RFA Sir Percivale (L3036)

History
RFA Sir Percivale (L3036)

Namesake:	Percivale
Laid down:	May 1966
Launched:	4 October 1967
Commissioned:	23 March 1968
Decommissioned:	17 August 2004
Fate:	Sold for scrapping
Status:	Scrapped (2010)
General characteristics
Class and type:	Round Table class landing ship logistics
Displacement:	5,674 t (5,584 long tons)
Length:	125.5 m (411 ft 9 in)
Beam:	18.2 m (59 ft 9 in)
Draught:	3.9 m (12 ft 10 in)
Propulsion:	2 × 10-cylinder four-stroke turbo-charged Mirrlees National ALSSDM10 diesel engines, 9,400 hp (7,000 kW) 400 hp (300 kW) Bow thruster
Speed:	16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h)
Range:	8,000 nmi (15,000 km) at 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Complement:	51
Armament:	4 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon 4 × 7.62 mm machine guns
Aircraft carried:	One spot for Westland Sea King or Westland Lynx aft, one spot for CH-47 Chinook, Sea King or Lynx on main vehicle deck

RFA Sir Percivale (L3036) was a Round Table class landing ship logistics. She originally entered British Army service in 1968, managed for the Ministry of Transport by British India Steam Navigation Company, but was taken over by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary along with the other members of the class in 1970. The first twelve years of the ship's life were quiet, with some time spent in the Pacific, until the Falklands War broke out in April 1982. Along with all the Navy's other amphibious assault shipping, Sir Percivale went south to participate in the recapture of the Falkland Islands. She pioneered the supply runs to Teal Inlet and was the first British ship to re-enter Stanley Harbour. Unlike the Sir Galahad, Sir Tristram and Sir Lancelot, the ship emerged unscathed from the conflict.

The ship also served in the Gulf War in 1991 and twice deployed to the Adriatic to support British operations in the Balkans. In 1996 Sir Percivale took part in combined exercises with Jordan, followed by Green Wader 96, the first exercise of the then newly formed Amphibious Squadron of the Joint Rapid Deployment Force. In 1997, the ship took part in the large Ocean Wave 97 deployment to the far east and was present for the handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese. Following this ceremony, Sir Percivale escorted the ships of the former Hong Kong Squadron (3 Peacock class patrol vessel) to their new owners in the Philippines. During other parts of Ocean Wave, the ship took Royal Marines to Brunei, Singapore and Thailand for various exercises. 1998 saw further exercises as Sir Percivale took part in practice amphibious assaults in Norway, France and Spain.

In 2000, Sir Percivale was deployed to Sierra Leone to support British forces training the army of that country. In September 2000, the ship was alongside in Freetown when British forces who had been taken hostage were rescued in a raid by the Parachute Regiment and the SAS ("Operation Barras"). Since then the ship has been deployed during operations connected with Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.

The ship was to have a SLEP overhaul, but an equivalent overhaul of Sir Bedivere proved so costly that plans were abandoned and new ships were procured instead.

Sir Percivale was decommissioned on 17 August 2004 and was laid up alongside at Marchwood Military Port, Southampton. Sir Percivale remained at the Sea Mounting Centre (SMC) until 0058hrs, 13 December 2009 when she was towed to Liverpool for scrapping.^[1]

References

↑ Daily Mail (31 August 2010) 2010: End of an era: Twenty-eight years after being the first ship to claim British victory in Falklands RFA Sir Percivale is dismantled

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to RFA Sir Percivale (L3036).

Round Table-class landing ships logistics

Original design

Royal Fleet Auxiliary	Sir Bedivere Sir Galahad (1966) Sir Geraint Sir Lancelot Sir Percivale Sir Tristram

Republic of Singapore Navy	Perseverance (ex-Sir Lancelot)

Modified design

Royal Fleet Auxiliary	Sir Galahad (1987)

Royal Australian Navy	Tobruk

Brazilian Navy	Almirante Sabóia (ex-Sir Bedivere) Garcia D'Avila (ex-Sir Galahad (1987))

Preceded by: Mark 8 Landing Craft Tank
Followed by: Bay class

List of amphibious warfare ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary
List of amphibious warfare ships of the Royal Australian Navy

British Naval Forces of the Falklands War

Royal Navy	Active Alacrity Ambuscade Andromeda Antelope ^S Antrim Ardent ^S Argonaut Arrow Avenger Brilliant Bristol Broadsword Cardiff Conqueror Cordella Courageous Coventry ^S Dumbarton Castle Endurance Exeter Famella Fearless Glamorgan Glasgow Hecla Herald Hermes Hydra Intrepid Invincible Junella Leeds Castle Minerva Northella Onyx Penelope Pict Plymouth Sheffield ^S Spartan Splendid Valiant Yarmouth

Royal Fleet Auxiliary	Appleleaf Brambleleaf Bayleaf Blue Rover Engadine Fort Austin Fort Grange Plumleaf Pearleaf Olna Olmeda Regent Resource Sir Bedivere Sir Galahad ^S Sir Geraint Sir Lancelot Sir Percivale Sir Tristram Stromness Tidespring Tidepool

Ships Taken Up From Trade	Alvega Anco Charger Astronomer Atlantic Conveyor ^S Atlantic Causeway Avelona Star Balder London Baltic Ferry British Avon British Dart British Enterprise III British Esk British Tamar British Test British Trent British Wye Canberra Contender Bezant Eburna Elk Europic Ferry Fort Toronto G.A.Walker Geesport Iris Irishman Laertes Lycaon Nordic Ferry Norland Queen Elizabeth 2 Rangatira Salvageman Saxonia Scottish Eagle St Edmund St Helena Stena Inspector Stena Seaspread Strathewe Tor Caledonia Uganda Wimpey Seahorse Yorkshireman

Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service	Goosander Typhoon

^S - Sunk

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