Role
Versatile and able to operate in confined waters, HMS Express conducts many roles, including maritime security, support to NATO operations and assisting in the training of future Warfare Officers of the Royal Navy.
Organisation / Units & Squadrons
HMS Express (P163)
HMS Express is one of the 14 Archer Class patrol vessels that form the Coastal Forces Squadron.
Capability
HMS Express is based in Penarth Marina in Cardiff Bay. She is proud to be affiliated with HMS Dragon, HM Submarine Trenchant as well as local cadet groups and schools.
Crew
Led by Lieutenant Stubbington, HMS Express can accommodate up to ten additional personnel in addition to her five Ship’s Company already embarked. Her activities and responsibilities include:
- Maritime Security
- Force Protection
- Supporting NATO Operations and Exercises including JOINT WARRIOR and TYPHOON WARRIOR
- Navigation and Seamanship Training
- Regional Engagement
Unit history
1695
The First Express
The first Royal Navy vessel to bear the name Express is a six-gun advice boat, built in Portsmouth dockyard and sold in 1712.
1800
The Second Express
The second Express, a six-gun schooner, is launched at Rotherhithe in 1800 and sold in 1813.
1808
The Third Express
Another advice boat, purchased from the Americans in 1808, is christened HMS Express is 1808. She has a notable role in the Battle of Martinique in 1809.
1815
The Fourth Express
Express number four is built at Plymouth Dockyard in 1815. The 12-gun schooner is sold in Malta 12 years later.
1835
The Fifth Express
A six-gun packet brig is launched at Deptford in October 1835. Weighing in at 360 tonnes, the fifth HMS Express is sold in early 1862.
1874
The Sixth Express
The next ship to bear the name Express is a 455-tonne screw gunboat, launched at Doxford in July 1874.
1897
The Seventh Express
The next ship is a 500-ton destroyer from Laird, launched in December 1897 and sold in March 1921.
1934
The Eighth Express
The eighth Express is a 1375-tonne E-class destroyer, launched by Swan Hunter on 29 May 1934.
1943
World War II
Serving at Dunkirk and in the Far East, then transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1943, HMS Express continues to play an active role in the war. She is eventually scuttled for use as a breakwater in the mid-1950s.
1988
The current Express
The ninth HMS Express is commissioned into the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNAS). On transfer into the Royal Navy, she retains the black paintwork normally reserved for RNAS ships for several years.
Follow HMS Express on X
@HMSExpress
Join the Surface Fleet
Ready to go places? A career in the Surface Fleet could take you all over the world - on missions as varied as the oceans we defend.