HMS ''Explorer'' is an P2000-type

patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as Law enforcement officer, law enforcement officers, military personnel, or Security guard, security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology Fro ...

and training vessel of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. The ship is primarily assigned to the Yorkshire Universities Royal Naval Unit (URNU), serving the universities of

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

and

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. The ship is based in Kingston-Upon-Hull and mainly operates on the East coast of the UK, particularly in and around the river

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between th ...

. HMS ''Explorer'' is the second ship to bear the name; her predecessor was an unarmed experimental Walter-turbine submarine based on the captured high test peroxide (HTP) powered

German Type XVIIB submarine The Type XVII U-boats were small coastal submarines that used a high-test peroxide propulsion system, which offered a combination of air-independent propulsion and high submerged speeds. Background In the early 1930s Hellmuth Walter had designed ...

launched in 1956 and scrapped in 1965.

Construction

HMS Example (P165) & HMS Archer (P264) & HMS Explorer (P165)

''Explorer'' was built in 1986 by the now-defunct Watercraft Marine 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 w ...

(RNXS) as an ''Example'' class tender, to the same design as the Royal Navy ''Archer'' class, as XSV ''Explorer''. The ''Example'' class were distinguishable from their Royal Navy counterparts by their black painted hull until 2005, though they shared the same characteristics as them, being twin screw vessels constructed from moulded

glass-reinforced plastic Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

(GRP).

Operational service

''Explorer'' served for eight years as a RNXS tender with the pennant number A154 before being transferred to the Royal Navy upon the disbanding of the service in 1994. Upon joining the Naval service, the ship was assigned to the recently formed Yorkshire Universities Royal Navy Unit as its designated training vessel. The ship's primary role is undergraduate sea training in support of the units programme of navigational skills and seamanship training, and this is accomplished through designated 'sea weekends' as well as Easter and Summer deployments, during which the ship deploys for up to five weeks. During these deployments, the five person ship's company remain 'in theatre' while students are transported out to the ship's location. After receiving a significant engine upgrade in 2014, the ship's range was greatly enhanced and consequently in summer 2015 and 2016 ''Explorer'' has deployed to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

where the ship conducted a range of training and local engagements. In addition to the ship's role as a training vessel, ''Explorer'' is also utilised by the Royal Navy for a range of ceremonial and other fleet tasking. The ship's comparatively small size is an asset in this regard, allowing the Royal Navy to "show the White Ensign in places that larger vessels cannot reach". Recent examples of this include regular cooperation with Humberside Police and Humberside Search and Rescue in the

, as well as ceremonial operations including providing transport for dignitaries including members of the royal family at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland (german: Skagerrakschlacht, the Battle of the Skagerrak) was a naval battle fought between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy ...

Centenary commemorations in June 2016, and acting as guard ship for the 2016 Sunderland Air Show. The ship also takes part in public engagement events in order to raise the profile of the Royal Navy and provide a Naval presence where tasking or size limitations make other ships unsuitable. HMS Explorer Biter Pursuer Baltic

''Explorer,'' along with the other 13 URNU-assigned ''Archer''-class vessels, and, since 2020, the as well, is assigned to the Coastal Forces Squadron (CFS) Inshore Division (until May 2020 the Inshore Division was named the 1st Patrol Boat Squadron (1PBS)), under the command of Commander CFS. As such, they are assigned to the

Portsmouth flotilla Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dense ...

, although in practise most vessels are based elsewhere. ''Explorer'' is one of three P2000s whose home port is not a Royal Navy or Royal Navy Reserve establishment, along with (Wales URNU) and (Cambridge URNU) which are based in Penarth Marina,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, and

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

marina, respectively.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Explorer Patrol vessels of the Royal Navy Archer-class patrol vessels 1986 ships