HMS ''Gay Archer'' was a ''Gay''-class fast patrol boat of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. She was built by Vosper,

Portchester Portchester is a locality and suburb northwest of Portsmouth, England. It is part of the borough of Fareham in Hampshire. Once a small village, Portchester is now a busy part of the expanding conurbation between Portsmouth and Southampton o ...

, and launched on 20 August 1952.

History

She was the first of twelve vessels of the ''Gay''-class fast patrol boats. Whilst on delivery from Vosper to the Royal Navy, her hull was punctured. During her time with the Royal Navy, she was nearly sunk on two occasions. Whilst in

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

Harbour,

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

on 18 May 1953 she was alongside MTB P1023, which caught fire and exploded. The second occasion happened when she was returning to Southsea after a search and rescue mission. She fouled a submerged broken boom defence pylon and her casing was holed, she was saved by an admiralty tug which responded to her mayday call.

End of RN service

During the 1950s she operated with submarine detection equipment, and prior to being sold, she operated out of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. She was sold to Cottness Iron Co., Wishaw on 24 July 1963.

Restoration

She has been gradually restored since 2005 by Paul Childs, and was bought for the sum of just £1.Watchet Boat Owners Association - MTB HMS Gay Archer
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Location

HMS Gay Archer, as of late 2019, resides on the River Avon, at Shirehampton (Bristol)

External links

References