RFA ''Bayleaf'' (A109) was a Leaf-class support 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 ...

Construction

''Bayleaf'' was one of four ships ordered from

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

in 1973, and laid down in 1975 as the ''Hudson Sound''. When the ordering company ran into financial difficulties, the ships were laid up, and later were offered for sale or charter. The ship was finally launched on 27 October 1981, and when completed on 25 March 1982 she was then

bareboat charter A bareboat charter or demise charter is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a ship or boat, whereby no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement; instead, the people who rent the vessel from the owner are responsible f ...

ed to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

(MoD) and renamed ''Bayleaf''.

Service history

She was almost immediately put into active service, and sailed to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...

en route for service in "Operation Corporate" – 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 ...

– in company with . She arrived in the

Total Exclusion Zone The Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ) was an area declared by the United Kingdom on 30 April 1982 covering a circle of radius from the centre of the Falkland Islands. During the Falklands War any ''sea vessel'' or ''aircraft'' from ''any country'' enter ...

on 9 June 1982, finally returning to Devonport on 31 August. In January 1991 she sailed from the UK to relieve during "

Operation Granby Operation Granby, commonly abbreviated Op Granby, was the code name given to the British military operations during the 1991 Gulf War. 53,462 members of the British Armed Forces were deployed during the conflict. The total cost of operations wa ...

" – the First Gulf War. On 1 March 1997 she collided with the Royal Yacht while carrying out a

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) off

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

. In 2001 ''Bayleaf'' was purchased outright by the MoD. USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) and RFA Bayleaf (A109)

From January 2003 to April 2003 she was deployed for "

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

" – the Second Gulf War. Following the reductions to the Royal Navy fleet outlined in the 2010 " Strategic Defence and Security Review" it was decided that ''Bayleaf'' would be paid off in April 2011. The RFA Ensign was scheduled to be lowered for the final time on 20 April 2011 at

HMNB Devonport His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roy ...

. Following this, the ex-RFA Bayleaf was towed out of Portsmouth on 2 August 2012 to Aliaga in Turkey where the ship was broken up.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayleaf Ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Leaf-class tankers Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom 1981 ships

Construction

Service history

See also

References