HMS ''Sabre'' was a

fast patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. She was commissioned into the

Gibraltar Squadron The Gibraltar Squadron is a unit of the United Kingdom, British Royal Navy. It is the only seagoing Royal Naval unit based in Gibraltar, attached to British Forces Gibraltar. It currently includes two Cutlass-class patrol vessel, ''Cutlass''-cla ...

on 31 January 2003 along with her

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

, and used for police, customs and rescue purposes. The two boats allowed the two of the squadron, and , to be reassigned to the Cyprus Squadron in April 2003 and April 2004 respectively.

Operational history

LPV ''Grey Wolf''

The vessel had previously been operated alongside her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

''Grey Fox'' as part of Operation Lifespan in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

since 1993 as LPV (Lough Patrol Vessel) ''Grey Wolf'' both vessels were based in their own special dock at Massereene barracks with access to 6 Mile Water in

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles. It has a surface area of and is about long and wide. According to Northern Ireland Water, it supplies 4 ...

, Northern Ireland where she was commanded and manned by a crew of seven

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

and two

personnel conducting maritime counter terrorism, surveillance, intelligence and anti-smuggling operations. The crew included a four-man team of Royal Marines to conduct boarding and ground operations the vessels would normally tow a Arctic

rigid inflatable boat A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are ...

(RIB) used to deploy this team.

HMS ''Sabre''

On 10 April 2009 a vessel from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

's Civil Guard Police force entered Gibraltar territorial waters unannounced and approached the area near Gibraltar's airport. HMS ''Sabre'' approached, and there was no response from the Spanish vessel. It was warned to leave the

territorial waters Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...

, and after consulting with its superiors it did so. However, accounts vary between the Royal Navy and the Spanish versions. The Royal Navy states that its guns were loaded at the time, however the Spanish accounts state that the guns were specifically pointed at the Spanish vessel. In addition, Spanish MP Jose Ignacio Landaluce from the People's Party vowed to take up the issue in

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. He said Spain "would not allow a Civil Guard vessel to be expelled from its own home". In May 2016

's Civil Guard Police force vessel ''Rio Cedena'' twice tried to cut across the path of the submarine in Gibraltar territorial waters. HMS ''Sabre'' fired warning flares to deter the Spanish vessel.

Replacement

In July 2017 it was revealed that the Gibraltar Squadron would receive two new warships which will be more "capable", "faster" and have "bigger guns", to replace ''Sabre'' and ''Scimitar'' "within the next two years". On 24 July 2020, an announcement was made that the promised two new warships had been ordered from Marine Specialised Technology (MST Ltd) with the first to be delivered in Q3 2021/22 and the second in Q1 2022/2023. The contract is expected to cost at least £9.9 million. The patrol vessel replacements are initially going to be armed with X3 General Purpose Machine Guns (one on the foredeck and two on the aft deck) as well as being fitted for but not with a 0.50 cal Heavy Machine Gun. The ships are going to be long, carry six crew and six passengers and travel at . In September 2020 ''Sabre'', along with her sister ship ''Scimitar'', returned to Portsmouth aboard having been replaced temporarily by and before their long-term replacements arrive. After operating in UK waters for a period, ''Sabre'' and ''Scimitar'' were decommissioned in a joint ceremony at Portsmouth Naval Base on 30 March 2022.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabre (P285)

Sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

1993 ships