HMAS Supply

HMAS Supply (AO 195) was a Tide-class replenishment oiler of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Originally named Tide Austral and intended to be the first ship of a post-World War II Royal Australian Fleet Auxiliary, manpower and financial shortages meant that when the Belfast-built ship was launched in 1955, she could not be accepted into Australian service. Instead, she was loaned to the RFA, operating RFA Tide Austral (A99). In August 1962, the ship was commissioned directly into the RAN, then renamed a month later to HMAS Supply. Supply operated as part of the RAN until her decommissioning at the end of 1985.

Design, construction, and acquisition

In the early 1950s, the RAN considered acquiring a fleet tanker to support their forces. It was suggested that Australia order a Tide-class replenishment oiler from the United Kingdom (the Royal Navy having ordered three ships of the design), as the backlog of Navy construction in Australian dockyards would prevent an Australian-built tanker from entering service until at least the late 1950s. The tanker was to be the first ship of a post-war Royal Australian Fleet Auxiliary, would be manned by merchant seafarers to reduce demand on RAN service personnel, and would reduce the RAN's dependency on foreign fuel suppliers. The acquisition was approved by the Defence Committee and the Cabinet of Australia in August 1951, with the order placed by the end of the year.