RFA Argus (A135)
RFA Argus at HMNB Devonport Navy Days 1999 |
|
| Career (UK) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | RFA Argus |
| Namesake: | HMS Argus |
| Launched: | 1981 |
| Acquired: | February 1982 by the MOD |
| Commissioned: | 1 June 1988 |
| Identification: | Pennant number = A135 |
| Motto: | Occuli Omnium (Eyes Of All) |
| Nickname: | "PCRS","BUPA Baghdad" |
| Honours and awards: |
Groix 1795 Ashantee 1873-74 Arctic 1941 Atlantic 1941-42 Malta Convoys 1942 North Africa 1942 She also holds Contender Bezant’s Battle Honour: Falkland Islands 1982. |
| Status: | in active service, as of 2012 |
| Badge: | |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Aviation training / Casualty receiving ship |
| Displacement: | 28,081 tonnes |
| Length: | 175.1 m (574 ft 6 in) |
| Beam: | 30.4 m (99 ft 9 in) |
| Draught: | 8.1 m (26 ft 7 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × Lindholmen Pielstick 18 PC2.5V diesels, twin propellers; bow-thruster |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Complement: | 80 RFA 50 RN (Part of the Maritime Aviation Support Force) 137 RN air squadron personnel (When embarked) 200 Nursing and Medical Staff (When the Hospital is activated) |
| Armament: | 2 × Oerlikon 20 mm/85 KAA on GAM-BO1 mountings 4 × 7.62mm GPMGs Seagnat chaff launchers |
| Aircraft carried: | Three spots for Westland Sea Kings, CH47 Chinooks, Westland Merlins, WAH-64 Apache or Westland Lynx |
| Aviation facilities: | 1 Aircraft lift from Flight Deck to 4-Deck number 2 hangar, 4x hangars |
RFA Argus is a ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, part of the Royal Navy. Italian-built, Argus was formerly the container ship MV Contender Bezant. The ship was requisitioned in 1982 for service in the Falklands War and purchased outright in 1984 for use as an Aviation Training Ship, replacing RFA Engadine. In 1991, during the Gulf War, she was fitted with an extensive and fully functional hospital to assume the additional role of Primary Casualty Receiving Ship. In 2009, the PCRS role became the ship's primary function.
Read more about RFA Argus (A135): Design and Facilities