The Independence-class patrol craft was a series of gun-armed patrol vessels built by Vosper Thornycroft in the 1970s for the Republic of Singapore Navy.
The Independence-class patrol craft was a series of gun-armed patrol vessels built by Vosper Thornycroft in the 1970s for the Republic of Singapore Navy.
Due to the independence of Singapore in 1965, there was a need to organize and expand maritime patrol and monitoring capabilities for the fledgling country. A SGD $30 million contract was signed in June 1968 with Vosper Thornycroft by then-Permanent Secretary of the Defence and Interior Ministry, George Edwin Bogaars, for six gun-armed patrol craft for the Maritime Command (MC), which was the predecessor of the current Republic of Singapore Navy. [1]
The first vessel was built by Vosper in Portchester, Portsmouth, United Kingdom while the remainder were constructed at the Vosper Thorneycroft Uniteers (VTU) Singapore yard in Tanjong Rhu. [2] All patrol craft were commissioned by January 1972 and were decommissioned by the early 1990s.
These patrol craft were based on Vosper's 110 ft design and came in two classes.
The "A class" were fitted with a 40 mm Bofors gun forward and a 20 mm Oerlikon gun aft, both capable of engaging air and surface targets.
The "B class" were fitted with a 76.2 mm Bofors gun forward, which had a surface and shore bombardment capability, and a 20 mm Oerlikon gun at the aft.
| Name | Pennant number | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSS Independence | P 69 | 8 July 1970 | -- | |
| RSS Freedom | P 70 | 18 Nov 1969 [3] | 14 Feb 1971 [4] | -- |
| RSS Justice | P 71 | 21 Apr 1971 | -- | |
| RSS Sovereignty | P 72 | 3 July 1971 [5] | -- | |
| RSS Daring | P 73 | 30 Jan 1972 [6] | -- | |
| RSS Dauntless | P 74 | 30 Jan 1972 [6] | -- |
HMS Amazon was the first Type 21 frigate of the Royal Navy. Her keel was laid down at the Vosper Thornycroft shipyard in Southampton, England. The ship suffered a fire in the Far East in 1977, drawing attention to the risk of building warships with aluminium superstructure.
The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is the maritime service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for defending the country against any seaborne threats and as a guarantor of its sea lines of communications. The RSN traces its origins to the Royal Navy when Singapore was still a crown colony of the British Empire. The service was formally established in 1967, two years after its independence from Malaysia in 1965, and had undergone a substantial modernisation ever since – which has led them into becoming the most powerful navy in Southeast Asia.
A motor torpedo boat is a fast torpedo boat, especially of the mid 20th century. The motor in the designation originally referred to their use of petrol engines, typically marinised aircraft engines or their derivatives, which distinguished them from other naval craft of the era, including other torpedo boats, that used steam turbines or reciprocating steam engines. Later, diesel-powered torpedo boats appeared, in turn or retroactively referred to as "motor torpedo boats" for their internal combustion engines, as distinct from steam powered reciprocating or turbine propulsion.
The Ton class were coastal minesweepers built in the 1950s for the Royal Navy, but also used by other navies such as the South African Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. They were intended to meet the threat of seabed mines laid in shallow coastal waters, rivers, ports and harbours, a task for which the existing ocean-going minesweepers of the Algerine-class were not suited.
The Archer class is a class of patrol and training vessel in service with the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, commonly referred to as a "fast training boat". Most are assigned to Coastal Forces Squadron. HMS Tracker and HMS Raider are armed and provide maritime force protection to high value shipping in the Firth of Clyde and are most commonly employed as escorts for submarines transiting to Faslane. Pursuer and Dasher were also armed during their deployment on maritime force protection duties with the Gibraltar Squadron from 2020-2022.
The Brave-class fast patrol boats were a class of two gas turbine motor torpedo boats (MTBs) that were the last of their type for the Royal Navy (RN) Coastal Forces division. They formed the basis for a series of simpler boats which were widely built for export.
The Myanmar Navy is the naval warfare branch of the armed forces of Myanmar. With 24,000 personnel on duty, the navy operates more than 150 vessels. Prior to 1988, the navy was small, and its role in counter-insurgency operations was smaller than those of the army and the air force. The navy has since been expanded to take on a more active role in defense of Myanmar's territorial waters.
The Fairmile B motor launch was a large class of motor launch built by British boatbuilder Fairmile Marine and others during the Second World War to meet the Royal Navy's coastal operation requirements.
The BRP Rizal (PS-74) was the lead ship and first of two Rizal class ships in service with the Philippine Navy. She was an ex-USN Auk class minesweeper that was produced during World War II, and was classified as a patrol corvette protecting the vast waters of the Philippines. Along with other ex-World War II veteran ships of the Philippine Navy, she was considered one of the oldest active fighting ships in the world, until 2020.
BRP Magat Salamat (PS-20) is one of several Miguel Malvar class of patrol corvettes in service with the Philippine Navy. She was originally built as USS Gayety (AM-239), an Admirable-class minesweeper with a similar hull to the PCE-842-class patrol craft produced during World War II. In 1962 she was transferred to South Vietnam for service in the Republic of Vietnam Navy as RVNS Chi Lang II (HQ-08). She was acquired by the Philippine Navy in April 1976 and later on commissioned as Magat Salamat. Along with other ex-World War II veteran ships of the Philippine Navy, she is considered one of the oldest active fighting ships in the world today.
BRP Sultan Kudarat (PS-22) was a Miguel Malvar-class corvette of the Philippine Navy. She was originally built as USS PCE-881, a PCE-842-class patrol craft for the United States Navy during World War II. In 1961 she was transferred to South Vietnam for service in the Republic of Vietnam Navy as RVNS Đống Đa II (HQ-07). She was acquired by the Philippine Navy on April 1976, and was commissioned later on as RPS Sultan Kudarat (PS-22). Along with other World War II-era ships of the Philippine Navy, Sultan Kudarat was considered one of the oldest active fighting ships in the world, until her retirement in July 5, 2019.
BRP Cebu (PS-28) was a Miguel Malvar-class corvette of the Philippine Navy. She was originally built as USS PCE-881, a PCE-842-class patrol craft for the United States Navy during World War II and patrolled the Alaskan coast during that war. She was decommissioned from the U.S. Navy and transferred to the Philippine Navy in July 1948 and renamed RPS Cebu (E-28) after the Philippine province of the same name. The ship was decommissioned on 1 October 2019. Along with other World War II-era ships of the Philippine Navy, Cebu was considered one of the world's oldest fighting ships during her active service.
BRP Pangasinan (PS-31) was a Miguel Malvar-class corvette of the Philippine Navy. She was originally built as USS PCE-891, a PCE-842-class patrol craft for the United States Navy during World War II. She was decommissioned from the U.S. Navy and transferred to the Philippine Navy in July 1948 and renamed RPS Pangasinan (E-31).
BRP Iloilo (PS-32) was a Miguel Malvar-class corvette of the Philippine Navy. She was originally built as USS PCE-897, a PCE-842-class patrol craft for the United States Navy during World War II. She was decommissioned from the U.S. Navy and transferred to the Philippine Navy in July 1948 and renamed RPS Iloilo (E-32) after the Philippine province of the same name. Along with other World War II-era ships of the Philippine Navy, Iloilo was considered one of the oldest active fighting ships in the world, being in continuous service for over seven decades.
HMS Shoulton (M1182) was a Ton-class minesweeper of the Royal Navy. Constructed by the Montrose Shipyard in Montrose, Scotland and launched on 10 September 1954, the minesweeper was converted into a prototype minhunter in 1957. The vessel was used as a test bed in the mid-1960s for new propulsion technologies. Shoulton was among the vessels assigned to salvage operations following the Aer Lingus Flight 712 crash off Rosslare. In 1977, Shoulton took part in the naval review marking the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II and was paid off on 23 November 1979. The ship was sold for scrap in 1981 and broken up at broken up in Blyth.
The Gay class were a class of twelve fast patrol boats that served with the Royal Navy from the early 1950s. All were named after types of soldiers or military or related figures, prefixed with 'Gay'. The class could be fitted as either motor gun boats or motor torpedo boats, depending on the type of armament they carried.
Dat Assawari was a frigate operated by the Libyan Navy. The ship was built by VT Group in the United Kingdom. It was ordered in February 1968 and delivered in 1973. The ship's design, the Vosper Mk 7 is a modified version of the Alvand-class frigate built for the Iranian Navy. The ship had an extensive refit in Italy by CNR Riva Trigoso 1979–1980 when new sensors and missiles were installed. During the refit, the ship was mined by French commandos from SDECE. The vessel returned to service in 1983, but returned to Italy for repairs in 1984–1985 and 1989–1990. The frigate was reportedly scrapped in the late 1990s.
The PCE-842-class patrol craft were United States Navy patrol craft escorts designed during World War II that were intended for coastal and convoy escort. The design was derived from the 180-foot (55 m) Admirable-class minesweeper as a substitute for the 173-foot (53 m) PC-461-class submarine chasers that were used for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) in coastal areas. At 185 feet long and 640 tons, the PCE is more than twice the displacement of the PC and thus and in combination with a less powerful engine also much slower. It has a crew complement of 99 officers and men.