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Versatility is RFA's Strength
For a ship that was once bombed and abandoned, RFA Sir
Tristram has proved a very useful asset.
Sir Tristram is one of five landing ships logistic (LSLs)
in the RFA, supporting amphibious operations by landing troops,
tanks, vehicles and other heavy equipment in port or on any
suitable shore.
To allow this, she has doors in the bow and stern, allowing
rapid loading and unloading, and her shallow draught allows
her to run on to a beach to unload in areas where there is
no secure port.
As such, she is part ro-ro ferry and part landing craft.
She can operate large helicopters from her flight deck aft
and the vehicle deck amidships, and such versatility makes
her a valuable addition to operations by UK, NATO and United
Nations forces.
Sir Tristram can also act as a command and support ship for
RN mine countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) when they deploy overseas,
her role as mother-ship including full engineering support.
Sir Tristram's superstructure was badly damaged when the ship
was bombed at Fitzroy during the Falklands War, and although
she was initially abandoned, she was later used as emergency
accommodation before being sea-lifted back to the UK.
She was then completely rebuilt and up-dated, with almost
ten metres added to her length, and her new superstructure
was of steel rather than aluminum.
She returned to service in 1985, and supported British forces
in the Gulf War and the former Yugoslavia, as well as playing
her part in numerous exercises and operations around the world.
In November 1998, Sir Tristram played a major role in the
relief operations following the devastation caused by Hurricane
Mitch in Central America. As part of a RN task group, she
worked with British and Dutch marines, helping with relief
supplies and medical aid to Honduras and Nicaragua.
The year 2000 was a busy one for the ship. She spent the first
half in the Amphibious Ready Group, taking part in exercises
in the Mediterranean and in operations in Sierra Leone.
After a spell of maintenance in Portsmouth, she supported
the Royal Logistics Corps millennium event, berthing alongside
HMS Belfast in London, then went to the Baltic as command
and support ship for MCMVs, visiting Stockholm and Riga.
Since the beginning of this year she has been supporting the
Royal Marines in Norway for their winter deployment, and is
due back in her Marchwood base at the end of this month (March
2001).
But it will only be for a few days as she is due to take over
from RFA Sir Percivale in Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone,
supporting British forces ashore.
Trawler among the honours
RFA Sir Tristram's only predecessor was a modest vessel
- but she still managed to win a Battle Honour.
That ship was an Admiralty trawler of the Round Table class,
built by Lewis in 1942, and weighing in at 440 tons.
The eight-strong class were for the most part employed as
minesweepers, and could be equipped with a range of devices
and systems to counter the threat of mines, including acoustic
and magnetic.
HMT Sir Tristram was just over 40 metres in length, with a
beam of a little over seven metres and a draught of 3.5metres.
She had a single-shaft, triple-expansion engine, giving around
600ihp, giving her a speed of around 12 knots.
The Round Table class had a complement of 35, and each ship's
armament consisted of a single 12pdr quick-firing low-angle
gun and three 20mm anti-aircraft guns on single mountings.
HMT Sir Tristram won her Battle Honour during the Normandy
Landings in 1944, and she was sold in 1947.
(Ship of the Month March 2001)
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