The Rover class is a British

ship class A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, is a nuclear aircraft carrier (ship type) of the (ship class). In the course ...

of Small Fleet

Tankers Tanker may refer to: Transportation * Tanker, a tank crewman (US) * Tanker (ship), a ship designed to carry bulk liquids ** Chemical tanker, a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk ** Oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanke ...

, active from 1970 to 2017 with 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 ...

. Two remain in service, one having been sold to Portugal and one to Indonesia; the rest have been scrapped or are awaiting disposal. They are tasked with the

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 ...

of naval warships with

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 and with limited supplies of other naval stores. For RAS tasking, they can refuel a vessel on either beam and a third trailing astern and have a large

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...

to allow

vertical replenishment Vertical replenishment, or VERTREP, is a method of supply of seaborne vessels by helicopter. The United States Department of Defense defines VERTREP as: ...the transfer of cargo between ships using helicopters. VERTREP is often used to supplement ...

with

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

History

Tenders for what became five ships were invited in 1967. Problems with the original propulsion led to the first three of the class being re-engined in 1974. The final two had minor changes including improved accommodation and different stern anchor arrangements. ''Blue Rover'' suffered a fire during construction in 1970 which killed two shipyard workers. Costs ranged from £3m for ''Green Rover'' to £7.7m for ''Gold Rover'', last of the class.Five Small Ships ''

Ships Monthly Kelsey Media is a magazine publisher and trade fair company based in Yalding, England. Founded in 1989, it has bought and sold many publications over the years, including former Bauer Media Group magazines ''Sea Angler'', ''Car Mechanics'' and '' ...

'' March 2020 pages 58-62

Ships

Gallery

File:RFA Gold Rover (A271) P sound.jpg, RFA ''Gold Rover'' (A271) leaving

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...

in March 2010 File:NRP Berrio 20071106.jpg, NRP ''Bérrio'', 2007 (ex RFA Blue Rover)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * ''Warships of the Royal Navy'', Captain John E. Moore RN, Jane's Publishing, 1979, * ''Britain's Modern Royal Navy'', Paul Beaver, Patrick Stephens Limited, 1996, Auxiliary replenishment ship classes {{UK-aux-ship-stub