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HMS Blazer (P279)
Organisation / Units & Squadrons

HMS Blazer (P279)

HMS Blazer tests the skills of students from Southampton, Portsmouth and Solent Universities; she’s a sea training vessel for Southampton University Royal Naval Unit.

HMS Blazer

Role

Blazer plays a unique and valued role engaging the public, inspiring the next generation and getting involved in other operations when she’s called on.

Weekly drill evenings are held every Thursday of term time. Tuition falls into three areas: basic navigation and seamanship, leadership and team building skills, and strategic studies and current affairs.

During  the ten-week university term, six or seven weekends will be spent at sea. Then, in the summer and over Easter, HMS Blazer and her students make five two-week deployments. In the past, these have included port visits to the Channel Islands, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

Capability

HMS Blazer trains tomorrow’s talent by running weekly drill evenings in term-time, before heading off for adventurous deployments during holidays.

  • Young Officers gain their navigation stripes using Blazer, and it’s usually their first time at the helm.
  • Blazer is able to represent the Navy in smaller ports that the larger ships in the fleet are unable to get into.
  • She has an impressive an endurance of 550nm at 22kts. 
  • Though one of our smaller craft at 21 metres long with a 54 tonne displacement, she has deployed as far as the Baltic.
Archer Class

Crew

Led by Lieutenant F Howes, HMS Blazer is an Archer Class P2000 Fast Patrol Boat, built by Watercraft Marine in 1985 – one of five based in HMNB Portsmouth.

The ship’s motto is ‘Premier in the First’, and she has hosted royalty onboard, including Prince Michael of Kent.

HMS Blazer has a compliment (minimum) crew of five: one Lt, two CPOs, one LH and one AB. However, she can carry a maximum of 20 personnel on board and deploys twice a year, usually at around Easter and again in the summer.

Unit history

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