The Ol-class tankers were Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Royal Fleet Auxiliary

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the British Ministry of Defence. The RFA enables ships of the United Kingdom Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world. Its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment...

 "fast fleet tankers"

Replenishment Oiler

A replenishment oiler or fleet tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds, which can replenish other ships while underway in the high seas. Such ships are used by several countries around the world....

 tasked with providing fuel, food, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 vessels around the world. The three ships in the class, RFA Olmeda

RFA Olmeda (A124)

RFA Olmeda was an Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The second of her class, Olmeda came into service in late 1965 as Oleander. As with its sister ships, Olmeda's early service was routine...

, RFA Olna

RFA Olna (A123)

RFA Olna was an Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Her design was a development of the Tide-class ships of the late 1950s.-Service history:...

 and RFA Olwen

RFA Olwen (A122)

RFA Olwen was an Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.The lead ship of her class, and launched in 1964 as RFA Olynthus, the second ship to bear this name, she was renamed Olwen in 1967 to avoid confusion with HMS Olympus...

 were an evolution of the earlier Tide class replenishment oiler

Tide class replenishment oiler

The Tide class was a series of replenishment oilers used by the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary , the Royal Australian Navy , and the Chilean Navy....

s. The ships were replaced by the Wave class.

The lead ship of the class was RFA Olwen, although she was launched as RFA Olynthus, before being renamed in 1967 to avoid confusion with HMS Olympus. Similarly, RFA Olmeda originally entered service as RFA Oleander, but was later renamed to avoid confusion with HMS Leander

HMS Leander (F109)

HMS Leander was the nameship of the of the Royal Navy . She was originally intended to be part of the and would have been known as Weymouth. Leander was, like the rest of the class, named after a figure of mythology. She was built by the famous Harland & Wolff of Belfast...

.

The three ships in the Ol-class saw service in a wide range of locations, including during the Falklands War

Falklands War

The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...

, which saw Olmeda take part in the recapture of Thule Island

Thule Island

Thule Island, also called Morrell Island, is one of the southernmost of the South Sandwich Islands, part of the grouping known as Southern Thule. It is named, on account of its remote location, after the mythical land of Thule, said by ancient geographers to lie at the extreme end of the earth...

, and in the Persian Gulf during the 1990/91 Gulf War

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

.

Construction programme

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Decommisioned
Olwen (ex-Olynthus) RFA Olwen (A122) RFA Olwen was an Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.The lead ship of her class, and launched in 1964 as RFA Olynthus, the second ship to bear this name, she was renamed Olwen in 1967 to avoid confusion with HMS Olympus...	A122	Hawthorn Leslie and Company Hawthorn Leslie and Company R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilding and locomotive manufacturer. The Company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.-History:... , Tyneside Tyneside Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...	11 July 1963	10 July 1964	21 June 1965	1999
Olna RFA Olna (A123) RFA Olna was an Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Her design was a development of the Tide-class ships of the late 1950s.-Service history:...	A123	Hawthorn Leslie and Company Hawthorn Leslie and Company R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilding and locomotive manufacturer. The Company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.-History:... , Tyneside Tyneside Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...	2 July 1964	28 July 1965	1 April 1966	24 September 2000
Olmeda (ex-Oleander) RFA Olmeda (A124) RFA Olmeda was an Ol-class "fast fleet tanker" of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The second of her class, Olmeda came into service in late 1965 as Oleander. As with its sister ships, Olmeda's early service was routine...	A124	Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Swan Hunter Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which... , Wallend Wallend Wallend is a locality in London's East End, located in the borough of Newham. it lies to the north of Beckton between Barking and East Ham.... , Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...	27 August 1963	19 November 1964	18 October 1965	January 1994