TV ''Sir Tristram'' (L3505) formerly (RFA ''Sir Tristam''), is a
Round Table class logistics landing ship that was converted to Special Forces Training Vessel in 2008. She was launched in 1966, and accepted into
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
service in 1967. As with others of her class, she was transferred to 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 ...
in 1970, and was crewed by British officers and
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
Chinese sailors. The ship saw service in 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 ...
of 1982, and was badly damaged at
Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to:
People As a given name
*Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name:
**FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855)
** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
on 8 June.
Early service
From completion to early 1970 ''Sir Tristam'' was managed by
British India Steam Navigation Company
British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company.
History
The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading partn ...
In January 1972 ''Sir Tristram'' was part of an anti-invasion task force off
British Honduras
British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973, , together with , and . In 1977 ''Sir Tristram'' was used as a guest ship for the
Queens Silver Jubilee Fleet Review
A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...
at Spithead in the
Solent
The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...
.
Falklands War
In April 1982 ''Sir Tristram'' was diverted from
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
to the Falkland Islands to take part in Operation Corporate, the British effort to retake the Falkland Islands.
On 8 June, while transporting men and equipment to Fitzroy Cove alongside the , ''Sir Tristram'' was attacked by
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed a ...
s of the
Argentine Air Force
"Argentine Wings"
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War)
, equipment = 139 aircraft
, equipment_label =
, battles =
* Operation Independence
* Operation Soberanía
* Falklan ...
's V ''Brigada Aérea'' (''FAA''), each loaded with three
Mark 82 bomb
The Mark 82 (Mk 82) is an unguided, low- drag general-purpose bomb, part of the United States Mark 80 series. The explosive filling is usually tritonal, though other compositions have sometimes been used.
Development and deployment
W ...
s. At approximately 14:00 local time the decks were strafed and two crew were killed. A 500 lb bomb penetrated the deck, but failed to explode immediately, allowing the remaining crew to be evacuated. Following the later explosion, ''Sir Tristram'' was abandoned. Immediately following the end of the conflict, ''Sir Tristram'' was towed to
Port Stanley
Stanley (; also known as Port Stanley) is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census, the city had a populat ...
, where she was used as an
accommodation ship
A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...
.
''Sir Tristram'' then returned to the United Kingdom in 1983 on a heavy lift ship and was extensively rebuilt.
Rebuilt
![RFA Sir Tristram (L3505) (28685493662)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/RFA_Sir_Tristram_%28L3505%29_%2828685493662%29.jpg)
Following the rebuild, ''Sir Tristram'' re-entered active service in 1985, and saw service in the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
, and the
Balkan conflicts of the 1990s. The ship supported relief operations for
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch is the second-deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record, causing over 11,000 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately 7,000 in Honduras and 3,800 in Nicaragua due to cataclysmic flooding from the slow motion ...
off Central America. In 2000 the ship was deployed to
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
in support of British operations there, followed by a cruise to the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
in support of
mine countermeasure vessel
A mine countermeasures vessel or MCMV is a type of naval ship designed for the location of and destruction of naval mines which combines the role of a Minesweeper (ship), minesweeper and minehunter in one hull. The term MCMV is also applied collec ...
s. In early 2001 ''Sir Tristram'' returned to Sierra Leone to take over from as the ship supporting British forces ashore there. In 2003 the ship was deployed as part of the largest British fleet for 20 years in support of the
invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Ba'athist Iraq, Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one mont ...
.
The ship was decommissioned on 17 December 2005 but continues to be used for training purposes by the
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roya ...
and other elements of the
UK Special Forces
The United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) is a directorate comprising the Special Air Service, the Special Boat Service, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, the Special Forces Support Group, 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment and the Joint Special Force ...
group. She is now based at
Portland Harbour
Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest man-made harbour in the world, and rema ...
.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sir Tristram (L3505)
Round Table-class landing ships logistics
1966 ships
Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom
Maritime incidents in 1982
Ships built on the River Tyne