RFA Retainer
RFA Retainer (A329) was an armament support ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Laid down | 11 October 1948 |
| Launched | 19 January 1950 |
| Commissioned | July 1954 |
| Decommissioned | April 1978 |
| Identification | IMO number: 5293470 |
| Fate | Demolished at Barcelona on 29 October 1979 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 14,400 tons full load |
| Length | 477 ft 2 in (145 m) |
| Beam | 62 ft 2 in (19 m) |
| Draught | 25 ft .75 in (8 m) |
| Propulsion | 6-cylinder Scott-Doxford diesel engine |
| Speed | 15 knots |
| Aircraft carried | Fitted with a small landing platform |
Built by Scotts of Greenock as Chungking, a cargo/passenger liner for the China Navigation Co. Both Chungking and her sister vessel Changchow (later RFA Resurgent lost their initial purpose due to the Communist revolution. Chartered for a year and a half to the French Messageries Maritimes, they were purchased by the British Admiralty in 1952.[1]
In 1959, Retainer was used with the missile trials ship HMS Girdle Ness for trials of replenishment at sea with the new Seaslug missile.[2]
References
- "Le paquebot Chungking, futur Retainer, affrété par les Messageries Maritimes". messageries-maritimes.org (in French).
- "Seaslug transfer". RFA Nostalgia. 1959. Imperial War Museum A 34233.
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