RFA Sir Galahad (1987)
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Career | |
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Ordered: | 6 September 1984 |
Laid down: | 12 May 1985 |
Launched: | 13 December 1986 |
Commissioned: | 25 November 1987 |
Decommissioned: | |
Fate: | Template:Active in service |
Struck: | |
General Characteristics | |
Displacement: | 8,751 tonnes |
Length: | 141 m |
Beam: | 19.5 m |
Draught: | 4.5 m |
Propulsion: | Two 6600 hp (4,900 kW) Mirrless diesels; one 400 hp (300 kW) bow thruster |
Speed: | 14 knots (26 km/h) cruising, 17 knots (31 km/h) max |
Range: | |
Complement: | 41 |
Armament: | Two Oerlikon 20 mm guns; two 7.62 mm machineguns |
Aircraft: | One pad aft for Westland Sea King or smaller; one pad amidships for CH-47 Chinook or smaller |
Motto: |
RFA Sir Galahad (L3005) is a landing ship logistical (LSL) of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service. She is a combined landing craft and ferry with two flight decks for helicopters and bow and stern doors. There is capacity for around 400 troops and 3,440 tonnes of supplies.
She was built by Swan Hunter and entered service in 1988. She was named and given the identical pennant number to the Sir Galahad sunk in the Falklands War.
The ship has seen service in two wars since it was built, both of them against Iraq. It was deployed in 1991 for Operation Granby and in 2003 for Operation Telic. Its role in both conflicts was transport of supplies. In Gulf War II, Sir Galahad transported humanitarian aid, docking in Umm Qasr on 28 March 2003 after being delayed while naval mines were cleared from the harbor.