 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | RFABayleaf |
| Builder | Cammell Laird,Birkenhead |
| Yard number | 1366 |
| Laid down | 1 February 1975 |
| Launched | 27 October 1981 |
| Completed | 25 March 1982 |
| Decommissioned | 21 April 2011 |
| In service | 26 March 1982 |
| Out of service | 28 April 2011 |
| Identification |
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| Honours & awards | |
| Fate | Scrapped 2012 |
| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Leaf-class support tanker |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 37,390 t (36,799long tons) |
| Length | 170.7 m (560 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 25.9 m (85 ft 0 in) |
| Height | 43.85 m (143 ft 10 in) |
| Draught | 11 m (36 ft 1 in) |
| Depth | 15.7 m (51 ft 6 in) |
| Installed power | 14,000 hp (10,440 kW) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 15knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 56 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | None |
| Service record | |
| Operations: | |
RFABayleaf (A109) was aLeaf-class support tanker of theRoyal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the navalauxiliary fleet of theUnited Kingdom, which served with the fleet for 30 years, tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies toRoyal Navy vessels around the world.
She was involved in theFalklands War in 1982, theGulf War in 1991, and from January 2003 to April 2003 she was deployed forOperation Telic (Op TELIC), the codename for the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq.Bayleaf had three Leaf-class sistersOakleaf,Brambleleaf andOrangeleaf and all four were originally designed as commercialtankers and underwent major conversions to bring them up to RFA standards and equip them for naval support.
She was the third Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel to bearthe name.
Bayleaf was one of four ships ordered fromCammell Laird atBirkenhead in 1973, and laid down in 1975 as theHudson Sound. When the ordering company ran into financial difficulties, the ships were laid up, and later were offered for sale or charter. The ship was finally launched on 27 October 1981, the Lady Sponsor was Mrs Angela Pritchard, the wife of Mr K Pritchard, Director General of the Naval Stores and Transport,Ministry of Defence (MoD). In January 1982 Captain A.E. Hunter, RFA, was appointed as Master and between 20 and 23 March she ran trials and when completed on 25 March she was thenbareboat chartered to the MoD and renamedBayleaf.[1]
She was almost immediately put into active service, and sailed toGibraltar andAscension Island en route for service in "Operation Corporate" – theFalklands War – in company with the Royal Navy's amphibious warfare shipIntrepid. She arrived at theTotal Exclusion Zone on 9 June 1982, finally returning to HMMB Devonport on 31 August.[1]
On 30 September 1982Bayleaf sailed fromHMNB Devonport in support of the Dartmouth Training Squadron'sMediterranean deployment. She arrived atGibraltar on 4 October and then throughout the months of October and November she called at theItalian city ofNaples, followed byBrindisi in Southern Italy, then ontoSalonika inGreece, next toIstanbul in Turkey and then the city and seaport ofTrieste in Italy, before returning to the United Kingdom, arriving atPlymouth on 24 November.[2]
_underway_in_1983.JPEG)
In December 1982 she sailed from Plymouth toLiverpool and entered refit, exiting in March 1983, then sailed back to Plymouth to re equip.Bayleaf spent two weeks in April undergoingBasic Operational Sea Training (BOST) atPortland and then spent May in the Mediterranean taking part in Exercise “Distant Drum”. Between June and August,Bayleaf sailed fromHMNB Portsmouth toSingapore and back, viaPort Said andBahrain. By the end of 1983 she was back in Gibraltar.[2]
In January 1991 she sailed from the United Kingdom to relieve sister Leaf-class support tankerOrangeleaf, during "Operation Granby" – the First Gulf War.[1]
On 1 March 1997 she collided with the Royal YachtHMY Britannia while carrying out areplenishment at sea (RAS) offKarachi.[1]
In 2001Bayleaf was purchased outright by theMinistry of Defence (MoD).[1]
On 28 June 2001 she deployed to relieve sister Leaf-class support tankerOrangeleaf and was then permanently based in theGulf. During June and August she performedreplenishment at sea (RAS) with various RN,HMCS,USN and other Allied ships, returning to either anchor offDubai or berthing atPort Rashid.[2] In September she took part in Exercise Argonaut 2001, which includedExercise Saif Sareea, together with theInvincible-class aircraft carrierIllustrious, fourteen other Royal Navy warships and the RFA'sreplenishment shipsFort Victoria,Fort Rosalie andFort Austin, theRound Table class landing ship logisticsSir Tristram,Sir Bedivere,Sir Percivale andSir Galahad (II), sister Leaf classOakleaf and the forward repair shipDiligence.[3]
On 5 September 2002 she provided humanitarian aid, rescuing five crew from theGuinean cargo ship MVFalcon which sank in theIndian Ocean, and landed them at Dubai.[4]
From January to April 2003 she was deployed onOperation Telic – the Second Gulf War.[1]
_and_RFA_Bayleaf_(A109).jpg)
On 2 June she began refit atSingapore and on 23 June Captain Alistair Swatridge, RFA, was appointed asCommanding Officer. Over 11, 12 and 17 August,Bayleaf underwent post-refitsea trials, and between 8 and 10 September she underwentFleet Operational Standards and Training (FOST) in theSouth China Sea. Between October 2003 and April 2006 she deployed from and berthed at Dubai, Port Rashid andJebel Ali, taking part in Exercise Khunjar Hadd between 5 and 9 June 2004 and conducting replenishment at sea (RAS) with many RN, RFA,RNZN, RAN, USN and other Allied naval vessels including with the amphibious assault shipUSS Nassau (LHA-4) and the dock landing shipUSS Carter Hall (LSD-50) on 19 February 2006, in thePersian Gulf. She arrived atSembawang, Singapore, on 8 May 2006 for a refit and on 28 August Captain (X) Kim Watts, RFA, was appointed as commanding officer. Just over a fortnight later, on 14 September, she sailed out of Kepple Yard, Singapore for sea trials and then onto Sembawang, arriving 15 September 2006.[2]
On 1 November 2008 she sailed from HMNB Devonport and enteredCammell Laird, Merseyside, three days later, for a £9.1 m refit.[5] On 7 April 2009, Captain Charles F. Simmons, RFA, was appointed as commanding officer and on 5 June she sailed from Birkenhead, on completion of the refit, to HMNB Devonport. Later in JuneBayleaf sailed toLoch Striven, a sea loch inArgyll and Bute, Scotland, to undertake various trials there. On 17 July, Captain (X) Nigel Budd, RFA, was appointed as commanding officer.[2]
In autumn 2009Bayleaf underwent FOST at Portland and upon completion sailed toSoudha Bay, Crete, before transiting theSuez Canal arriving at Bahrain on 18 November.
In January 2010 she deployed as the Gulf Tanker, Captain S.P. Donkersly, RFA, was appointed as the new commanding officer on 21 April 2010 and during May, June and July she RAS’ed with many RN,RAN, USN and various other Allied naval vessels.[2]
Following the reductions to the Royal Navy fleet outlined in the 2010 "Strategic Defence and Security Review", published in October 2010, it was decided thatBayleaf would be paid off in April 2011.[6]
On 20 October 2010, Captain Charles F. Simmons, RFA, was appointed as commanding officer andBayleaf continued with various duties until 13 February 2011 when she sailed from Dubai eventually arriving at HMNB Portsmouth on 15 April 2011.[1]
TheRoyal Fleet Auxiliary Ensign was lowered for the final time on 20 April 2011 forBayleaf, she was removed from theRFA Flotilla and a ceremony was held to commemorate all she and her crew have achieved since 1982.[7]
LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd, aTurkish company, were awarded preferred bidder status for the disposal of the vessel in 2012. Following this, the ex-RFABayleaf was towed out of Portsmouth on 2 August 2012. She arrived inAliağa, Turkey, on 22 August where the ship wasbroken up. On 10 December it was reported she had been dismantled and recycled, taking four months to complete.[8]
On 12 April 1985 RFABayleaf was awarded herFalkland Islands 1982Battle honour by Mrs Angela Pritchard, wife of Director General Stores and Transport (Navy) (DGST (N)).[9][10]
 Royal Navy | |
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 Royal Australian Navy |
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