Scimitar-class patrol vessel
The Scimitar class were a class of fast patrol boat formerly in service with the British Royal Navy.
HMS Sabre, 2011 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Halmatic |
| Operators | Royal Navy |
| Preceded by | Archer class |
| Succeeded by | Cutlass class |
| In commission | 2003–2022 |
| Retired | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Patrol boat |
| Displacement | 24 tonnes (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 kn (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) |
The two vessels of this class were of a commercial design known as the Lifespan Patrol Vessel built by Halmatic (now BAE Systems Surface Ships), and formerly served in an inshore waterways anti-terrorist role in Northern Ireland. They were acquired for the Royal Navy in 2003 for service with the Gibraltar Squadron, releasing two Archer-class boats that had filled this role for service with the Cyprus Squadron.
With the decommissioning of the survey launch HMS Gleaner in February 2018, the two Scimitar-class boats became the smallest commissioned vessels in the Royal Navy. The two vessels were returned to the U.K. from Gibraltar in 2020, having been replaced there by two Archer-class boats, but were reported as still operational in Portsmouth at the end of 2020. Both vessels were decommissioned in a joint ceremony at Portsmouth Naval Base on 30 March 2022.