and sixteen on Elk. Units were issued with supplies and equipment they would require for an amphibious assault. Meanwhile, Intrepid, Atlantic Conveyor, Norland and Europic Ferry departed the UK on 25 and 26 April, and Sir Bedivere, which reached Marchwood on 25 April, sailed for Ascension on 27 April. The five LSLs, carrying most of the Commando Logistic Regiment, weighed anchor and set out for the Falkland Islands on 1 May, along with Pearleaf and escorted by the frigate . Norland arrived at Ascension on the morning of 7 May, and departed for the Falklands that evening. Canberra, Tidepool and Elk had left the previous day, and the last ship, the LPD Intrepid, departed Ascension on 8 May. To allow ships to be resupplied by air when operating in the South Atlantic, modifications were made to the Hercules aircraft, which normally had a range of about . At RAF Lyneham, Hercules transports were fitted with pairs of auxiliary fuel tanks, thereby extending their range by three or four hours. Adding four tanks increased the range further still, but reduced the cargo carrying capacity by 75 per cent. These modified Hercules aircraft became known as LR2 and LR4 variants, depending on how many auxiliary tanks had been installed. They were also modified to allow for aerial refuelling by the addition of refuelling probes taken from Vulcan bombers. In the search for refuelling probes, they were taken from Vulcans at the Royal Air Force Museum London, Imperial War Museum Duxford, Castle Air Museum in California, and the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Nebraska. The Hercules transports were the first propeller-driven aircraft to be refuelled by Victor tankers. The difference in the speeds required skilful flying. A Victor would approach a Hercules from above and aft at . The Hercules would then descend at per minute. At full throttle, this allowed the Hercules to reach , the minimum speed of the Victor. Refuelling took about 15 minutes, by which time they would have descended to , but occasionally it took longer and they descended as low as . Part of 47 Air Despatch Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport, went to Ascension on Fearless. They prepared their first packages for airdropping on 19 April, of high priority supplies for and Invincible. The first LR2 Hercules arrived at Wideawake Airfield on 12 May, and four days later a 24-hour, flight delivered of supplies