Ol class tanker (1965)

RFA Olmeda
Class overview
Name:	Ol-class tanker
Builders:	Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson
Operators:	Royal Fleet Auxiliary
Preceded by:	Tide-class replenishment oiler
Succeeded by:	Wave-class tanker
In service:	1965 - 2000
Completed:	3
Retired:	3
General characteristics
Class and type:	Ol-class tanker
Displacement:	33,240 long tons (33,773 t) full load
Length:	648 ft (198 m)
Beam:	84 ft 2 in (25.65 m)
Draught:	34 ft (10 m)
Propulsion:	2 × PAMETRADA steam turbines, double reduction geared
Speed:	21 kn (24 mph; 39 km/h)
Range:	10,000 nmi (19,000 km) at 16 kn (18 mph; 30 km/h)
Complement:	88 RFA 40 RN
Armament:	• 2 × 20 mm guns • 2 × Chaff launchers
Aircraft carried:	3 × Westland Wessex or Westland Sea King helicopters

The Ol-class tankers were Royal Fleet Auxiliary "fast fleet tankers" tasked with providing fuel, food, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy vessels around the world. The three ships in the class, RFA Olmeda, RFA Olna and RFA Olwen were an evolution of the earlier Tide class replenishment oilers. The ships were replaced by the Wave class.

The lead ship of the class was RFA Olwen, although she was launched as RFA Olynthus, before being renamed in 1967 to avoid confusion with HMS Olympus. Similarly, RFA Olmeda originally entered service as RFA Oleander, but was later renamed to avoid confusion with HMS Leander.

The three ships in the Ol-class saw service in a wide range of locations, including during the Falklands War, which saw Olmeda take part in the recapture of Thule Island, and in the Persian Gulf during the 1990/91 Gulf War.

Construction programme

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommisioned
Olwen (ex-Olynthus)	A122	Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Tyneside	11 July 1963	10 July 1964	21 June 1965	1999
Olna	A123	Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Tyneside	2 July 1964	28 July 1965	1 April 1966	24 September 2000
Olmeda (ex-Oleander)	A124	Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallend, Tyne and Wear	27 August 1963	19 November 1964	18 October 1965	January 1994

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  RFA Olwen (A122) with HMS Juno in foreground and RFA Lyness in background.

• 

  Bristol Group - A Type 21 frigate conducting replenishment at sea (RAS) with RFA Olna. May 1982. Picture taken from HMS Cardiff

References

• O Class Fleet Replenishment Tankers