RFA Plumleaf (A78)
RFA Plumleaf (A78) was a Leaf-class support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary of the United Kingdom.
_refueling_USS_America_(CVA-66)_c1970.jpg) Plumleaf refueling USS America (CVA-66), circa 1970 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | RFA Plumleaf (A78) |
| Namesake: | RFA Plumleaf (X54) |
| Operator: | Royal Fleet Auxiliary |
| Builder: | Blyth Drydock & Engineering Co |
| Launched: | 29 March 1960 |
| Decommissioned: | May 1986 |
| In service: | 24 August 1960 |
| Out of service: | 1986 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 5279979 |
| Honours and awards: | Falklands 1982 |
| Fate: | Scrapped in Kaohsiung 17 December 1986 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Leaf-class tanker |
| Displacement: | 12,459 gross registered tons |
| Length: | 560 ft 0 in (170.69 m) |
| Draught: | 30 ft 6 in (9.30 m) |
| Propulsion: | 1 × 6-cylinder Doxford diesel. |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h) |
Launched on 29 March 1960, she displaced 12,459 gross registered tons, with a length of 560 feet, a beam of 72 feet 1 inch and a draught of 30 feet 1⁄4 inch. She was powered by a 6-cylinder Doxford diesel giving the ship a top speed of 15 knots. Steam was provided by 2× Scotch marine boilers fired by oil or, if the engine speed was above 90 rpm, by the main engine exhaust gas. Electrical power was 110 V DC from 2× Allen diesel engines and a 90 kW 2 cylinder steam reciprocating engine. All main engineroom pumps were duplicated, one powered by a DC electric motor, the other by a steam reciprocating engine. With the boilers being steamed using the main engine exhaust gas and supplying all the steam pumps and dynamo, the diesel powered dynamos could be shut down making the engineroom a very pleasant working environment.
She saw service during the Falklands War. Plumleaf was decommissioned in 1986, arriving at Kaohsiung for demolition on 17 December 1986.
Prior to being sent for demolition, RFA Plumleaf spent time in Gibraltar being made ready for handover.[1]
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