by Chris King
1/700 RFA Fort Victoria (Scratchbuilt)
This is a custom-made model of the RFA Fort Victoria multi-product replenishment ship that serves with the Royal Navy. She and her sister ship RFA Fort George are very sophisticated ships, able to supply the fleet with 70,000 barrels of liquid cargo, and 6,234 cubic meters dry cargo. They are armed for self-defense, with 2 20mm Phalanx CIWS, 4 30 mm guns, missile and torpedo decoys. Fort Victoria is 204m long, has a beam of 30m and displaces 31,565t.
The primary role of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), a flotilla of 21 ships manned by civilians and owned by the Ministry of Defence, is to supply the Royal Navy at sea. The RFA also provides the Royal Navy with sea-borne aviation training facilities in addition to secure logistical support and amphibious operations capability for the Royal Marines and the British Army. RFA Fort Victoria and Fort George combine the functions of a fleet support tanker and a stores support ship.
RFA Fort Victoria is also fitted with a two-spot flight deck, a hangar and maintenance facilities for five Sea King-sized helicopters. This gives the ship an enhanced capability to re-supply warships in a task group by a technique called vertical replenishment (VERTREP) which involves using helicopters to ferry supplies from ship to ship. VERTREP may be used to speed up the process of replenishing a ship on one of the RAS rigs, or to re-store another vessel that does not need to take fuel onboard. The flight deck is capable of providing an emergency landing facility for Sea Harrier V/STOL aircraft.
RFA Fort Victoria was part of the UK Royal Navy Task Group in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March / April 2004.
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