RMAS ''Typhoon'' (A95) was an ocean-going tug of the

Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service The Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (RMAS) was a British Government agency which ran a variety of auxiliary vessels for His Majesty's Naval Service (incl. Royal Navy, Royal Marines) and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The service from 2009 has been ...

(RMAS). She was designed for ocean towing, rescue, salvage and fire-fighting. She was the first ship to leave 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

ahead of the task force for the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

during the 1982

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. She had a fishery protection role in the

Cod War The Cod Wars ( is, Þorskastríðin; also known as , ; german: Kabeljaukriege) were a series of 20th-century confrontations between the United Kingdom (with aid from West Germany) and Iceland about fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Each of ...

History

The ship was repaired at Falmouth ship repair yard on 19 October 1979, and was also involved in the rescue of the Spanish butane tanker, MV Butaseis, which was aflame and drifting towards the village of Brixton, Devon. The tug stayed as part of the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

until included in the RMAS. ''Typhoon'' saw service in the

from leaving the UK on 4 April 1982 until 20 July 1982 under Captain J N Morris with an all-civilian crew from Portland Naval Base. She also carried 2 Royal Naval Personnel, 1 for comms and 1 medic, they had the distinction of being first to leave and returned home 24 September 1982 as did HMS Hydra docking in last that day 24 September 1982 in Portsmouth. Captain Morris and his civilian crew flew back from Port Stanley when Capt Stephens and the relief crew arrived in Port Stanley 20 July 1982. Under the command of Captain Bruce Stephens she returned to Portland with her new civilian crew. the 2 Royal Navy Crew remained on board until the vessel docked on 24 September 1982. She was the first ship – albeit a civilian vessel – to leave the UK ahead of the task force, and a member of the crew, the tugs bosun placed the

Welsh flag The flag of Wales ( cy, Baner Cymru or , meaning 'the red dragon') consists of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many renderings exis ...

on board RFA ''Sir Galahad'' just before ''Typhoon'' towed her out to sea to be scuttled by a submarine. During the war, the ship was heavily involved in logistic duties, transferring fresh water to the task force at a rate of 18 tons per trip, and loading part of 17 Brigade onto the

MV Norland The ''Norland'' was a P&O roll-on/roll-off ferry operating between Kingston upon Hull in Yorkshire, UK, and Rotterdam Europoort, Netherlands, and then Zeebrugge, Belgium. The 27,000 tonne ferry was built in 1974 by AG Weser, Bremerhaven, for Dut ...

in preparation for the San Carlos landings. The ship was sold in 1989 and later converted into a trawler in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Typhoon Auxiliary ships of the Royal Navy Ships of the Fishery Protection Squadron of the United Kingdom Falklands War naval ships of the United Kingdom 1960 ships Ships built in Leith