RFA Tarbatness
| _at_sea_in_the_1970s.jpg) RFA Tarbatness (A345) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
|  United Kingdom | |
| Name | RFA Tarbatness | 
| Namesake | likely for Tarbat Ness in Scotland | 
| Ordered | 7 December 1964 | 
| Builder | Swan Hunter | 
| Yard number | 2018 | 
| Laid down | 15 April 1966 | 
| Launched | 28 February 1967 | 
| Commissioned | 10 August 1967 | 
| Decommissioned | 1980 | 
| Fate | Chartered by US MSC, later bought | 
|  United States | |
| Name | USNS Spica | 
| Acquired | 30 September 1981 | 
| Commissioned | 1 November 1981 | 
| Decommissioned | 26 January 2008 | 
| Renamed | 5 November 1981 | 
| Fate | Sunk as target in Training exercise Sinkex, 9 May 2009. | 
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Ness-class combat stores ship | 
| Displacement | 16,792 long tons (17,061 t) full load | 
| Length | 523 ft 4 in (159.51 m) | 
| Beam | 72 ft 3 in (22.02 m) | 
| Draft | 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m) | 
| Propulsion | 1 × 8-cylinder Sulzer diesel | 
| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h) | 
| Complement | 110 RFA + 50 Stores Working Party | 
| Aviation facilities | Fitted with a flight deck but no hangar facilities until purchased by USMSC | 
RFA Tarbatness (A345) was a fleet stores ship of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.[1]
In 1981, the ship was bought by the United States Military Sealift Command to serve as USNS Spica (T-AFS-9).[1]
References
- ^ a b "RFA Tarbatness". Historical RFA. 15 October 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
 

