The 79' Fleet Tenders of the Royal Navy

14  Aberdovey Class
These all have a small deckhouse and a wheelhouse only slightly raised above the main deckhouse. The Aberdovey class, the Clovelly class, and the Dive Tenders are all named for small towns in the UK.
Name	Pennant Number	Comm	Builder	Disposition
Aberdovey1	Y10	1963	Plimbott
Abinger	Y11	1964	Plimbott
Alness, now Eurosalve	Y12	1965	Plimbott
Alnmouth, now Chieftain	Y13	1966	Plimbott
Appleby	A383	1967	Plimbott
Ashcott	Y16	1968	Plimbott
Beaulieu	A99	1966	Doig	Sunk after collision
Beddgelert	A100	1967	Doig
Bembridge	A101	1968	Doig
Bibury2	A103	1969	Doig
Blakeney	A104	1970	Doig
Brodick	A105	1971	Doig
Cartmel	A350	1971	Plimbott	Sold for scrap
Cawsand	A351	1971	Plimbott
Bibury was Sultan Venturer about 1986-1992, assigned to HMS Sultan, the Royal Navy's School of Air and Marine Engineering at Portsmouth.
31  Clovelly Class
These all have the wheelhouse raised a full deck above the main deck. The earlier boats, including Fintry, were built with 220VDC electrical systems; the later ones have AC systems. They all have a Portuguese bridge in front of the wheelhouse and bridge wings, but the aft upper deck is only the width of the deckhouse.
Name	Pennant Number	Comm	Builder	Disposition
Clovelly3	A389	1972	Plimbott
Criccieth, now Hydrex4	A391	1972	Plimbott
Cricklade5	A381	1971	Holmes
Cromarty	A488	1972	Lewis
Denmead now St. Katharine6	A363	1972	Holmes
Dornoch	A490	1972	Lewis
Dunster	A393	1972	Dunston
Elkstone	A353	1971	Cook
Elsing4	A277	1971	Cook	Scrapped
Epworth	A355	1972	Cook
Ettrick4	A274	1972	Cook
Felsted7	A348	1972	Dunston
Fintry	A394	1972	Lewis
Fotherby	A341	1972	Dunston
Froxfield	A354	1972	Dunston
Fulbeck	A365	1972	Holmes
Glencoe	A392	1972	Plimbott	In Philippines
Grasmere	A402	1972	Lewis
Hambledon	A1769	1973	Dunston
Harlech	A1768	1973	Dunston
Headcorn	A1766	1973	Dunston
Hever	A1767	1973	Dunston
Holmwood	A1772	1973	Dunston
Horning, now Mair	A1773	1973	Dunston
Lamlash	A208	1974	Dunston
Lechlade	A211	1974	Dunston
Llandovery	A207	1974	Dunston
Lydford ex Alert ex Loyal Governor8	A251/A510	1975	Plimbott
Meon	A87	1982	Dunston
Milford	A91	1982	Dunston	In Peru
Melton	A83	1981	Dunston
Menai	A84	1981	Dunston
According to Mike Critchley's authoritative bienniel British Warships and Auxiliaries, Melton, Menai, and Meon are the only Fleet Tenders still in service at the end of 2002.
5  Dive Tenders
The five Dive Tenders all have partially enclosed deckhouses forward of the main deckhouse, a full width upper deck aft, and substantial cranes for use as diving tenders.
Name	Pennant Number	Comm	Builder	Disposition
Ilchester	A308	1974	Gregson
Instow	A309	1974	Gregson
Invergordon	A311	1974	Gregson
Ironbridge	A310	1974	Gregson	Sunk as target
Ixworth	A318	1974	Gregson	In Peru
Ilchester, Instow, and Ixworth were all for sale by Babcock's, July 2003. In November, 2003, Ironbridge was partially stripped in preparation for being sunk as a target for a new missle system. Ixworth is up the Amazon in Peru as Amazon Hope II
10  Loyal Class
The Loyals were built in the late seventies as training vessels. They have interior hatches down into the holds, which have living quarters. Externally, they are very similar to the Clovellys.
Name	Pennant Number	Comm	Builder	Disposition
Loyal Chancellor	A1770
Loyal Factor ex Vigilant	A382
Loyal Helper	A157	1977
Loyal Mediator	A161
Loyal Moderator	A220
Loyal Proctor	A1771
Loyal Supporter	A158	1978	Dunston
Loyal Volunteer	A160
Loyal Watcher	A159		Dunston
Loyal Factor was Sultan Venturer from 1992-?
Loyal Governor (A510), became Alert (A510) and then Lydford (A251).
4  Manly Class (large deckhouse)
The eight “M” tenders are sometimes listed together as the “Manly” class, but four of them -- Manly, Mentor, Messina, and Milbrook -- have distinctive large deckhouses and wheelhouses, while the others -- Melton, Menai, Meon, and Milford -- are part of the the Clovelly class. The former were operated by the RN as training vessels; the latter by the RMAS. Like the Loyals, the Manly class have inside stairs down and watertight doors going forward, with the two holds divided into five bunkrooms.
Name	Pennant Number	Comm	Builder	Disposition
Manly9	A92	1981	Dunston	Scrapped
Mentor9	A94	1981	Dunston
Messina	A107	1982	Dunston
Milbrook	A97	1981	Dunston

Note that I show only name changes in government service or that appear to be permanent. Others have been given new names after they were sold. The photos with each class name are all in more or less original configuration. The individual boat photos show the wide variety of changes that have been made over the years by the Navy and new owners.

The Builders

Photo Credits:
1) Sgt. Haywood
2) Sharon Guile
3) Mark Slowen
4) Neill Rush
5) Steve Carmichael-Timson
6) Cas Pijpers
7) Peter Swarbrick
8) Sharon Kemp
9) Xavier