RFA Reliant (A131)
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| Career | 
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|---|---|
| Taken up the trade: | Early 1982 |
| Commissioned: | Late 1983. |
| Decommissioned: | 25 May 1986 |
| Fate: | Sold back into merchant service |
| Struck: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 27,867 tons |
| Length: | 204 m |
| Beam: | 7.9 m |
| Draught: | 31 m |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 28 knots |
| Range: | |
| Complement: | 61 RFA 150 RN |
| Armament: | Four 20 mm guns |
| Aircraft: | Up to five Sea Kings |
| Motto: | |
RFA Reliant (A131) was a helicopter support ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Reliant was built in 1977 at the Polish yard of Stocznia Gdanska. It was taken up from the trade in 1982 for service in the Falklands War. The ship was fitted with the Arapaho containerised aircraft handling system, a hanger and a flight deck. After the war, Reliant commissioned into the RFA. However, it did not last long as the Arapaho system proved to be completely unsatisfactory for handling aircraft. Reliant was decommissioned in 1986 and sold back into conventional merchant service.