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RFA Resource

{{Short description|1967 Armament stores ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary}}

{{for|Royal Navy and RFA ships named Resource|HMS Resource}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}

{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}

{{Infobox ship begin}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image=File:RFA Resource (A480) in September 1969 (cropped).jpg

|Ship caption=RFA Resource (A480) cruises next to {{HMS|Eagle|R05|6}}, during "Operation Peacekeeper" on 24 September 1969.

}}

{{Infobox ship career

|Hide header=

|Ship country=United Kingdom

|Ship flag=File:British-Royal-Fleet-Auxiliary-Ensign.svg

|Ship name=RFA Resource

|Ship namesake=

|Ship ordered=24 January 1963

|Ship builder=

|Ship laid down=19 June 1964

|Ship launched=11 February 1966

|Ship completed=

|Ship acquired=

|Ship commissioned=6 June 1967

|Ship decommissioned=1 May 1997

|Ship in service=

|Ship out of service=

|Ship renamed=Resourceful in 1997

|Ship struck=1997

|Ship reinstated=

|Ship identification=*{{IMO Number|6717423}}

|Ship fate=Scrapped at Alang in 1997

|Ship notes=

|Ship honours= Falkland Islands 1982. Kuwait 1991.

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|Header caption=

|Ship class={{sclass|Regent|armament stores ship|1}}

|Ship tonnage=

|Ship displacement=22,890 tons full load

|Ship length={{convert|640|ft|1|in|m|2|abbr=on}}

|Ship beam={{convert|77|ft|1.25|in|m|2|abbr=on}}

|Ship draught={{convert|26|ft|3|in|m|2|abbr=on}}

|Ship propulsion=*2 × AEI steam turbines DR geared to a single shaft

  • 2 × watertube boilers.

|Ship speed={{convert|20|kn|km/h|0}}

|Ship range=

|Ship complement=

  • 125 RFA personnel
  • 44 RNSTS personnel
  • 11 Naval Air dept

|Ship sensors=

|Ship EW=

|Ship armament=

|Ship armour=

|Ship aircraft=

|Ship aircraft facilities=Landing platform capable of landing several different classes of helicopter

|Ship notes=

}}

RFA Resource was an armament stores ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom.

Falklands War

Resource served in the Falklands War, captained at that time by Captain Bruce Seymour. She was one of the first vessels on the scene to pick up survivors from HMS Sheffield, having just supplied her.

RFA Resource was one of several RFA munitions replenishment ships certified to store and supply the fleet with munitions, including WE.177A live nuclear weapons. Other ships capable of carrying (stored in deep magazines) or deploying these weapons were {{HMS|Hermes|R12|6}}, {{HMS|Invincible|R05|6}}, {{HMS|Broadsword|F88|6}} and {{HMS|Brilliant|F90|6}}, they were transferred to various Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships with their specialist magazines. This was initially RFA Regent, and when RFA Resource exited San Carlos, they were transferred to her, and then to RFA Fort Austin. After the end of the conflict they were transported back to Britain aboard RFA Fort Austin and RFA Resource.{{Cite web |url=http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/4625B8A4-C533-4DAD-9FA5-0BFEE58F8D69/0/op_corporate1982_nuclear_weapons.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=24 May 2011 |archive-date=26 October 2012 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121026065214/http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/4625B8A4-C533-4DAD-9FA5-0BFEE58F8D69/0/op_corporate1982_nuclear_weapons.pdf |url-status=dead }} Inert practice weapons and surveillance weapons without fissionable material were also transported.{{Cite web |url=http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/4625B8A4-C533-4DAD-9FA5-0BFEE58F8D69/0/op_corporate1982_nuclear_weapons.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=24 May 2011 |archive-date=26 October 2012 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121026065214/http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/4625B8A4-C533-4DAD-9FA5-0BFEE58F8D69/0/op_corporate1982_nuclear_weapons.pdf |url-status=dead }}

Yugoslavia

One of Resource{{'}}s last duties before being decommissioned was to serve as a floating munitions storage for UN and IFOR troops in the former Yugoslavia. She spent much of the mid 1990s in Split, Croatia, fulfilling this role.

Decommissioning and scrapping

Resource sailed from Devonport on 24 June 1997, having been renamed Resourceful for the delivery run to the Indian breakers, and arrived at Alang for scrapping on 20 August 1997.

Image:resource_badge.jpg|RFA Resource ship's badge.

Footnotes

{{reflist}}

  • Guardian Article mentioning RFA Resource - http://www.guardian.co.uk/falklands/story/0,,657867,00.html
  • Images of RFA Resource and a Wessex Helicopter - http://www.john.fotoblog.org.uk/p14552235.html{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
  • Images and information about RFA Resource and sister ship Regent - https://web.archive.org/web/20061212183624/http://www.btinternet.com/~warship/Feature/rfa/pics2.htm
  • Hansard entry mentioning final fate of RFA Resource - https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmhansrd/vo030227/text/30227w04.htm
  • Falklands day by day from Royal Navy - http://www.navynews.co.uk/falklands/day_april.asp {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070519231359/http://www.navynews.co.uk/falklands/day_april.asp |date=19 May 2007 }}

{{Falklands War British ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Resource, RFA}}

Category:Stores ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Category:1966 ships

Category:Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom

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