RFA Argus (A135)
Timeline
| Date | |
|---|---|
| Apr 1982 | Anchorage Delta taken up from trade (mv Contender Bezant) for South Atlantic operations. Departed Plymouth Sound 20 May 1982 with Wasp HAS.1 XS562/371 and XT427/372 embarked, returned to Southampton 1 Aug 1982. mv Contender Bezant Operation Corporate |
| Jun 17, 1982 |  Port William called at Port William to discharge vehicles and supplies. Operation Corporate |
| Aug 7, 1982 | departed UK for a further South Atlantic deployment but without Ships Flight. |
| 1984 | until 1988 at Harland and Wolff |
| Feb 1984 | purchased by MoD for RFA service |
| Mar 1984 | Harland and Wolff conversion from RO-RO ferry in Belfast, until 3 Mar 1988. Belfast |
| Jul 26, 1988 | Sea King HAS.5 ZE418 and Lynx XZ690 whilst on ship hot weather trials |
| Oct 1990 | rapid refit to add primary casualty receiving facilities as response to Iraqi invasion of Kuwait |
| Oct 1990 | departed HMNB Devonport for Persian Gulf, embarked Sea Kings of 846 NAS en route and arrived in theatre 15 Nov. Operation Desert Shield/Storm |
| Apr 2, 1991 | Portland Harbour Arrived Portland Harbour and disembarked Sea Kings of 846 and 848 Squadrons after combat service in the Gulf. Portland, Dorset |
| Apr 20, 1991 |  Iskenderun Departed UK with eight 846 NAS and two 845 NAS Sea King HC.4, plus six Lynx and four Gazelles from 3 CBAS, for Iskenderun to deploy the air assets as part of Operation Haven, arriving on 30 Apr. Operation Haven |
| Nov 1992 | Adriatic Sea departed UK for the Adriatic, with 4 Sea King HC.4 of 845 Sq B Flt embarked.. |
| Jan 1993 |  Dalmatian coast for Adriatic deployment to assist UNPROFOR, as aviation support for HMS Ark Royal, troop transportation and medical support for the group. Returned to UK in Jun. UNPROFOR |
| Jan 11, 1994 | Portland Harbour major fire at Portland. Delayed return to service after refit |
| Jun 1, 1999 | replaced HMS Invincible off Kosovo. Operation Allied Force |
| Nov 2000 | ordered to join Operation Basilica to Sierra Leone, replacing HMS Fearless (after her boiler fire off Sicily). |
| Aug 24, 2001 | HMNB Portsmouth Present at IFOS Portsmouth. IFOS 2001 International Festival of Sea 2001 |
| Nov 13, 2002 | While operating in Lyme Bay, the rotors of 848 NAS Sea King ZF123/ZQ struck the ship and crashed. Accident |
| Jan 15, 2003 | to support operations in Iraq as Primary Casualty Receiving Station with 2 Sea King from 820 NAS embarked, completing 28 May 2003. Operation Telic |
| Oct 2006 | A and P Falmouth weapons systems upgrade at A&P Falmouth Docks, completed mid Jan 2007 Refit |
| Jan 21, 2009 | Major refit of casualty receiving facilities at A&P Falmouth (pic 1), until Nov 2009 |
| Jun 13, 2010 |  Rade d Hyeres Participated with 100 years AERONAVALE with R91 Charles de Gaulle at Rade d hyeres. |
| Nov 7, 2011 | Lyme Bay Hosted first deck landing for Lynx Wildcat by 700W Squadron for c 1 month of type handling trials |
| Apr 2012 | 815 NAS 228 Flt Lynx HMA.8 /322 assigned as Argus Flt |
| May 12, 2012 | left UK for a 7 month Caribbean maritime security and anti-narcotic deployment as Atlantic Patrol Task (North), and to be on station during the hurricane season to provide disaster relief |
| Aug 10, 2012 |  George Town HSB 3 day visit to Cayman Islands during APT(N) deployment |
| Sep 5, 2012 | 3 day visit to Montserrat for disaster planning and coordination exercise |
| Nov 2012 | operating in Caribbean on counter-narcotics mission with Dutch Navy frigate ZrMs Van Amstel. |
| Jan 21, 2013 | refit at A&P Falmouth, principally addressing main machinery and engine control systems plus improvements to medical facilities, completing 10 Jul. |
| Oct 18, 2013 | sea trials with AW139 Wildcat until Nov 7 |
| Mar 31, 2014 | North Western Approaches JW 14-1 Exercise Joint Warrior 14-1 |
| Oct 11, 2014 | A and P Falmouth arrived in Falmouth, to load medical supplies before setting off for Sierra Leone as part of the UK contribution (Operation Gritrock, qv) to combat the 2014 Ebola outbreak. 3x Merlin HM.2 of 820 NAS embarked. Storing |
| Oct 17, 2014 |  Freetown Port departed Falmouth for Sierra Leone to assist British nationals in fighting the Ebola outbreak. Arrived Freetown 30 Oct and first of 6 UK built hospitals opened on 5 Nov. Departed Freetown on 27 Mar 2015, for return to Mounts Bay (pic 2) on 6 Apr and Falmouth on 7 Apr. Operation Gritrock |
| Oct 17, 2014 | embarked Merlin HM.2 ZH850, ZH856, ZH864 of 820 NAS. Disembarked to RNAS Culdrose on return to UK, from Mounts Bay, 6 Apr 2015 Operation Gritrock assigned to 820 Squadron |
| Nov 26, 2014 | Royal Navy Merlin Deliver Aid in Fight Against Ebola |
| Apr 11, 2015 | North Western Approaches participated in JW 15-1, off NW Scotland Exercise Joint Warrior 15-1 |
| May 2015 | entered Falmouth for 11 month refit, completed 24 Mar 2016 |
| Jun 24, 2017 | Greenwich Reach Arrived at Greenwich for Armed Forces Day and Seafarers Day celebrations. Departed 28 Jun. |
| Jun 6, 2019 |  Tirpitzhafen visited Kiel, in company with other NATO warships, in preparation for Baltic exercise 9-21 Jun. BALTOPS 19 |
| Oct 5, 2019 | North Western Approaches Participated in JW19-2 JW19-2 Exercise Joint Warrior 19-2 |
| Apr 2, 2020 | Caribbean Sea Departed HMNB Devonport for Caribbean HADR mission in run up to Hurricane season. 3x Merlin HC.4 from 845 NAS embarked (ZJ122 / F, ZJ125 / J and ZJ127 /L) plus 815 NAS 203 Flt Wildcat HMA.2 ZZ531, Royal Marines from 47 CDO and 24 CDO Royal Engineers. Returned to UK 18 Dec. |
| May 3, 2020 | George Town HSB 3 day visit to Cayman Islands for Hurricane season preparedness. |
| May 13, 2020 | Merlin Lands on River Batch 2 OPV |
| Jun 2020 | In Cayman Island waters for a fortnights anti-narcotic, border security and medevac support mission while both RCIPS H145 are in US for depth maintenance. Departed 19 Jun for Turks and Caicos Islands. |
| Jun 23, 2020 | RFA Argus Merlin Rescues Kayakers in the Caribbean |
| Oct 9, 2023 |  Gibraltar Harbour departed HMNB Devonport for Gibraltar (arr 12 Oct), en route Duqm, will hold in Eastern Mediterranean, as contingency for Palestinian-Israeli crisis. Littoral Response Group South |
| Apr 2024 |  Kattupalli Assisted Maintenance Programme conducted with an APCL team at Kattupalli shipyard. |
| Aug 14, 2024 |  Sembawang naval base Press Briefing in Singapore on RN role in Indo-Pacific, Merlin HC.4 ZJ136 / U tied down on deck. |
| Sep 1, 2024 |  Diego Garcia Port visited Diego Garcia |
| Oct 2024 | A and P Falmouth significant refurbishment at Falmouth lasting 5 months, cut short by lack of funds Refurbishment |
| Jun 8, 2025 | HMD Portsmouth into Portsmouth alonside Victory Jetty but is now unable to sail to Falmouth to complete abandoned refurbishment work, following withdrawl of maritime safety certificates. Towed out of Portsmouth on 6 Mar 2026. |
| Mar 10, 2026 | A and P Falmouth towed back Falmouth for decommissioning. |
| Apr 2026 | Helford after destoring at Falmouth, laid up in the Helford River awaiting disposal. Laid up |