The Ol-class tankers were Royal Fleet Auxiliary "fast fleet tankers" tasked with providing fuel, food, fresh water, ammunition and other supplies to Royal Navy vessels around the world.
Class history
The three ships in the class, , and , were an evolution of the earlier s. The lead ship of the class was launched as RFA Olynthus, thus becoming known as Olynthus class although she was renamed RFA Olwen in 1967, to avoid confusion with . Consequently, the class became Olwen class, and thereafter Ol class.
Similarly, RFA Olmeda originally entered service as RFA Oleander, but was later renamed to avoid confusion with .
The three ships saw service in a wide range of locations, including during the Falklands War, which saw Olmeda take part in the recapture of Thule Island, and in the Persian Gulf during the 1990/91 Gulf War.
The ships were replaced by the . One modified Ol-class vessel, , was built for the former Imperial Iranian Navy in 1977. The vessel was delivered to the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy in 1984, and was lost on 2 June 2021.