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HMAS ''Choules'' (L100) is a that served with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) from 2006 to 2011, before being transferred to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The vessel was built as RFA ''Largs Bay'' by Swan Hunter in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear. She was named after Largs Bay in Ayrshire, Scotland, and entered service in November 2006. During her career with the RFA, ''Largs Bay'' served as the British ship assigned to patrol the Falkland Islands in 2008, and delivered relief supplies following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. At the end of 2010, ''Largs Bay'' was marked as one of the vessels to be removed from service under the Strategic Defence and Security Review. She was offered for sale, with the RAN announced as the successful bidder in April 2011. After modifications to make her more suited for Australian operating conditions, the vessel was commissioned in December 2011 as HMAS ''Choules'', named after Chief Petty Officer Claude Choules. ==Design and construction== The Bay class was designed as a replacement for the logistics ships operated by the RFA.〔 The new design was based on the Royal Schelde Enforcer design; a joint project between the Dutch and Spanish resulting in the and amphibious warfare ships.〔 The main difference with the British ships is the lack of a helicopter hangar.〔Kemp, ''New UK landing ship takes to the water''〕 The ships were originally designated "auxiliary landing ship logistics" or ALSL, but this was changed in 2002 to "landing ship dock (auxiliary)" or LSD(A), better reflecting their operational role.〔Scott, ''The Royal Navy's Future Fleet''〕 Four ships were ordered; two from Swan Hunter, and two from BAE Systems Naval Ships.〔 The Bay-class ships have a full load displacement of in RFA service; this increased slightly to after modifications for RAN service.〔〔 ''Largs Bay''/''Choules'' is long, with a beam of , and a draught of .〔 Propulsion power is provided by two Wärtsilä 8L26 generators, providing , and two Wärtsilä 12V26 generators, providing .〔 These are used to drive two steerable propulsion pods, with a bow thruster supplementing.〔 Maximum speed is , and the Bay-class ships can achieve a range of at .〔 ''Largs Bay'' was fitted for but not with a Phalanx CIWS and a 30 mm DS30B cannon when required for self defence.〔Royal Navy, ''RFA Largs Bay''〕 The RAN's webpage for ''Choules'' does not specify any armament.〔 In British service, the everyday ship's company consisted of 60 to 70 RFA personnel, with this number supplemented by members of the British Armed Forces when ''Largs Bay'' was deployed operationally.〔〔 The RAN opted to maintain the ship at full operational crewing at all times, with a ship's company of 158, including 22 Army and 6 RAAF personnel.〔〔 As a sealift ship, ''Largs Bay'' is capable of carrying up to 1,150 linear metres of vehicles; equivalent to 24 Challenger 2 tanks, 32 M1A1 Abrams tanks, or 150 light trucks.〔〔Royal Australian Navy, ''HMAS Choules''〕 The cargo capacity is equivalent of 200 tons of ammunition, or 24 Twenty-foot equivalent unit containers.〔 During normal conditions, a Bay-class ship can carry 356 soldiers, but this can be almost doubled to 700 in overload conditions.〔 No helicopters are carried on board, but the twin-spot flight deck is capable of handling helicopters up to the size of Chinooks, as well as Merlin helicopters and Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and a temporary hangar can be fitted as required.〔〔〔Scott, ''Sweating the asset: versatility is the key to LSD(A) multi-tasking''〕 The well dock can carry one LCU Mark 10, one LCM-8, or two LCVPs (either the Royal Marines version or the Royal Australian Navy version), and two Mexeflotes can be suspended from the ship's flanks.〔〔〔 The LCM-1E landing craft being acquired by the RAN will not fit into the dock.〔Gillett, ''Australia's Navy'', Part 2, p. 22〕 Two 30-ton cranes are fitted between the superstructure and the flight deck.〔 ''Largs Bay'' and sister ship were ordered from Swan Hunter on 18 December 2000.〔 ''Largs Bay'' was laid down at Swan Hunter's shipyard at Wallsend, Tyne and Wear on 28 January 2002; the first ship of the class work started on.〔Saunders (ed.), ''Jane's Fighting Ships 2008–2009'', p. 876〕 The ship was launched on 18 July 2003.〔 The ship was completed and accepted by the Ministry of Defence in April 2006, over a year late.〔 ''Largs Bay'' was dedicated on 28 November 2006, the second of the class to enter service with the RFA.〔 The Bay class construction project saw major delays and cost overruns, particularly in the Swan Hunter half of the project.〔Brown, ''UK strips Swan Hunter of LSD(A) role''〕 Shortly after ''Largs Bay'' was handed over, Swan Hunter was stripped from the project, with BAE taking full responsibility for the class and ''Lyme Bay'' towed to BAE's shipyard in Govan for completion in June 2006.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMAS Choules (L100)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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