RFA ships have been involved in naval operations, humanitarian and life saving actions in both peace and war since the Service’s formation in 1905.

Details of the operations or actions where RFA’s were involved are listed below.

This list is far from complete and as further research identifies additional operations, humanitarian and life saving actions these will be added with as much back ground details as can be ascertained: –

1943 – Operation Tabarin

Operation Tabarin was a World War II military undertaking by the Admiralty and the Colonial Office in 1943 to establish a permanent British presence in the Antarctic. The bases built were the first ever to be constructed in Antarctica. (more…)
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2003 – Operation Telic

Operation Telic was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom’s military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the Invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on…
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2014 – Operation Herring

During Operation Herring in 2014 more than 16,000 people in Sierra Leone had food for a month thanks to a three-day mission by Britain’s Armed Forces to islands cut off from the rest of the country by the Ebola outbreak…
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Op Herring 2014 food being taken ashore

2014 – Operation Gritrock

  Operation Gritrock was the code name given to the British participation in the fight against the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. In November 2015, Sierra Leone was officially declared Ebola free. Military Forces from the Irish Defence Force…
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ARGUS alongside at Freetown

2000 – Operation Barwood

Operation Barwood was the name given to the provision of humanitarian aid to the people of Mozambique. In February and March 2000 that country was hit by catastrophic flooding and British military units were sent to assist. RFA support for the Operation…
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1943 – Operation Avalanche

The World War 2 the Allied landing on mainland Italy took place on 3 September, 1943. This operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily. (more…)
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1944 – Operation Anvil

Operation Anvil (it’s name during the planning stages) but then renamed Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on 15 August, 1944, during World War II. (more…)
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1980 – Operation Allen

Hurricane Allen was a powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck southern Texas. It was the first and strongest hurricane of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest hurricanes in recorded history. (more…)
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Allen track 1980

1943 – Operation Alacrity

To win the war against German U-boats, the Allies had to protect their convoys in the vast black hole of the mid-Atlantic known as the Azores Gap. In 1943 they devised a plan to set up air bases on the…
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Dewdale cleaned hull

1940 – Operation Accordion

  Planned Operations Against the Atlantic Islands in WW2 Early in WW2 Adolf Hitler conceived plans known as Operation Felix to seize Gibraltar and the Azores, Canary and Cape Verde Islands in the Atlantic, but fortunately was dissuaded from this…
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1943 – Operation Tabarin

Operation Tabarin was a World War II military undertaking by the Admiralty and the Colonial Office in 1943 to establish a permanent British presence in the Antarctic. The bases built…
View more

2003 – Operation Telic

Operation Telic was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom’s military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the Invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003…
View more

2014 – Operation Herring

Op Herring 2014 food being taken ashore
During Operation Herring in 2014 more than 16,000 people in Sierra Leone had food for a month thanks to a three-day mission by Britain’s Armed Forces to islands cut off…
View more

2014 – Operation Gritrock

ARGUS alongside at Freetown
  Operation Gritrock was the code name given to the British participation in the fight against the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. In November 2015, Sierra Leone was officially…
View more

2000 – Operation Barwood

Operation Barwood was the name given to the provision of humanitarian aid to the people of Mozambique. In February and March 2000 that country was hit by catastrophic flooding and British military…
View more

1943 – Operation Avalanche

The World War 2 the Allied landing on mainland Italy took place on 3 September, 1943. This operation followed the successful invasion of Sicily. (more…)
View more

1944 – Operation Anvil

Operation Anvil (it’s name during the planning stages) but then renamed Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on 15 August, 1944, during World War II. (more…)
View more

1980 – Operation Allen

Allen track 1980
Hurricane Allen was a powerful Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck southern Texas. It was the first and strongest hurricane of the 1980 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest hurricanes in recorded history. (more…)
View more

1943 – Operation Alacrity

Dewdale cleaned hull
To win the war against German U-boats, the Allies had to protect their convoys in the vast black hole of the mid-Atlantic known as the Azores Gap. In 1943 they…
View more

1940 – Operation Accordion

  Planned Operations Against the Atlantic Islands in WW2 Early in WW2 Adolf Hitler conceived plans known as Operation Felix to seize Gibraltar and the Azores, Canary and Cape Verde…
View more