RFA Grey Rover
RFA Grey Rover (A269) is a Small Fleet Tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
RFA Grey Rover was laid down in 1968, and completed in April of 1970.
With a maximum speed of 19 knots, these small fleet tankers are fitted with a flight deck but no hanger, as such she is only capable of refueling embarked helicopters. The Rover boats have been the work horses of the RFA for the last few decades.
... she was struck below the water line by the Canadian submarine ....
Due to being only single hulled the Rover Class ships will be phased out over the next few years.
In September of 1970 RFA Grey Rover replaced RFA Black Ranger as FOST tanker.
During 1973 while serving as the Clyde port oiler she was struck below the water line by the Canadian submarine Okanagan while submerged.
In 1974 she and her sister ship RFA Blue Rover were re-engined. June of 1976 saw her standing by to evacuate British Nationals from the Lebanon. In December of 1978 during her passage from Karachi to the Seychelles, RFA Grey Rover was ordered to loiter off Iran after civilian unrest with the possibility of the evacuation of British Nationals.
In November of 1983 RFA Grey Rover was back in the Lebanon during Operation Offcut, the naval support for British troops in the multinational force in the Lebanon.
September of 1984 saw a team from RFA Grey Rover fire fighting on the motor yacht Yankee Clipper in Freeport in the Bahamas.
In 2004 while in the far east RFA Grey Rover conducted the first ever RAS for the Singapore Navy.
After her final tour down the South Atlantic she sailed for the Caribbean where RFA Grey Rover was part of the biggest drugs bust in recent times, with a haul of approximately £350 million of cocaine. RFA Grey Rover finally sailed into Portsmouth on the 15th of March 2006, flying the hoist flag TA60 "Duty Complete".
RFA Grey Rover is now in Portsmouth waiting for disposal.
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