Name Attacker class Type Patrol boat | Builders Fairey Allday Marine Displacement 34.54 tons (full load) | |
Operators Royal Navy
HM Customs
Lebanese Navy
Lebanese Customs Length 20 m (66 ft) (overall)
19.25 m (63.2 ft) (waterline) | ||
The Attacker class (also referred to as the Tracker class) is a class of patrol boats. Formerly operated by the Royal Navy and the HM Customs, seven of the class are currently operated by the Lebanese Navy and two by Lebanese Customs
Contents
Design and construction
The Attacker class was constructed by Fairey Allday (Fairey Marine Ltd), on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. HMS Attacker was built in Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, while the rest of the class were built in Southampton.
The ships have glass-reinforced plastic hulls. The Vessels were allocated to various RNR Divisions. HMS Striker being based in Liverpool as a tender to HMS Eaglet. Eventually the vessels were re allocated to the URNUs.
Operational history
HMS Attacker, Hunter and Striker formed the Cyprus Squadron and were used for patrol and harbour protection. HMS Attacker was the training ship for the University Royal Naval Unit serving Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities, while HMS Chaser performed this role at Aberdeen University and HMS Fencer performed the same role for Southampton University. Patrol ships carried three General purpose machine guns, while the training ships were unarmed.
The Attacker class was decommissioned from the Royal Navy during 1991 and 1992. All five ships were sold to the Lebanese Navy in July 1992. Two Attackers formerly operated by the British Customs Service were also sold to Lebanon in March 1994.