 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (January 2013) |
 RFA Oakleaf
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators | |
| Succeeded by | Tide class |
| Built | 1959–1981 |
| In commission | 1959–2016 |
| Completed | 13 |
| Scrapped | 13 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Fleet Support Tanker |
| Displacement | 17,470 – 49,377 tons |
| Propulsion | 1 × 6-cylinder William Doxford & Sons marine diesel engine |
| Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
The Leaf class was a class of support tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the naval auxiliary fleet of the United Kingdom. The class is somewhat unusual as it is an amalgam of various civilian tankers chartered for naval auxiliary use and as such has included many different designs of ship. Leaf names are traditional tanker names in the RFA, and are recycled when charters end and new vessels are acquired. Thus, there have been multiple uses of the same names, sometimes also sharing a common pennant number.
The role of support tanker generally involves the bulk transport of fuel oils between distribution centres, the replenishment of front-line fleet tankers such as the Wave and Fort Victoria classes and using their replenishment at sea (RAS) abilities to allow them to directly support naval warships. For RAS, Leaf-class ships have an amidships derrick allowing a single vessel on either beam and a single point for a vessel astern.