She is an Archer Class patrol vessel built by Watercraft Marine and was commissioned into the fleet in June 1988.
She is 20.8m long with a 5.8m beam and 1.8m draught. Powered by Rolls Royce M800T Diesel Engines (1590bhp) she has a top speed of 18 knots and a range of 550 nm at 15 knots.
Armament consists of 7.62mm General Purpose Machine Guns.
The first HMS Charger was a gun-brig which was launched at Deptford on 17
April 1801. Her weapons consisted of one 8-in mortar, ten 18-pdr carronades and two 18-pdr guns, she was sold in June 1814.
The second ship to carry the name was originally called HMS Courier
which was a wooden paddle picket bought in August 1830. She was 155ft 6in long, 32ft 6in wide and of 733 tons. Renamed HMS Hermes in 1831 she became HMS Charger and used as a coal hulk in 1835 until being broken
up in 1854.
The third ship to carry the name was an Albacore class 4-gun wooden screw gunboat built by Pitcher of Northfleet. Renamed YC3 she was used as a buoy boat in Halifax from 1866 before being renamed YC6 in 1869. She was sold in July 1887 and broken up in 1921.
The fourth ship was a torpedo boat destroyer. Built by Yarrow of Poplar she was completed in 1896 and served until being sold in 1912.
The fifth ship to carry the name HMS Charger was a Tank Landing Ship. Originally named LST 3026 she was renamed HMS Charger in 1947. The vessel was eventually broken up in Spain in 1968.