HMS Sabre off Gibraltar in 2011 | |
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | LPV Grey Wolf |
Operator | Royal Marines |
Builder | VT Halmatic, Southampton |
Commissioned | January 1993 |
Out of service | September 2002 |
Homeport | Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland |
Identification |
|
Fate | Transferred to Royal Navy |
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Sabre |
Operator | Royal Navy |
Acquired | September 2002 |
Commissioned | 31 January 2003 |
Decommissioned | 30 March 2022 |
Homeport | Gibraltar |
Identification |
|
Status | Awaiting Disposal |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Scimitar-class patrol vessel |
Displacement | 24 t (24 long tons) |
Length | 16 m (52 ft 6 in) |
Beam | 3.1 m (10 ft 2 in) |
Draught | 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) |
Propulsion | 2 × MAN 2480LXE diesels, 2 shafts |
Speed | 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph) |
Range | 260 nmi (480 km; 300 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
Complement | 5 (1 officer, 4 ratings) |
Sensors and processing systems | Racal-Decca Bridgemaster 360, I band navigation radar |
Armament | 2 × General purpose machine guns (stern-mounted) |
HMS Sabre was a Scimitar-class fast patrol boat of the British Royal Navy. She was commissioned into the Gibraltar Squadron on 31 January 2003 along with her sister Scimitar, and used for police, customs and rescue purposes. [1] The two boats allowed the two Archer-class patrol vessel of the squadron, Trumpeter and Ranger, to be reassigned to the Cyprus Squadron in April 2003 and April 2004 respectively.
The vessel had previously been operated alongside her sister ship Grey Fox as part of Operation Lifespan in Northern Ireland since 1993 as LPV (Lough Patrol Vessel) Grey Wolf [2] [3] both vessels were based in their own special dock at Massereene barracks with access to 6 Mile Water in Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland where she was commanded and manned by a crew of seven Royal Marines and two Royal Navy 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 22 ft (6.7 m) Arctic rigid inflatable boat (RIB) used to deploy this team. [4]
On 10 April 2009 a vessel from Spain's Civil Guard Police force entered Gibraltar territorial waters unannounced and approached the area near Gibraltar's airport. [5] HMS Sabre approached, and there was no response from the Spanish vessel. It was warned to leave the territorial waters, 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. He said Spain "would not allow a Civil Guard vessel to be expelled from its own home".
In May 2016 Spain's Civil Guard Police force vessel Rio Cedena twice tried to cut across the path of the submarine USS Florida in Gibraltar territorial waters. [6] HMS Sabre fired warning flares to deter the Spanish vessel. [7]
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". [8]
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 19 m (62 ft) long, carry six crew and six passengers and travel at 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph). [9]
In September 2020 Sabre, along with her sister ship Scimitar, returned to Portsmouth aboard MV Anvil Point having been replaced temporarily by HMS Dasher and HMS Pursuer before their long-term replacements arrive. [10]
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. [11]
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, and a component of His Majesty's Naval Service. 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 France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the English Navy of the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.
Standing Royal Navy deployments is a list of operations and commitments undertaken by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy on a worldwide basis. The following list details these commitments and deployments sorted by region and in alphabetical order. Routine deployments made by the Navy's nuclear-powered submarines and their location of operations is classified.
The Gibraltar Squadron is a unit of the 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 fast patrol boats with a maximum speed of up to 41-knots. The squadron also uses three Pacific 24 rigid-hulled inflatable boats and deploys one diving support boat. The 2021 defence white paper indicated that henceforth, one River-class offshore patrol vessel, HMS Trent, would also be permanently based in Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean and in the Gulf of Guinea. As of 2023, 28 personnel were assigned to the squadron, along with additional personnel assigned to HMS Trent.
HMS Pursuer is an Archer-class P2000 patrol and training vessel of the Royal Navy.
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The Archer class is a class of patrol and training vessel in service with the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, commonly referred to as a "fast training boat". Most are assigned to Coastal Forces Squadron. HMS Tracker and HMS Raider are armed and provide maritime force protection to high value shipping in the Firth of Clyde and are most commonly employed as escorts for submarines transiting to Faslane. Pursuer and Dasher were also armed during their deployment on maritime force protection duties with the Gibraltar Squadron from 2020-2022.
HMS Dasher is an Archer-class P2000 patrol and training vessel of the British Royal Navy. Dasher was built at Vosper Thorneycroft and commissioned in 1988.
HMS Scimitar was a Scimitar-class fast patrol boat of the British Royal Navy. She is a Lifespan Patrol Vessel type boat and formerly served in inland waterway duties in Northern Ireland as MV Grey Fox. She was acquired to serve with the Gibraltar Squadron, tasked with policing, customs and search and rescue duties. This released an Archer-class patrol vessel for tasking with the Cyprus Squadron.
The Scimitar class were a class of fast patrol boat formerly in service with the British Royal Navy.
The Kenya Navy is the naval branch of the Kenya Defence Forces. It is headquartered in Mombasa.
Three vessels of the Royal Navy have been called HMS Sabre after the weapon:
The West Indies Squadron, or the West Indies Station, was a United States Navy squadron that operated in the West Indies in the early nineteenth century. It was formed due to the need to suppress piracy in the Caribbean Sea, the Antilles and the Gulf of Mexico region of the Atlantic Ocean. This unit later engaged in the Second Seminole War until being combined with the Home Squadron in 1842. From 1822 to 1826 the squadron was based out of Saint Thomas Island until the Pensacola Naval Yard was constructed.
The West Indies Anti-Piracy Operations were a series of military operations and engagements undertaken by the United States Navy against pirates in and around the Antilles. Between 1814 and 1825, the American West Indies Squadron hunted pirates on both sea and land, primarily around Cuba and Puerto Rico. After the capture of Roberto Cofresi in 1825, acts of piracy became rare, and the operation was considered a success, although limited occurrences went on until slightly after the start of the 20th century.
HMS Trent is a Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel, named after the River Trent. This is the sixth Royal Navy ship named Trent. She is the third Batch 2 River-class vessel to be commissioned and is forward deployed to Gibraltar for operations in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Guinea.
HMS Cutlass is a Cutlass-class fast patrol boat of the British Royal Navy. She is a fast patrol boat with a maximum speed around 41 knots designed for sovereignty protection and coastal security duties. She is part of the Royal Navy's Gibraltar Squadron and arrived in the territory in November 2021 after undergoing sea trials in Liverpool. The boat was formally handed over to the Royal Navy in March 2022.
The Cutlass class is a class of fast patrol boat of the British Royal Navy.
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HMS Dagger is a Cutlass-class fast patrol boat of the British Royal Navy. She is a fast patrol boat with a maximum speed around 41 knots designed for sovereignty protection and coastal security duties. She is part of the Royal Navy's Gibraltar Squadron and arrived in the territory in April 2022
Centinela(P-72) is a Serviola-class patrol boat of the Spanish Navy built in 1990. It conducts maritime security operations in the Strait of Gibraltar and the Gulf of Guinea.