction, making a rudder unnecessary...
, with a bow thruster supplementing. Maximum speed is 18 knots (9.8 m/s), and the Bay class ships can achieve a range of 8000 nautical miles (14,816 km) at 15 knots (8.2 m/s). For self defence, Cardigan Bay is armed with two 30 mm DS30B cannons, four Mk.44 miniguns
Minigun
The Minigun is a 7.62 mm, multi-barrel heavy machine gun with a high rate of fire , employing Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source...
, six 7.62mm L7 GPMG
FN MAG
The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries, and it has been made under licence in countries such as Argentina, Egypt, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the...
s, and two Phalanx CIWS
Phalanx CIWS
The Phalanx CIWS is an anti-ship missile defense system. It is a close-in weapon system and was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division...
. The standard ship's company consists of 60 officers and sailors.
As a sealift
Sealift
Sealift is a term used predominantly in military logistics and refers to the use of cargo ships for the deployment of military assets, such as weaponry, vehicles, military personnel, and supplies...
ship, Cardigan Bay is capable of carrying up to 24 Challenger 2 tanks or 150 light trucks in 1,150 linear metres of space. The cargo capacity is equivalent of 200 tons of ammunition, or 24 Twenty-foot equivalent unit
Twenty-foot equivalent unit
The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals...
containers. During normal conditions, a Bay class ship can carry 356 soldiers, but this can be almost doubled to 700 in overload conditions. No helicopters are carried onboard, but the twin-spot flight deck is capable of handling helicopters up to the size of Chinooks, as well as Merlin helicopters and Osprey tiltrotor
Tiltrotor
A tiltrotor is an aircraft which uses a pair or more of powered rotors mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles at the end of a fixed wing for lift and propulsion, and combines the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft...
aircraft. The well dock can carry one LCU Mark 10 or two LCVPs, and two Mexeflote
Mexeflote
The Mexeflote is a landing raft used by the British Royal Logistic Corps to move goods and vehicles between ship and shore. It was first used by British military in the 1960s, and remains in use at present...
s can be suspended from the ship's flanks. Two 30-ton cranes are fitted between the superstructure and the flight deck.
Cardigan Bay and sister ship were ordered from BAE on 19 November 2001. Cardigan Bay was laid down at BAE's shipyard at Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
, Scotland on 13 October 2003. Plans to launch the ship on 8 April 2005 were frustrated by high winds and unusually low tides; the naming ceremony was carried out that day, and the actual launching took place the next day, with more favourable tide conditions. Cardigan Bay was dedicated on 18 December 2006, the third of the class to enter service with the RFA.
Operational history
Cardigan Bay has been deployed as part of the Royal Navy Response Force Task Group, carrying elements of 40 Commando40 Commando
40 Commando RM is a battalion sized formation of the British Royal Marines and subordinate unit within 3 Commando Brigade, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet....
.
In June 2011, the vessel headed to Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
to aid with the potential evacuation of British citizens affected by the ongoing unrest in Yemen
2011 Yemeni uprising
The 2011 Yemen Uprising followed the initial stages of the Tunisian Revolution and occurred simultaneously with the Egyptian Revolution and other mass protests in the Middle East in early 2011. In its early phase, protests in Yemen were initially against unemployment, economic conditions and...
. The following month a landing craft from Cardigan Bay landed two BvS 10
BvS 10
The BvS 10 is an All Terrain Armoured Vehicle produced by BAE Systems Land Systems Hagglunds of Sweden. This vehicle, referred to as the All Terrain Vehicle - ATV or VIKING by the UK forces, was originally developed as a collaboration between industry - Hägglunds Vehicle AB - and the UK Ministry...
Viking armoured vehicles and Royal Marines of 539 Assault Squadron in Somaliland
Somaliland
Somaliland is an unrecognised self-declared sovereign state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to the British Somaliland protectorate, which was independent for a few days in 1960 as the State of...
. They penetrated several miles of "bandit country" to meet up with an important clan chief and take him back to Cardigan Bay for a meeting with MI6 and Foreign Office officials. This was part of Exercise Somaliland Cougar, an operation to train Somali coastguards in anti-piracy techniques and to establish relationships with tribal leaders.