HMS Tracker (P274)

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Tracker.

HMS Tracker (P274) in Cornwall, England 2006
Career (UK)
Name:	HMS Tracker
Operator:	Royal Navy
Builder:	Ailsa Shipbuilding Company
Commissioned:	January 1998
Homeport:	HMNB Portsmouth
Status:	in active service, as of 2012
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:	Archer class patrol vessel
Displacement:	54 tons
Length:	20.8 m (68 ft 3 in)
Beam:	5.8 m (19 ft)
Draught:	1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Propulsion:	2 × MTU V12 diesels
Speed:	24 knots
Range:	550 nmi (1,020 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement:	5 (RN), 1 training officer (RNR), 12 students (URNU) or 12 (RN)
Sensors and processing systems:	Decca 1216 navigation radar

HMS Tracker (P274) is an Archer-class (P2000) patrol and training vessel of the British Royal Navy, used for training purposes by the Oxford University Royal Naval Unit (URNU). Part of the 1st Patrol Boat Squadron (1PBS), the vessel is based at HMNB Portsmouth, and is the third ship to bear the name HMS Tracker. Tracker's primary role is to be the training ship for Oxford University Royal Naval Unit (Oxford URNU), but she also trains regular officers in navigation, supports fleet training, usually by acting as the enemy, provides sea experience to the Cadet Forces and can provide VIP transport.

Oxford URNU

One of 14 University Royal Naval Units, Oxford URNU recruits from Oxford, Reading and Oxford Brookes Universities. Members of the unit undergo shore-based training at weekly drill-nights held in Falklands House in Oxford. Sea-training takes place at weekends during term time and during Easter and Summer deployments. Students also have opportunities to spend time on larger Royal Navy warships and naval bases, to participate in adventurous training and to gain RYA qualifications.

Oxford URNU and Tracker are affiliated with the town of Dover, the Type 42 Destroyer HMS Gloucester, the Trafalgar-class SSN, HMS Turbulent and 824 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall.

Details

Tracker commissioned alongside her sister HMS Raider, Bristol University Royal Naval Unit's training craft (was Cambridge but in 2010, Bristol was given Raider), in January 1998, with Tracker replacing Oxford University Royal Naval Unit's previous training craft, HMS Loyal Chancellor. Tracker and Raider are Batch 2 P2000s and are fitted with two MTU V12 diesel engines instead of the Perkins CV12 engines which the rest of the squadron are fitted with, meaning that Tracker and Raider can travel at a higher speed than the Batch 1s, mainly as she can get her hull to plane, the hydrodynamic mode in which it was designed to operate.

The ship's company comprises one Officer, two Senior Ratings and two Junior Ratings who train up to twelve students, undergraduates from Oxford University, Oxford Brookes University or Reading University, for up to fourteen days at a time. During a day's training the students practice navigation and seamanship as well as a wide array of other naval skills. Most of these have been taught in the classroom environment at weekly Drill Nights during the University term. At sea they carry out many of the functions of the Ship's Company and as their skill levels increase they can understudy the Captain and eventually gain RYA qualifications.

During university term time, Tracker takes students to sea for weekends, with destinations including Weymouth, Cowes, Yarmouth and Poole. During Easter and Summer vacations, the ship deploys for longer periods (four weeks at Easter and six weeks in the summer) and further afield (France, Belgium, Holland, Spain) with students on board for two weeks at a time.

She has recently completed her 2010 summer deployment to Gibraltar in company with HMS Raider.

External links

• HMS Tracker Home Page - Royal Navy website
• Oxford URNU