HMS ''Example'' is an patrol and training vessel of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
, based at in
Gateshead,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. ''Example'' was originally built for the
Royal Naval Auxiliary Service
The Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) was a uniformed, unarmed, civilian volunteer service, administered and trained by the Royal Navy to operate in the ports and anchorages of the United Kingdom in an emergency. Although the abbreviated title ...
, and was transferred to the Royal Navy when the RNXS disbanded in 1994. On transfer, she retained her name, and became the first ship in the Royal Navy to bear that name.
HMS ''Example'' is currently part of the Coastal Forces Squadron, formerly 1st Patrol Boat Squadron. The mission statement of the CFS is to "provide support to allow the conduct of safe and effective P2000 operations in support of the URNU sea-training syllabus"; URNU is acronym for
University Royal Naval Unit. ''Example'' is attached to the Northumbrian URNU, is based at the shore establishment HMS ''Calliope'' in Gateshead, and has a crew of 5 (plus up to 12 students).
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
, Teesside
Teesside () is a built-up area around the River Tees in the north of England, split between County Durham and North Yorkshire. The name was initially used as a county borough in the North Riding of Yorkshire.
Historically a hub for heavy manu ...
and Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
universities. The ship takes part in deployments over the university summer and Easter holidays, giving the students an opportunity to spend a longer amount of time living on board the ship and to experience larger scale naval operations with other URNUs.
Operational history
''Example'' was built by Watercraft Ltd of Shoreham by Sea and launched in 1985. She was initially delivered to the Royal Navy Auxiliary Service (RNXS) as an auxiliary service vessel with the pennant number
In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...
A153. She was the lead vessel of a batch of four vessels known as the ''Example'' class, but was identical in design to the ''Archer'' class of patrol boats being simultaneously built for the Royal Navy.[
''Example'' and her sisters were transferred to the Royal Navy when the RNXS disbanded in 1994. She retained her existing name, but was reclassified as a patrol boat of the ''Archer'' class, and was given the new pennant number of P165.][
The ship played a prominent role in the 2004 '']Entente Cordiale
The Entente Cordiale (; ) comprised a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , United Kingdom and the French Third Republic , French Republic which saw a significant improvement in ...
'' celebrations, and escorted in the 2005 International Fleet Review. In summer 2006 the ship celebrated its 21st birthday with divisions at HMS ''Calliope'' with the salute taken by N Sherlock, Lord Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear. In 2008, ''Example'' took a prominent role in the Tyneside celebrations to mark the centenary of the Territorial Army centred on the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.
In 2012, in the company of sister ships , and , ''Example'' undertook a 12-week deployment visiting Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
, the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
before transiting the Kiel Canal
The Kiel Canal (german: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, literally "North- oEast alticSea canal", formerly known as the ) is a long freshwater canal in the Germany, German states of Germany, state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, ...
and attending Kiel Week
The Kiel Week (german: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the largest sailing event in Europe, and also one of the largest Volksfeste in Germany, attracting ...
. The deployment continued to Stockholm, St Petersburg and Tallinn
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
before returning to the UK.[
In November 2016, ''Example'' rejoined the fleet after a prolonged refit during which she received new engines allowing the ship to reach speeds of up to .]
See also
* University Royal Naval Unit
Notes
References
External links
HMS Example Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Example, HMS
Patrol vessels of the Royal Navy
Archer-class patrol vessels
Durham University
Newcastle University
Northumbria University
University of Sunderland
Teesside University
1985 ships