The Leaf class is a
class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
of
support tanker of the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...
(RFA). The class is somewhat unusual as it is an amalgam of various civilian tankers chartered for naval auxiliary use and as such has included many different designs of ship. Leaf names are traditional tanker names in the RFA, and are recycled when charters end and new vessels are acquired. Thus, there have been multiple uses of the same names, sometimes also sharing a common
pennant number
In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...
.
The role of support tanker generally involves the
bulk transport
Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities.
Description
Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate form, as a mass of relatively small solids, such as petroleum/ crude oi ...
of
fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
s between distribution centres, the replenishment of front-line fleet tankers such as the and classes and using their
replenishment at sea
Replenishment at sea (RAS) (North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Commonwealth of Nations) or underway replenishment (UNREP) (U.S. Navy) is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way. First develope ...
(RAS) abilities to allow them to directly support naval
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...
s. For RAS, Leaf-class ships have an amidships derrick allowing a single vessel on either beam and a single point for a vessel astern.
Ships
RFA ''Appleleaf''
* (1979–1989) (ex-''Hudson Cavalier'') – A79 – 40,200 tons, to
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
as
* (1960–1970) – A83 – 22,980 tons
RFA ''Bayleaf''
* (1982–2011) (ex-''Hudson Progress'') – A109 – 37,700 tons, chartered originally for
Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
* (1959–1973) – A79 – 17,960 tons
RFA ''Brambleleaf''
* (1979–2009) (ex-''Hudson Deep'') – A81 – 40,200 tons
* (1959–1972) – A81 – 17,960 tons
RFA ''Cherryleaf''
* (1973–1980) – A82 – 18,560 tons
* (1960–1966) – A82
RFA ''Oakleaf''
* (1986–2009) (ex-''Oktania'') – A111 – 50,000 tons
RFA ''Orangeleaf''
* (1984–2015) (ex-''Balder London'') – A110 – 33,750 tons
* (1959–1978) – A80 – 17,470 tons
RFA ''Pearleaf''
* (1960–1985) – A77 – 25,790 tons
RFA ''Plumleaf''
* (1960–1985) – A78 – 26,480 tons
References
*
*
{{Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships
Auxiliary replenishment ship classes