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HMS Archer (P264)
Encyclopedia
HMS Archer is the lead ship of the Archer-class
Archer class patrol vessel
The Archer class is a class of patrol and training vessels in service with the British Royal Navy, commonly referred to as a Fast Training Boat.-History & operations:...
. As the lead ship she was one of the few of her class to be completed (in 1985) by Watercraft Marine, the original shipbuilders - most of the remaining vessels were completed or built by Vosper Thornycroft.
She is attached to Aberdeen Universities' Royal Naval Unit
University Royal Naval Unit
A University Royal Naval Unit is a Royal Navy training establishment connected to a university, or a number of universities concentrated in one area...
(URNU) and based in Aberdeen Harbour. As such, Archer is the most northerly homeported Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
ship.
Early service
The Archer class were built as RNR training vessels, but after finding little use, were transferred to URNU service.URNU service
Archer became the training ship of Aberdeen URNU in 1991, succeeding Chaser. The role of a training ship within each URNU is to provide opportunities for students to receive practical training and gain experience afloat. Archers programme can be divided into two durations of training - a weekend or the longer deployments that take place during the university Easter and summer holidays.Weekend training usually take place in the vicinity of Aberdeen, sometimes with visits to nearby ports such as Buckie
Buckie
Buckie is a burgh town on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland in Moray. Buckie was the largest town in Banffshire by some thousands of inhabitants before regionalisation in 1975 removed that political division from the map of Scotland...
, Peterhead
Peterhead
Peterhead is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement , with a population of 17,947 at the 2001 Census and estimated to have fallen to 17,330 by 2006....
or Montrose
Montrose, Angus
Montrose is a coastal resort town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. It is situated 38 miles north of Dundee between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers...
. Activities onboard include navigation and seamanship training, breakdown or man overboard exercises and visits from local dignitaries or senior RN officers.
Deployments in the Easter and summer holidays venture further afield, Archer has visited ports from the Western Isles and east coast of Britain to the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and the Baltic. These longer deployments are often undertaken in company with other P2000s such as and .
Crew composition
Archer is permanently crewed by five Royal Navy personnel, captained by a lieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. Chief petty officer
Chief Petty Officer
A chief petty officer is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards.-Canada:"Chief Petty Officer" refers to two ranks in the Canadian Navy...
s fill the roles of executive officer and marine engineering officer, and the yeoman and weapons engineering officer are junior rates of the appropriate service branches.
With students embarked (up to a maximum of 12), a training officer is usually present who is typically an Royal Naval Reserve
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
lieutenant or sub-lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of...
.