Bay-class landing ship

The Bay class was designed as a replacement for the five logistics ships operated by the RFA. After the first Round Table returned to service two years late and after excessive cost, the Ministry of Defence began to investigate the acquisition of new ships. A shortfall of work for BAE's Govan yard led to fears that it could not deliver the Type 45 destroyers and s planned for later in the decade, so the Treasury agreed to fund an additional two LSDs to be built at Govan. Swan Hunter struggled to manage the project and contain costs; only 7% of the design drawings were provided on time and more than 52% were over a year late. The extent of the problems only came to light in September 2003, when Swan Hunter said they could not fulfill the contract at the agreed price. Lyme Bay was dedicated on 26 November 2007; the last ship of the class to enter RFA service. The ship was the only warship built by Swan Hunter but not completed; she marked the end of shipbuilding on the Tyne, as soon afterwards Swan Hunter sold its equipment to India and reinvented itself as an engineering consultancy. ==Characteristics==

The Bay class is certified as a class 1 passenger ship, with design similarities to ro-pax ferries. The ships were originally designated Auxiliary Landing Ship Logistics (ALSL), but this was changed in 2002 to Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) (LSD(A)), better reflecting their operational role and bringing them into line with the NATO designation for the Royal Schelde vessels. The Bay-class ships have a full load displacement of . For example, Largs Bays deployment in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake saw her sail with a core crew of 70, plus 40 Royal Logistic Corps personnel for boat- and cargo-handling duties, and 17 from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines for security and related tasks. As a sealift ship, each Bay-class vessel is capable of carrying up to 24 Challenger 2 tanks or 150 light trucks in 1,150 linear metres of space, with stern- and side-ramp access to the vehicle deck. 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. The flight deck is capable of handling helicopters up to the size of Chinooks, as well as Merlin helicopters and Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. There is no hangar for long-term embarkation of a helicopter, although a temporary shelter can be fitted to house a Merlin or smaller helicopter. The well dock can carry one LCU Mark 10 or two LCVPs, and two Mexeflotes can be suspended from the ship's flanks. Two 30-ton cranes are fitted between the superstructure and the flight deck. Internal passages are wide enough to allow two fully kitted marines to pass each other. ==Operational history==

In 2006 Mounts Bay took part in Operation Vela, a major amphibious exercise off West Africa. During the deployment, the ship visited ports across the Caribbean islands and the United States mainland, and intercepted a cocaine shipment. On 3 February 2010, Largs Bay headed to Haiti with aid supplies for relief efforts after the earthquake. On 18 February 2010, she arrived at Port-au-Prince and commenced unloading of the supplies. On 30 March 2010, she returned home. In December 2010, it was announced that a Bay-class vessel, later identified as Largs Bay, would be decommissioned in April 2011 as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. On 17 March 2011, the Australian Department of Defence announced that the RAN would be bidding for Largs Bay; this was followed on 6 April by news that a £65 million (A$100 million) bid had been successful. She was commissioned into the RAN on 13 December 2011 as , after receiving modifications for service in tropical conditions. A transformer in the propulsion system failed when she was en route to a training area on 14 June 2012, after earlier reports that the ship could not maintain top speed without transformers overheating. An insulation failure had short-circuited the failed transformer, while others aboard were showing signs of premature wear. With no spares available, the need to order from the manufacturer combined with the decision to replace all of the transformers aboard meant that Choules was kept out of service until April 2013. In June 2011, Cardigan Bay headed to Yemen to aid with the potential evacuation of British citizens affected by the ongoing unrest there. ==Ships in the class==