RFA Sir Geraint

History
United Kingdom
Namesake	Geraint
Ordered	April 1964
Builder	Alexander Stephen and Sons
Laid down	June 1965
Launched	26 January 1967
Commissioned	12 July 1967
Decommissioned	1 May 2003
Identification	IMO number: 6707894
Fate	Sold commercially and renamed Sir G in July 2005. Scrapped in India in December 2005
General characteristics
Class and type	Round Table class LSL
Displacement	3,270 tons standard 5,674 tons fully loaded
Length	412 ft (126 m)
Beam	60 ft (18 m)
Draught	13 ft (4.0 m)
Propulsion	2 Mirrlees National ALSSDM10 diesels. Power: 9,400 bhp (7,010 kW)
Speed	17 knots
Range	9,200 miles at 15 knots
Capacity	2,404 tons
Complement	68 crew, up to 340 passengers
Armament	Two 40 mm Bofors AA guns.
Aircraft carried	Up to 20 Wessex helicopters (1973)

RFA Sir Geraint (L3027) was a Landing Ship Logistic of the Round Table class. She saw service in the Falklands War and Sierra Leone.

Background

The ship was originally built for army service, and was taken over by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1970. Round Table class ships were exclusively manned by Hong Kong Chinese sailors from their introduction in 1963 until 1989, when Sir Lancelot was the last RFA to be crewed in this way. Like all of her class, Sir Geraint was named after a Knight of the Round Table.

She was commissioned in 1967 and saw extensive service in many of Britain's naval operations since. Her home port was Marchwood, Hampshire, which is a major military port.

Operational history

Falklands War

Sir Geraint first saw combat in the Falklands War of 1982, when along with all of the Royal Navy's other amphibious ships, she was sent to recapture the Falkland Islands from an Argentine occupation force. At the start of the war, the ship was at Devonport and after the embarkation of 450 Royal Marines and 3 Gazelle helicopters, she left for Ascension Island. The ship anchored in San Carlos Water, Fitzroy Sound and Teal Inlet, discharging fuel and cargo.

1978-2003

In Operation Palliser, the ship was sent to Sierra Leone in 2000 when the U.K. intervened there. 11 September 1978 the Sir Geraint sailed out of Alexandra dock Liverpool en route to Belfast carrying 13 platoon Somme company 1st Battalion Kings Own Royal Border Regiment a Detachment from the RAF and another Detachment (unit not disclosed).

Decommissioning

Sir Geraint was listed for disposal in May 2003 and was reported broken up in India in December 2005.

References

• Raymond Blackman, Ships of the Royal Navy (Macdonald and Jane's, London, 1973)