RFA Engadine (K08)
.JPG) Engadine, somewhere between 1969 and 1973, Falmouth, on the south coast of England (Falmouth Submarine pier in foreground). | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name: | RFA Engadine |
| Ordered: | 18 August 1964 |
| Builder: | Henry Robb Ltd, Leith |
| Laid down: | 9 August 1965 |
| Launched: | 16 September 1966 |
| Commissioned: | 15 December 1967 |
| Decommissioned: | March 1989. Laid up at Devonport. |
| Fate: | Arrived Piraeus on 18 February 1990 after sale to Greek owners reportedly for a new service which never materialised and the ship was laid up, name unchanged. Arrived Alang for demolition on 7 May 1996 |
| Badge: | Two crossed alphorns surrounded by 12 edelweiss flowers on a dark blue background. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Helicopter Support Ship |
| Displacement: | 8,950 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 129.31 meters (424.25 feet) |
| Beam: | 17.86 meters (58.6 feet) |
| Draught: | 7 meters (22.5 feet) |
| Installed power: | 5,500 bhp |
| Propulsion: | 1 × 5 cylinder Sulzer diesel. One shaft. |
| Speed: | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Complement: | 63 RFA + 32 RN + 131 under training |
| Aircraft carried: | 4 × Westland Wessex Or 2 × Westland Sea King and 2 × Westland Wasp helicopters |
RFA Engadine (K08) was a helicopter support ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.[1][2][3] The need for Engadine was seen in the mid-1960s as more and more helicopters were deployed from Royal Navy aircraft carriers and surface combatants. The ship was ordered in August 1964, from Henry Robb of Leith, and commissioned in December 1967, replacing HMS Lofoten. She was named after the Engadin valley in south-east Switzerland, which is represented by the alphorns and edelweiss on her badge.
Engadine's homeport throughout her career was Portland, Dorset. The most notable events in those 25 years were the 1976 crisis in Lebanon, where she was deployed as part of contingency planning to evacuate British citizens, the Silver Jubilee fleet review in 1977 when she followed HMY Britannia and the Falklands War in which she was a helicopter support and refuelling ship in San Carlos Water. By the mid-1980s Engadine was becoming obsolescent so the container ship MV Contender Bezant was bought for conversion, becoming RFA Argus. Engadine was decommissioned in 1989 and sold to new owners in Greece who intended to use her in civilian merchant service. This came to nothing, and so she was broken up in Alang, Gujarat, India in 1996.
References
- ↑ Marriott,Leo, 'Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers 1945-1990', pages 113-115, ISBN 0-7110-1561-9, Published by Ian Allan Ltd (Surrey, UK), 1985
- ↑ Adams,T.A., Smith,J.R., 'The Royal Fleet Auxiliary - A Century of Service', page 118, ISBN 1-86176-259-3, Jointly Published by Chatham Publishing (London, UK) & Stackpole Books (PA, USA) in association with the RFA Association, 2005
- ↑ James,Tony, 'The Royal Fleet Auxiliary 1905-85', page 127, ISBN 0-907771-21-1, Published by Maritime Books (Cornwall, UK), 1985
External links
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