RFA ''Brambleleaf'' (A81) was a support tanker of the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RF ...

(RFA), the naval

auxiliary fleet An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense. Auxil ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Originally built as MV ''Hudson Deep'' she was chartered by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(MoD) in 1980.

Operational history

In April 1982, ''Brambleleaf'' was diverted from Armilla patrol duties in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

for service during the

Falklands Conflict The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

. Due to damage sustained due to severe weather, ''Brambleleaf'' transferred her cargo to off

South Georgia South Georgia is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. ...

and returned to the UK for repairs during May prior to returning to the South Atlantic in June, and again in August. On 18 November 1983, ''Brambleleaf'' sailed along with the assault ship

HMS Fearless Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Fearless'': * was a 12-gun gunvessel launched in 1794 and wrecked in 1804 in Plymouth Sound in the company of a dockyard lighter. Heavy weather forced both vessels to cut from Cawsand Bay and d ...

to support Operation Offcut, providing naval support for British troops in the multi-national force in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. In 2003, ''Brambleleaf'' was one of 13 RFA ships deployed in support of the second Gulf War. On 18 August 2009 she was towed to Ghent for

scrapping Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have Waste valorization, mone ...

Battle honours

On 29 August 1984 ''Brambleleaf'' received her

Falklands Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape ...

1982

Battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In ...

, presented by Mr A. Kemp, Director Ships and Fuel (DST (SF)).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brambleleaf (1980) Tankers of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Leaf-class tankers Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom 1976 ships

Operational history

Battle honours

See also

References