HMS Pursuer (P273)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Pursuer.
HMS Pursuer, 2011
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Pursuer
Operator: Royal Navy
Builder: Vosper Thornycroft
Sponsored by: Ballyregan Bob
Commissioned: 1988
Homeport: Faslane
Identification:

Pennant number: P273

International callsign: GAAT

Motto: Relentless Pursuit
Status: in active service
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type: Archer class patrol vessel
Displacement: 54 tonnes[1]
Length: 20.8 m
Beam: 5.8 m
Draught: 1.8 m
Propulsion: 2 shafts, Cat C18 ACERT diesels
Speed:
  • 16 kn (30 km/h)[2]
  • 45 kn (83 km/h) (Hull design, but limited due to engine fitted)
Range: 550 nmi (1,020 km)
Complement:
  • 18 (training)[N 1]
  • 12 (operational)
Sensors and
processing systems:		 Decca 1216 navigation radar
Armament:

HMS Pursuer is an Archer-class P2000 patrol and training vessel of the British Royal Navy. She is currently the training vessel of Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities Royal Naval Unit (G&S URNU) based at HMNB Clyde where she was until 2012 part of the Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron (FPBS). She has also served in Cyprus.

History

Pursuer was built at Vosper Thorneycroft and commissioned in 1988. The famous greyhound Ballyregan Bob was guest of honour at her launch, a unique recognition of the greyhound on her badge. Prior to 2003 Pursuer was the training vessel of Sussex University Royal Naval Unit (SUSURNU).

Pursuer and HMS Dasher were sent to Cyprus ahead of Operation Telic, the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, transported on board the CEC Mayflower. The Royal Navy Cyprus Squadron was created in February 2003 to protect ships around the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus, a vital staging post in the British logistic chain to Iraq. Both were fitted with Kevlar armour and three FN MAG General Purpose Machine Guns, with an extra crew member (compared to the P2000s assigned to URNU duties) employed as a Gunners Yeoman.[2] In 2007 she helped rescue the fishing vessel Seafighter3 which had run aground on Cape Zevgari.[3]

The Cyprus Squadron was disbanded in 2010 and Pursuer was assigned to the Faslane Patrol Boat Squadron, protecting the ballistic missile submarines at HMNB Clyde. In September 2012 her force protection duties were taken over by the more modern HMS Tracker and she was reassigned to Glasgow URNU.


Notes

  1. ↑ 5 ship's company, 1 training officer, 12 URNU students.
  2. ↑ When operational and not in URNU role.

References

  1. ↑ Royal Navy - Patrol Boats - Archer class, royalnavy.mod.uk, Retrieved 14 June 2014
  2. 1 2 "HMS Dasher". Royal Navy. Archived from the original on June 9, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Flare from Pursuer". Navy News. October 2007. p. 4.
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