RFA Fort Victoria (A387)
AO · Support Ship
| IMO: | 8606032 |
| MMSI: | 233135000 |
| Flight Deck: | FV |
| Call Sign: | GACE |
| Shipyard: | Harland and Wolff |
Timeline
| Date | |
|---|---|
| Apr 24, 1986 | |
| Apr 4, 1988 | Yard No 1727 |
| Jun 12, 1990 | As of Oct 2019, this was the last non-warship Naval vessel actually built in Belfast (others had undergone maintenance / refit). |
| Jun 1994 | commissioning delayed by IRA bombing |
| Jul 17, 1998 | visit to Latakia in company with HMS Marlborough |
| Feb 1, 1999 | refit at Babcocks, until Jun 1999, fitted with Phalanx CIWS Rosyth CIWS Phalanx 20 mm |
| Jan 18, 2003 | to support post-combat and reconstruction operations in Iraq, with 4 Merlin from 814 NAS embarked, completing 28 May 2003. Operation Telic |
| Jul 2006 |  off Lebanon supported Royal Navy vessels in evacuation of British nationals from Beirut, during Israel-Lebanon war. Returned to UK on 8 Aug. Operation Highbrow |
| Apr 2007 | in extended readiness until Mar 2009 |
| Oct 21, 2008 | departed Portsmouth under tow for Birkenhead in preparation for refit. |
| Oct 27, 2008 | Canada Dock refit at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead until 11 Nov 2009 |
| Aug 29, 2010 | departed Scotland for a 40 month Middle East waters and Indian Ocean deployment with anti-piracy force CTF-151. Relieved on station by RFA Fort Austin on 18 Oct 2013 and returned to Crombie on 9 Dec. |
| Jan 2011 | Completed an anti-piracy support deployment to the Arabian Gulf and Somali Basin, with an 820 NAS Merlin embarked. |
| Feb 2011 | relieved RFA Bayleaf as Arabian Gulf Ready Tanker. |
| Sep 2011 | departed Dubai for anti-piracy deployment to Indian Ocean. 815NAS 229 Flt Lynx HMA.8SRU ZF562 embarked. Operation Ocean Shield |
| Oct 10, 2011 | Ships Flt Lynx came to aid of hi-jacked mv Montecristo, c 550 nm E of Somalia and re-took the ship with a Royal Marine boarding party. |
| Nov 21, 2011 | Off the Horn of Africa, performing a RAS with HMS Somerset. |
| May 3, 2012 | embarked MH-60R from HSM-77 Saberhawks (usually deployed aboard USS Abraham Lincoln) while part of CTF-151. |
| Sep 24, 2012 |  Al Mina refitted in Dubai (destored to RFA Fort Rosalie beforehand), until 29 Nov Port Rachid |
| Jan 2013 | Assigned as Support Ship to CTF 53 in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, following refit in Dubai. Relieved RFA Wave Ruler. Combined Task Force 53 |
| Feb 2014 | 10 month refit at Birkenhead, which included overhaul of both main engines and replacement of both propellors and 6 diesel generators. Completed Jan 2015 |
| Feb 15, 2015 | Crombie Jetty visited Crombie for re-storing |
| Nov 2015 |  Port of Duqm Visited Duqm to assess suitability as a re-supply hub for Gulf and Indian Ocean operations |
| Dec 2015 | Operating in the Gulf with Sea King ASaC.7 of 849 NAS Okinawa Flt embarked CTF-152 |
| Aug 2016 | conducted RAS in Arabian Gulf, with HMAS Perth. |
| Jan 2018 | Birkenhead Departed Birkenhead after completion of refit on 26 Oct 2018. Apart from usual overhauls and repaint, she was fitted with a fast, high-capacity Heavy Replenishment at Sea (HRAS) system to support rapid solid stores supply to the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers and retrofitted with a limited double hull for the oil and aviation fuel tanks. |
| Sep 21, 2020 | North Western Approaches Participated in Ex Joint Warrior 20-2 off NW Scotland JW 20-2 Exercise Joint Warrior 20-2 |
| Mar 19, 2021 | Portland Harbour at Portland, until 4 Apr to take on stores, in Scotland. |
| Apr 7, 2021 | Crombie Jetty Taking on stores until 23 Apr. |
| May 3, 2021 | embarked 3x Merlin HC.4 of 845 NAS B Flt, in preparation for CSG21 deployment. Includes ZJ127 / L and J Coy 42 Commando, RM. CSG21 |
| May 10, 2021 | Portland Harbour Minor fire in the cold stores while alongside at Portland, led to much of the frozen food for the CSG21 group deployment to be condemned and removed. Incident highlighted a lack of resilience for CSG21, as this was the sole Solid Support Ship assigned to the Group. Accident |
| Jul 7, 2021 |  Suez Canal Transit of Suez Canal from Mediterranean, with CSG21 main force. CSG21 |
| Aug 6, 2021 |  Naval Base Guam arrived in Guam as part of HMS Queen Elizabeth group CSG21 |