RFA Sir Galahad (1966) (original) (raw)

Sir Galahad (L3005) was the name of a LSL (landing ship logistical) belonging to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, part of the British fleet. She was a 3,270 ton LSL built by Stephens and launched in 1966. She could carry 340 troops comfortably or 534 in austere conditions. Beaching cargo capacity was 340 tons, and could include 16 tanks, 34 mixed vehicles, 120 tons of petroleum produce and 30 tons of ammunition. Landing craft could be carried in place of lifeboats, but unloading was mainly handled by three cranes.

Galahad was active during the Falklands War. On May 24, 1982 in San Carlos Water she was attacked by A-4Bs of the Argentine airforce (FAA) and was hit by one 1000-pound bomb which did not detonate and strafed in a following wave of attack aircraft. On June 8 in Bluff Cove together with Sir Tristam she was hit again by two or three bombs and was very badly damaged, she was involved in unloading soldiers from the 1st Welsh Guards and 48 of them were killed in the explosions and subsequent fire. Later the hulk was towed out to sea and sunk by HMS Onyx (S21); it is now an official War Grave.

Simon Weston, a survivor of the Sir Galahad who suffered 46% burns, had his story widely reported including a number of BBC documentaries.