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RFA Olna (A123) underway in 1991.
RFA Olna underway in 1991
History
RFA EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameRFA Olna
BuilderHawthorn Leslie and Company
Yard number756
Laid down2 July 1964
Launched28 July 1965 by Barbara Redman
Commissioned1 April 1966
Decommissioned24 September 2000
IdentificationIMO number6519467
Honours and
awards
Falkland Islands 1982. Kuwait 1991.
Fate
  • Renamed Kos in May 2001.
  • Arrived Alang for demolition 20 June 2001.
General characteristics
Class and typeOl class tanker
Displacement36,027 long tons (36,605 t) full load
Length648 ft (198 m)
Beam84 ft 2 in (25.65 m)
Draught34 ft (10 m)
Propulsion
  • Pametrada steam turbines 26,500 hp (19,761 kW), double reduction gearbox to single screw
  • Babcock & Wilcox selectable superheat boilers
  • Bow thrust propeller
  • 3825 tons FFO, consumption 160 TPD at max power
Speed21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Range10,000 nmi (19,000 km) at 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h)
Complement
  • 88 RFA
  • 40 RN
Armament
  • 2× 20 mm guns
  • Chaff launchers
Aircraft carriedWestland Wessex or Westland Sea King helicopters

RFA Olna (A123) was the third and final of the three Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Olna saw service in the Falklands War.

Background

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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. Olna was the third ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary to bear the name.

Operational history

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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.

1967-1968

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In Operation Magister, Olna was part of the fleet covering the final British military withdrawal from Aden, along with nine other RFAs.[1]

Falklands War

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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, her time was primarily spent fuelling the carrier battle group.[1]

Olna replenishing frigates as part of the Bristol Group en route to the Falklands War in 1982

1983-2000

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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.

Decommissioning

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In February 2001 Olna was sold to Eckhardt Organisation, for scrap and on 9 March she was towed out from Portsmouth. However, in May it was revealed she had been banned from Turkish yards owing to the high quantity of asbestos aboard and was diverted to Greece. She was renamed Kos and sailed via the Suez Canal, arriving at Alang Ship Breaking Yard on 20 June 2001.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "RFA Olna(3)". Historical RFA. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  2. ^ "RFA Olna - Historical RFA". historicalrfa.uk. 26 October 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
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