RFA Sir Galahad (1987)

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Career
Ordered:
Laid down:
Launched:	December 1986
Commissioned:	25 November 1987
Fate:	in service
General Characteristics
Displacement:	8,751 tonnes
Length:	141 metres
Beam:	19.5 metres
Draught:	4.5 metres
Speed:	14 knots (cruising), 17 knots (max)
Complement:	41 crew
Propulsion:	Two 6600 hp Mirrless diesels; one 400hp bow thruster
Armament:	two Oerlikon 20mm guns; two 7.62mm machineguns
Aviation:	one pad aft for H-3 Sea King or smaller; one pad amidships for CH-47 Chinook or smaller

RFA Sir Galahad (L3005) is a landing ship logistical (LSL) of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service. She is a combined landing craft and ferry with two flight decks for helicopters and bow and stern doors. There is capacity for around 400 troops and 3,440 tonnes of supplies.

She was built by Swan Hunter and entered service in 1988. She was named and given the identical pennant number to the Sir Galahad sunk in the Falklands War.

The ship has seen service in two wars since it was built, both of them against Iraq. It was deployed in 1991 for Operation Granby and in 2003 for Operation Telic. Its role in both conflicts was transport of supplies. In Gulf War II, Sir Galahad transported humanitarian aid, docking in Umm Qasr on 28 March 2003 after being delayed while naval mines were cleared from the harbor.