RFA ''Sir Geraint'' (L3027) was a Landing Ship Logistic of the Round Table class. She 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 ...

and

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 , Sierr ...

Background

The ship was originally built for army service, and was taken over by 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. Round Table class ships were exclusively manned by Hong Kong Chinese sailors from their introduction in 1963 until 1989, when ''Sir Lancelot'' was the last RFA to be crewed in this way. Like all of her class, ''Sir Geraint'' was named after a

Knight of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...

. She was commissioned in 1967 and saw extensive service in many of Britain's naval operations since. Her home port was

Marchwood Marchwood is a village and civil parish located in Hampshire, England, United Kingdom. It lies between Totton and Hythe on the western shore of Southampton Water and directly east of the New Forest. The population of the village in the 20 ...

Operational history

Falklands War

''Sir Geraint'' first saw combat in the

of 1982, when along with all of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

's other amphibious ships, she was sent to recapture the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

from an Argentine occupation force. At the start of the war, the ship was at Devonport and after the embarkation of 450 Royal Marines and 3 Gazelle helicopters, she left for

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 of ...

. The ship anchored in

San Carlos Water San Carlos Water is a bay/fjord on the west coast of East Falkland, facing onto the Falkland Sound. Name Despite its Spanish-sounding name, there is a wide discrepancy with the Spanish usage, for in Spanish "Estrecho de San Carlos" refers ...

, Fitzroy Sound and Teal Inlet, discharging fuel and cargo.

1978-2003

Operation Palliser The United Kingdom began a military intervention in Sierra Leone on 7 May 2000 under the codename Operation Palliser. Although small numbers of British personnel had been deployed previously, Palliser was the first large-scale intervention by B ...

, the ship was sent to

in 2000 when the U.K. intervened there. 11 September 1978 the Sir Geraint sailed from Alexandra dock, Liverpool en route to Belfast, carrying 13 platoon, Somme company, 1st Battalion Kings Own Royal Border Regiment; a detachment from the RAF and another detachment (unit not disclosed).

Decommissioning

''Sir Geraint'' was listed for disposal in May 2003 and was reported broken up in India in December 2005.

References

*Raymond Blackman, ''Ships of the Royal Navy'' (Macdonald and Jane's, London, 1973) Round Table-class landing ships logistics, Geraint (L3027) Ships built on the River Clyde 1967 ships Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom {{UK-aux-ship-stub