RFA ''Olmeda'' (A124) was an ''Ol-class'' "fast fleet tanker" of the

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 ...

. The ship was renamed from ''Oleander'' after two years in operation. In the last action of the

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 ...

, ''Olmeda'' helped recapture the South Sandwich Islands.

Background

The second of her class, ''Olmeda'' came into service in late 1965 as ''Oleander''. As with its sister ships, ''Olmeda's'' early service was routine. However, in 1967, the ship had to be renamed from ''Oleander'' to ''Olmeda'' to avoid confusion with .

Operational history

1973

In the

Second Cod War The Cod Wars ( is, Þorskastríðin; also known as , ; german: Kabeljaukriege) were a series of 20th-century confrontations between the United Kingdom (with aid from West Germany) and Iceland about fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Each o ...

, ''Olmeda'' supported Royal Navy ships twice.

Falklands War

''Olmeda'' saw extensive service during the

, being one of the first ships to head south. ''Olmeda'' refuelled numerous ships of the Task Force including HMS ''Hermes'', HMS ''Invincible'', and the SS ''Uganda''. After the Argentine surrender of the Falkland Islands, ''Olmeda'', , and the tug ''Salvageman'' sailed to the South Sandwich Islands where Argentina had established a base in South Thule since 1976. Following a demonstration of ''Yarmouth''s guns, the ten Argentine military personnel surrendered. Before leaving South Thule, ''Yarmouth'' was refueled by ''Olmeda'' on 21 June, which may have been the most southerly

underway replenishment 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 ...

in the history of the Royal Navy.

Decommissioning

In 1993, the ship was decommissioned and sold for scrap. Breaking up commenced at Alang on 23 December 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olmeda (A124) 1964 ships Ol-class tankers (1965) Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom Falklands War in South Georgia Ships built on the River Tyne