RFA Gold Rover was a small fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and one of five[1] Rover-class ships that were designed by the Admiralty, all of which were built at the Swan Hunter shipyard.
Gold Rover and her sister Black Rover were the last two in service with the RFA[2] on duty around the world. The class were phased out as part of a worldwide effort to replace single-hulled tankers with more environmentally safe double-hulled vessels.[3]Gold Rover herself was decommissioned in a sunset ceremony at Portsmouth Naval Base on 6 March 2017.[4]
The Rover class was predominantly used to transport fuel, oil, aviation fuel for services around the globe; it could also carry limited dried stores of 340 tonnes such as munitions and refrigerated goods.[5] They were built with a flight deck large enough to accommodate two helicopters, although no hangar was fitted.
Operational history
1974-1980
In July 1974 Gold Rover participated in evacuation duties during the partition of Cyprus during the Turkish invasion of the island.[5]
1981-1990
Gold Rover was in Singapore at the time of the Falklands Conflict in 1982 and therefore took no part in the hostilities.
On 14 November 1984, Gold Rover sailed from Gibraltar on completion of refit, the last RFA to be refitted in HM Dockyard Gibraltar.[6]
Gold Rover participated in the 1986 Jamaican flood relief operations.
On 1 December 1990, Gold Rover lost her rudder in severe weather in the South Atlantic and sent out a distress call. Some of her crew were airlifted off by a RAF Sea King of No. 78 Sqn and she managed to get to anchor seventeen miles east of Lively island to ride out the storm before she was towed by the tug Oil Mariner to Montevideo for repairs. The crew of the Sea King rescue helicopter, Captained by Flt Lt David Kerr-Sheppard, received various awards for outstanding flying skill in such difficult weather conditions.
1991-2000
In January 2000 she was towed back to Devonport by two RMAS tugs after breaking down off Lizard Point.
2001-2010
2006 was a busy year for Gold Rover. She was in Nigeria in June 2006 for the 50th anniversary celebrations of the formation of the Nigerian Navy. As part of the celebrations there was a Fleet Review by President Olusegun Obasanjo.[5] On 6 October she, along with Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll and Royal Marines from 40 Commando, seized more than two tonnes of cocaine during a major drugs haul off the coast of West Africa. The illegal drugs, which were found in an unregistered vessel, had a UK street value of some £60 million.
Gold Rover was part of a Royal Navy amphibious task group, the VELA Deployment 06, en route to Sierra Leone where she and other ships were taking part in a major amphibious exercise. Whilst on the way to West Africa Gold Rover was contributing to the global fight against terrorism and the Royal Navy's maritime security operations activity.
2011-2017
Gold Rover entered refit in the middle of 2013.[7]Gold Rover departed her home port for her last operational deployment in 2014.[8]
Between 12 and 16 October 2015 Gold Rover and HMS Lancaster participated the bicentennial anniversary commemorations of Napoleon's arrival on Saint Helena after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, and subsequent surrender to British forces.[9]
In 2015, she participated in Operation UNITAS.[10]
Gold Rover entered Portsmouth for the final time on 22 February 2017, bowing out after 43 years of active service.[11] On 29 August 2017 the Defence Equipment Sales Authority (DESA) invited expressions of interest from companies interested in receiving an invitation to tender in respect to the proposed sale for the sole purpose of recycling of the former RFA ship.
She was scrapped at Aliaga on 3 September 2019.[12]
References
^"Rover Class". www.worldnavalships.com. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
^"RFA Gold Rover". M.O.D. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
^. www.toysoutofthepram.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
gold, rover, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, available, assis. This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message RFA Gold Rover was a small fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and one of five 1 Rover class ships that were designed by the Admiralty all of which were built at the Swan Hunter shipyard RFA Gold RoverHistoryUnited KingdomNameRFA Gold RoverOrderedNovember 1971BuilderSwan Hunter Tyne and Wear United KingdomLaunched7 March 1973Commissioned22 March 1974Decommissioned6 March 2017HomeportLondonIdentificationIMO number 7306221 MMSI number 232502000 Callsign GRET Pennant number A271FateScrapped 3 September 2019General characteristicsClass and typeRover classDisplacement11522 tons full loadLength461 ft 04 in 140 61 m Beam63 ft 02 in 19 25 m Draught23 ft 11 in 7 29 m Installed power15 300 shpPropulsion2 x 16 cyl Pielstick dieselsSpeed19 knotsRange15 000 miles 24 000 km at 15 knots 28 km h Endurance8 000 nautical milesCapacity3 000 m3 of fuelComplement16 officers 31 ratingsCrew60 Sensors and processing systemsSperry Marine Visionmaster radars and ECDIS 1690 I band navigation radarsElectronic warfare amp decoys2 Corvus and 2 Plessey Shield decoy launchers Graseby Type 182 towed torpedo decoyArmament2 Oerlikon 20 mm cannon 2 7 62 mm machine gunsAircraft carriedHelicopter deck but no hangarGold Rover and her sister Black Rover were the last two in service with the RFA 2 on duty around the world The class were phased out as part of a worldwide effort to replace single hulled tankers with more environmentally safe double hulled vessels 3 Gold Rover herself was decommissioned in a sunset ceremony at Portsmouth Naval Base on 6 March 2017 4 Contents 1 Class Characteristics 2 Operational history 2 1 1974 1980 2 2 1981 1990 2 3 1991 2000 2 4 2001 2010 2 5 2011 2017 3 References 4 External linksClass Characteristics EditThe Rover class was predominantly used to transport fuel oil aviation fuel for services around the globe it could also carry limited dried stores of 340 tonnes such as munitions and refrigerated goods 5 They were built with a flight deck large enough to accommodate two helicopters although no hangar was fitted Operational history Edit1974 1980 Edit In July 1974 Gold Rover participated in evacuation duties during the partition of Cyprus during the Turkish invasion of the island 5 1981 1990 Edit Gold Rover was in Singapore at the time of the Falklands Conflict in 1982 and therefore took no part in the hostilities On 14 November 1984 Gold Rover sailed from Gibraltar on completion of refit the last RFA to be refitted in HM Dockyard Gibraltar 6 Gold Rover participated in the 1986 Jamaican flood relief operations On 1 December 1990 Gold Rover lost her rudder in severe weather in the South Atlantic and sent out a distress call Some of her crew were airlifted off by a RAF Sea King of No 78 Sqn and she managed to get to anchor seventeen miles east of Lively island to ride out the storm before she was towed by the tug Oil Mariner to Montevideo for repairs The crew of the Sea King rescue helicopter Captained by Flt Lt David Kerr Sheppard received various awards for outstanding flying skill in such difficult weather conditions 1991 2000 Edit In January 2000 she was towed back to Devonport by two RMAS tugs after breaking down off Lizard Point 2001 2010 Edit 2006 was a busy year for Gold Rover She was in Nigeria in June 2006 for the 50th anniversary celebrations of the formation of the Nigerian Navy As part of the celebrations there was a Fleet Review by President Olusegun Obasanjo 5 On 6 October she along with Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll and Royal Marines from 40 Commando seized more than two tonnes of cocaine during a major drugs haul off the coast of West Africa The illegal drugs which were found in an unregistered vessel had a UK street value of some 60 million Gold Rover was part of a Royal Navy amphibious task group the VELA Deployment 06 en route to Sierra Leone where she and other ships were taking part in a major amphibious exercise Whilst on the way to West Africa Gold Rover was contributing to the global fight against terrorism and the Royal Navy s maritime security operations activity 2011 2017 Edit Gold Rover entered refit in the middle of 2013 7 Gold Rover departed her home port for her last operational deployment in 2014 8 Between 12 and 16 October 2015 Gold Rover and HMS Lancaster participated the bicentennial anniversary commemorations of Napoleon s arrival on Saint Helena after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and subsequent surrender to British forces 9 In 2015 she participated in Operation UNITAS 10 Gold Rover entered Portsmouth for the final time on 22 February 2017 bowing out after 43 years of active service 11 On 29 August 2017 the Defence Equipment Sales Authority DESA invited expressions of interest from companies interested in receiving an invitation to tender in respect to the proposed sale for the sole purpose of recycling of the former RFA ship She was scrapped at Aliaga on 3 September 2019 12 References Edit Rover Class www worldnavalships com Retrieved 30 March 2013 RFA Gold Rover M O D Retrieved 30 March 2013 RFA Gold Rover www toysoutofthepram com Archived from the original on 4 October 2011 Retrieved 30 March 2013 https navynews co uk archive news item 15975 a b c A271 RFA Gold Rover www helis com Retrieved 30 March 2013 RFA Gold Rover RFA Gold Rover returns home www royalnavy mod uk Final Plymouth farewell by Royal Navy s support ship www royalnavy mod uk Royal Navy visit next week St Helena Government 6 October 2015 Retrieved 16 October 2019 RFA Gold Rover s globe trotting goes on Royal Navy Archived from the original on 22 December 2015 RFA Gold Rover to make a last trip to Portsmouth after 43 year career www portsmouth co uk Retrieved 22 February 2017 Gold Rover 7306221 Miramar Ship Index Retrieved 21 December 2020 External links EditRFA Gold Rover at royalnavy mod uk Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title RFA Gold Rover amp oldid 1148517020, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
