The
picket boat
A picket boat is a type of small naval craft. These are used for harbor patrol and other close inshore work, and have often been carried by larger warships as a ship's boat. They are usually 30 to 55 feet long.
Patrol boats, or any craft engaged ...
of the
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 ...
, (also sometimes called a P1000) was a twin screw boat in use at
Britannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, also known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...
in
Dartmouth primarily to train
officer cadet
Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps.
Th ...
s in boat handling and seamanship.
History
Although these boats were once carried on Royal Navy destroyers and above, they came to serve at the college in
Dartmouth and could be seen flying the
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
or the
blue ensign
The Blue Ensign is a British ensign that may be used on vessels by certain authorised yacht clubs, Royal Research Ships and British merchant vessels whose master holds a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve or has otherwise been issued a wa ...
regularly on the
River Dart
The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that source (river), rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth, Devon, Dartmouth.
Name
Most hydronyms in England derive from the Common Brittonic, Brythonic language (from which ...
and near the coast close to
Start Point.
The significance of the colour of the ensigns was based on the use of the vessel, but generally when the vessel was on official Royal Navy business through the training of officer cadets then it flew the white ensign; when crewed by the
Royal Fleet Auxiliary
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
The RF ...
, it flew the blue ensign.
Prince William
William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales.
William was born during the reign of his p ...
trained on picket boats as part of his officer training at Dartmouth, which he undertook from June, 2008.
Picket boats took their place in history once again by falling into place on the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
for the Jubilee River Pageant in 2012. On this occasion the crews were commanded by Officers on the Initial Warfare Officer Foundation Course (IWOF) at Dartmouth, and crewed by officer cadets from Lancaster Division, undergoing initial naval training.
Eight "Sea Class 15" work boats by
ATLAS Elektronik
Atlas Elektronik GmbH is a naval/marine electronics and systems business based in Bremen, Germany. It is involved in the development of integrated sonar systems for submarines and heavyweight torpedoes.
The company was a subsidiary of BAE Syste ...
UK (AEUK) were ordered replace the picket boats from autumn 2020. The first new boat was delivered in November 2020.
See also
*
*
*
Patrol Craft Fast
The Patrol Craft Fast (PCF), also known as Swift Boat, were all-aluminum, long, shallow-draft vessels operated by the United States Navy, initially to patrol the coastal areas and later for work in the interior waterways as part of the brown-wa ...
- the "Swift Boats"
*
Scimitar-class patrol vessel
References
{{reflist
External links
BBC News - Prince William starts at BRNCPicket boat helps stricken yachtPicket boats in Jubilee pageantPicket boats practice for Jubilee pageant
Patrol vessels of the Royal Navy
Military boats