RFA Wave Knight (A389)

For other ships with the same name, see RFA Wave Knight.

RFA Wave Knight
Wave Knight resupplying the French frigate Germinal in the Caribbean Sea (August 2021)
History
United Kingdom
NameRFA Wave Knight
OperatorRoyal Fleet Auxiliary
Ordered12 March 1997
Builder
Laid down22 October 1998
Launched29 September 2000
Commissioned8 April 2003
Out of servicePlanned by March 2025
HomeportHMNB Devonport[1]
Identification
StatusIn extended readiness (uncrewed reserve)[2]
Badge
General characteristics [3][4][5]
Class and typeWave-class tanker
Displacement31,500 tonnes approx
Length196.5 metres
Beam28.25 metres
Draft9.97 metres
Propulsion
  • Diesel-electric:
  • 4 × Wartsila 12V 32E/GECLM diesel generators 25,514 metric horsepower (18.76 MW)
  • 2 × GEC Alstom motors with Cegelec variable speed converters 19,040 metric horsepower (14 MW)
  • 1 × shaft
  • 18t thrust electric Kamewa bow thruster and 12t thrust electric stern thruster, both powered by Cegelec variable speed drives and motors
Speed18 knots (33 km/h)
Range10,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Capacity
  • 16,000 m3 of liquids (of which 3,000 m3 aviation fuel & 380 m3 fresh water)
  • 125 tonnes of lubricating oil
  • 500 m3 of solids
  • 150 tonnes of fresh food in eight 20 ft refrigerated container units.
Complement80 Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel with provision for 22 Royal Navy personnel for helicopter and weapons systems operations
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Surface search: E/F band
  • Navigation: KH 1077, I-band
  • IFF: Type 1017
Electronic warfare
& decoys		Sea Gnat decoy launcher system[6]
Armament
Aircraft carried1 Merlin helicopter with full hangar facilities

RFA Wave Knight is a Wave-class fast fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) of the United Kingdom tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy vessels around the world.

Wave Knight was built by VSEL (after 1999, BAE Systems Marine) in Barrow-in-Furness, being launched in 2000. She was accepted into service in 2003 and is the second ship to bear this name in RFA service. Wave Knight and her sister Wave Ruler replaced the elderly Olna and Olwen, two Ol-class 36,000 ton fast fleet tankers built at Swan Hunter and Hawthorn Leslie respectively in the 1960s.[5]

  1. ^ "FOI(A) regarding the Royal Navy" (PDF). What do they know?. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Why has the Royal Navy decommissioned 6 ships in a year?". Navy Lookout. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  3. ^ Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004–2005. Jane's Information Group Limited. p. 817. ISBN 0-7106-2623-1.
  4. ^ "Wave Class Fast Fleet Tankers at the Royal Navy homepage".
  5. ^ a b "Wave Class Royal Fleet Auxiliary – Naval Technology". naval-technology.com.
  6. ^ "Royal Navy to equip 19 ships with trainable decoy launchers". Navy Lookout. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  7. ^ "In focus: the 50 cal heavy machine gun in Royal Navy service". Navy Lookout. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  8. ^ "RFA Wave Ruler". Flickr. 11 November 2010.
  9. ^ "Tanker key to Royal Navy's Med and Middle East operations | British Forces News". Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2011.