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HMS EXPRESS is one of the 14 Archer-class patrol vessels that form the Coastal Forces Squadron. Versatile and able to operate in confined waters she conducts many roles including Maritime Security, Support to NATO Operations and assisting in the training of future Warfare Officers of the Royal Navy.
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.
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HMS EXPRESS can accommodate up to ten additional personnel in addition to her five Ship’s Company already embarked. Her activities and responsibilities include:
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British ships and units, which include the Royal Marines, are committed to operations around the world.
Exercise Baltops is the largest multinational maritime exercise in the Baltic Sea, demonstrating the UK's continuing commitment to the collective security of NATO allies.
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The first Royal Navy vessel to bear the name Express is a six-gun advice boat, built in Portsmouth dockyard and sold in 1712.
The second Express, a six-gun schooner, is launched at Rotherhithe in 1800 and sold in 1813.
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.
Express number four is built at Plymouth Dockyard in 1815. The 12-gun schooner is sold in Malta 12 years later.
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.
The next ship to bear the name Express is a 455-tonne screw gunboat, launched at Doxford in July 1874.
The next ship is a 500-ton destroyer from Laird, launched in December 1897 and sold in March 1921.
The eighth Express is a 1375-tonne E-class destroyer, launched by Swan Hunter on 29 May 1934.
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.
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.
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Mine hunter ships, frigates, destroyers and assault ships, among others, form the backbone of our naval prowess.
A vital element of the Royal Navy's role is keeping the peace, preventing conflict and containing situations before they develop.
The UK has a responsibility to its citizens and its allies to endeavour to safeguard the high seas. This is why the Royal Navy protects home and international waters.
