More ships involved in operations in Iraq have returned to warm welcomes in their home ports.

Helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, which sailed back into Devonport yesterday, played a key role in the assault on Southern Iraq, putting Royal Marines ashore and supporting them with helicopters and landing craft.

Fighting units deployed from the ship helped take the strategically important Al Faw peninsula, and Ocean’s aircraft were used for reconnaissance, offensive operations and transport as the British forces moved northwards to Iraq’s second city, Basra.

Ocean herself has a ship’s company of 350, but in addition she was home to 300 Royal Marines of 40 Commando, 400 aircrew, and helicopters from 845 and 847 Naval Air Squadrons – Gazelles, Lynx and Sea Kings.

The ship has been away from the UK for four months, and her Commanding Officer, Capt Chris Clayton, spoke of a mixture of emotions on returning – excitement at seeing families again, pride in a job well done, and sadness at the loss of colleagues in the conflict.

Also sailing into Plymouth Sound yesterday were Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships Argus and Fort Rosalie.

Argus, a 28,000-ton aviation training ship, was in the Gulf in her alternative guise as a primary casualty reception facility – essentially a 100-bed floating hospital, with a ten bed Intensive Care Unit and 20-bed High Dependency Unit, although her large flight deck was also an important element of the Amphibious Task Group (ATG).

The auxiliary initially carried five Sea Kings of 820 NAS, which carried out transport, casualty evacuation and search and rescue duties, although these tasks were later dispersed to other ships in the ATG.

On her return from the Middle East, Argus carried five RAF Puma helicopters and a Royal Navy Lynx.

After Argus left the UK on January 15 she was at sea for 92 days; the first chance the crew had to go ashore was on April 18. During her deployment Argus was stationed close to the Iraqi coast, minimising transport time from the front-line for casualties.

Argus treated a total of 67 casualties, the majority Iraqis, prisoners of war or displaced people, including four children.

Her regular crew of 80 civilians was augmented by personnel from the Royal Navy, RN Reserve, Royal Marines Band Service (in their role as stretcher-bearers and medical orderlies), QARNNS, Royal Army Medical Corps, RAF and US Air Force, making a complement of 400 – and for many of the medical staff it was their first experience of working at sea.

Also in company with Argus and Ocean was RFA Fort Rosalie, a 23,384-ton fleet replenishment ship which supplied fuel, stores and spares to navies of the Coalition while in the Gulf.

Meanwhile, two RFA landing ships are expected to arrive in Plymouth today to unload military vehicles and equipment from the Gulf.

Sir Bedivere and Sir Percivale are due to unload in city’s Millbay Docks during the course of the day; Sir Bedivere is also carrying the boats and 26 Royal Marines of 539 Assault Squadron, based at Turnchapel in Plymouth.

Sir Bedivere left Britain in mid-September to act as command and support ship for four RN mine countermeasures vessels which were taking part in exercises in the Gulf.

As event moved towards conflict, the exercises became operations, with Sir Bedivere acting as mother ship to the Coalition minesweeping force of eight RN and four American vessels, supplying fuel, ammunition, stores and engineering support.

When the waterways had been swept, the RFA moved to Kuwait, where she acted as a troop support ship for 300 desert-weary Royal Marines.

The landing ship has steamed more than 24,000 miles during her deployment.

Sir Percivale sailed in January as part of the augmented Naval Task Group 03 flotilla which eventually became the ATG, taking with her Royal Marines of A Company 40 Commando, 539 Assault Squadron and Commando Logistics.

Once offensive operations had moved northwards, Sir Percivale loaded up 240 pallets of humanitarian aid and made an eight-hour transit of the Khawr Abd Allah waterway, at action stations and accompanied by a minesweeper.

The aid was delivered to the port of Um Qasr on April 7 and Sir Percivale was only the second ship to have gone alongside at the port, following her sister ship RFA Sir Galahad.

Sir Percivale has steamed 18,500 miles since she left home, and 112 of her 134 days away have been spent at sea.

Type 42 destroyer HMS Edinburgh has also returned from Operation Telic – the MOD’s name for operations in Iraq.

Edinburgh was tasked with protection of helicopter carrier HMS Ocean during the operation – and it meant that the 250-strong ship’s company had the gruelling job of shadowing the big ship during the deployment, which amounted to 125 days continually at sea.

The destroyer returned to her home port of Portsmouth yesterday.