The launch had a length of 30 feet with an 8 feet beam, diagonal and carvel skinned mahogany hull on oak frames and was powered by a single Perkins PM 6534 Diesel Engine developing 115 h.p. and giving a maximum speed of approximately 13.5 knots. It was originally commissioned by the Metropolitan Police from William Osbornes Boatbuilders, Arun Shipyard, Littlehampton, Sussex in 1952, and was on service with Metropolitan Police, Thames division, based at Wapping, until 1963. An increase in fatalities in the River Trent in the early 1960s prompted the purchase of the Launch by the then Nottingham City Police, Mechanised Division at a cost of £365.
Since the vessels introduction into Nottingham it operated on the River Trent, and towards the end of its service extended its patrol areas from the boundaries with Leicestershire and Derbyshire to the south, to its northern boundaries with South Yorkshire, Humberside and Lincolnshire. This comprised a patrol area of 140 miles of navigable waterways. (Non-navigable waters such as lakes, canals, etc were policed by means of a support dinghy that could be towed on a trailer). The boat worked all year round and had its annual service at Trevethick's Boat Yard at Beeston.
Over the 28 years that the Launch, call sign Tango-Lemur One, had been in service in Nottinghamshire, police officers working on the vessel as part of the crew had saved numerous lives, and several Certificates for Life-Saving were issued by the Royal Human Society.
The Launch and its crew were a small but important integral part of Nottinghamshire Police, often working in conjunction with other departments such as the Underwater Search Unit, CID, Uniformed Beat Officers, HM Customs and Excise and any other authority with waterborne interests. The duties of the officers working with the vessel were those of any uniformed police officer, but with a special emphasis on 
water safety. Illegal Importations, Rabies Control, Enforcement of Maritime Legislation, and an expertise in Stolen Maritime Equipment formed just a small part of the additional responsibilities of the now disbanded River Patrol section.
Amongst the Nottingham Traffic Wing officers who manned the boat were Jim Loach, George Sweeting, Morris Marshall, Andy Venables, and Sergeant Bob McLoughlin. Its crew was 4 Pc's 1 Sergeant working two shifts 9 - 5 pm and 1 - 9 pm.
