^ RFA Olwen (A122) in the 1980's.
Introduction
The Ol-class tankers were Royal Fleet Auxiliary "fast fleet tankers" tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy vessels around the world. The three ships in the class, RFA Olmeda, RFA Olna and RFA Olwen were an evolution of the earlier Tide-class replenishment oilers. The ships were replaced by the Wave class. One modified Ol-class vessel, Kharg, was built for the former Imperial Iranian Navy in 1977. The vessel was delivered to the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy in 1984.
The lead ship of the class was RFA Olwen, although she was launched as RFA Olynthus, before being renamed in 1967 to avoid confusion with HMS Olympus. Similarly, RFA Olmeda originally entered service as RFA Oleander, but was later renamed to avoid confusion with HMS Leander.
The three ships of the Royal Navy Ol class saw service in a wide range of locations, including during the Falklands War, which saw Olmeda take part in the recapture of Thule Island, and in the Persian Gulf during the 1990/91 Gulf War.
RFA Olwen (A122)
RFA Olwen was an Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The lead ship of her class, and launched in 1964 as RFA Olynthus, the second ship to bear this name, she was renamed Olwen in 1967 to avoid confusion with HMS Olympus. She was decommissioned in 1999 and laid up at Portsmouth, before being broken up at Alang, India in 2001.
RFA Olmeda (A124)
RFA Olmeda was an Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The second of her class, Olmeda came into service in late 1965 as Oleander. As with its sister ships, Olmeda's early service was routine. However, the ship had to be renamed from Oleander to Olmeda to avoid confusion with HMS Leander. Olmeda saw extensive service during the Falklands War, being one of the first ships to head south. The ship took part in the recapture of Thule Island. Unlike the other two members of the class, Olmeda did not serve in the Persian Gulf during the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, but accompanied HMS Ark Royal in the Eastern Mediterranean, acting as station tanker, refuelling Ark Royal and her task group, and supporting other ships on their way to and from Operation Granby. Olmeda's service came to an end a great deal earlier than Olwen and Olna. In 1993, the ship was decommissioned, and was sold for scrapping to an Indian company.
RFA Olna (A123)
RFA Olna was the third and final of the three Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Her design was a development of the Tide-class ships of the late 1950s. She was commissioned in 1966 and served in the RFA for 34 years before final decommissioning in 2000. Olna was the third ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary to bear the name. Olna entered service as the UK was pulling back from its final large imperial garrisons. Much of the ship's early life was spent supporting routine deployments around the world. In 1982 Olna left for the South Atlantic as part of the second wave of ships to leave the UK during the Falklands War. That group was centred on the destroyer HMS Bristol. Once Olna reached theatre, its time was primarily spent fuelling the carrier battle group. In 1990, another wartime deployment beckoned. As forces built up in the Persian Gulf, Olna joined the British task force on station. Olna arrived in August 1990, shortly after Iraq invaded Kuwait, and apart from a short maintenance period in Singapore was on station for the whole duration of the conflict. Olna operated further north than any other tanker as the US Navy was wary of mines after two ships had been severely damaged. At the end of the 1990s, retirement was in sight. 1999 and 2000 were spent in mothballs at Gibraltar until the outbreak of a crisis in Sierra Leone called for Olna to make one last deployment. The ship did not proceed to Sierra Leone, but instead relieved other RFA vessels of participation in a major exercise off Scotland. Following this exercise, the ship returned to reserve and decommissioned soon thereafter. In March 2001 Olna was sold to a Turkish shipbreaking firm, but owing to the high quantity of asbestos aboard she was diverted to Greece before finally going to Indian breakers.
Ships Of Class
1. RFA Olwen (A122) Commissioned 21st June 1965. Decommissioned 1999. Fate: Scrapped in India 2001.
2. RFA Olmeda (A124) Commissioned 18 October 1965. Decommissioned January 1994. Fate: Scrapped in India 1994.
3. RFA Olna (A122) Commissioned 1st April 1966. Decommissioned 24 September 2000. Fate: Scrapped in India 2001.
Specifications
Class and type: Tanker
Displacement: 33,240 long tons (33,773 t) full load
Length: 648 ft (198 m)
Beam: 84 ft 2 in (25.65 m)
Draught: 34 ft (10 m)
Propulsion: 2 × PAMETRADA steam turbines, double reduction geared
Speed: 21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Range: 10,000 nmi (19,000 km) at 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h)
Complement: 88 RFA, 40 RN
Armament:2 × 20 mm guns, 2 × Chaff launchers
Aircraft carried: 3 × Westland Wessex or Westland Sea King helicopters
