BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36) is one of the three Jacinto class

Jacinto class corvette

The Jacinto class is a ship class of three patrol corvettes currently in service with the Philippine Navy. The ships formerly served in the Royal Navy's Hong Kong Squadron as Peacock class patrol vessels until 1997....

of corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

s, and are considered as one of the most modern ships in the Philippine Navy

Philippine Navy

The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....

. She was originally called HMS Plover (P240) during her service with the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. Named after Apolinario Mabini

Apolinario Mabini

Apolinario Mabini y Maranan was a Filipino political philosopher and revolutionary who wrote a constitutional plan for the of 1899-1901, and served as its first prime minister in 1899...

, a hero of the Philippine revolution and a former Prime Minister, she is currently assigned with the Patrol Force of the Philippine Fleet.

History

Launched as the second of five patrol vessels of the Peacock class

Peacock class patrol vessel

The Peacock Class is a class of patrol corvette built for the Royal Navy. Only five were ever constructed, and by 1997 all had been sold to the Irish Naval Service or the Philippine Navy.-Original use:...

, she was originally part of the Hong Kong Squadron of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. The ships were built by Hall, Russell & Company

Hall, Russell & Company

Hall, Russell & Company, Limited was a shipbuilder based in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK-History:Brothers James and William Hall, Thomas Russell, a Glasgow engineer, and James Cardno Couper founded the company in 1864 to build steam engines and boilers. In 1867 the company built its first ship, the Kwang...

in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

and were commissioned into Royal Navy service from 1983 to 1984. The class was designed specifically for patrol duties in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

waters. As well as ‘flying the flag’ and providing a constant naval presence in region, they could undertake a number of different roles including Seamanship, Navigation and Gunnery training and Search-and-Rescue duties for which they had facilities to carry divers (including a decompression chamber) and equipment to recover vessels and aircraft. They also worked with the Marine Department of the Hong Kong Police and with Customs & Excise in order to prevent the constant flow of illegal immigrants, narcotics and electronic equipment into the Colony.

Out of the five ships in its class, three of them, HMS Peacock (P239), HMS Plover (P240), and HMS Starling (P241), were left in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

until 1997. They were sold to the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

as a sign of goodwill, and were officially turned over to the Philippine Navy on 1 August 1997 when Hong Kong was ceded back to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

Technical details

The ships under this class are characterized by a low freeboard

Freeboard (nautical)

In sailing and boating, freeboardmeans the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship...

, an Oto-Melara 76 mm gun

Otobreda 76 mm

The Otobreda 76 mm gun is a naval artillery piece built by the Italian defence conglomerate Otobreda. It is based on the Oto Melara 76mm/L62 Allargato, which was bigger and heavier...

turret located forward, large funnel amidships and a crane and rigid-hulled inflatable boat

Rigid-hulled inflatable boat

A rigid-hulled inflatable boat, or rigid-inflatable boat is a light-weight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a solid, shaped hull and flexible tubes at the gunwale. The design is stable and seaworthy...

(RHIB) aft.

The Oto Melara 76 mm Compact DP, the ships' primary weapon, has a range of up to 10 nautical miles (18.5 km) and can be used against ships, aircraft or off and on-shore ground targets. It is remotely controlled from within the Combat Information Center

Combat Information Center

The Operations Room is the tactical center of a warship or AWAC aircraft providing processed information for command and control of the near battle space or 'area of operations'...

by the gunnery officer and has no crew within the gun itself. The gun can fire 80 rounds in 60 seconds without reloading its magazine. The ship has load capacity for up to 450 rounds.

Its secondary weapon located at the stern, a MSI Defense System Seahawk mount for a M242 Bushmaster

M242 Bushmaster

The M242 Bushmaster is a 25 mm chain-fed autocannon. It is used extensively by the US armed forces, as well as by NATO's and some other nations' forces in ground combat vehicles and watercraft...

25 mm cannon, is integrated with the 76 mm primary weapon via an Ultra Electronics

Ultra Electronics

Ultra Electronics Holdings is a British company serving the defence, security, transport and energy industries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

Command and Control System and a Radamec 1500 Series 2500 Electro-Optical Tracking/Fire Control System. This new system was installed as part of Phase 1 of the Philippine Navy JCPV upgrade program. The Radamec 1500 Series 2500 replaced the older GSA7 Sea Archer Mk 1 electro-optical director with a GEC V3800 thermal imager added in 1987.

In addition to the abovementioned guns, these ships also carry two .50 caliber heavy machine guns at the bridgewings, and two Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...

s at the midships.

The ships are powered by two APE-Crossley

Crossley

Crossley, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, was a pioneering company in the production of internal combustion engines. Since 1988 it has been part of the Rolls-Royce Power Engineering group.More than 100,000 Crossley oil and gas engines have been built....

SEMT-Pielstick diesels (14,188 bhp combined) driving two three-bladed propeller

Propeller

A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...

s. It has a drop down loiter engine with a shrouded prop of 181 bhp used to keep station and save fuel. The main engines can propel the 664 ton (712 tons full load) ship at over 28 knots (55 km/h), with a sustained speed of 25 knots (49 km/h). Its range is 2500 nautical miles (4,630 km) at 17 knots (33 km/h).

These corvettes were specifically designed for Asian service, having air-conditioned crew spaces and have been designed to stay at sea during typhoons and other strong weather anomalies common to Asian seas. The ships were modified soon after entering Royal Navy service with deeper bilge keels to alleviate a propensity to roll during moderate and heavy seas.

The ship also carries two Avon Searaider 5.4 m, 30 kt, 10-man RHIB.

Upgrades

Aside from the new M242 Bushmaster

M242 Bushmaster

The M242 Bushmaster is a 25 mm chain-fed autocannon. It is used extensively by the US armed forces, as well as by NATO's and some other nations' forces in ground combat vehicles and watercraft...

25 mm cannon and upgrade of its Command and Control & Fire Control Systems as part of the ship's Phase 1 upgrade, the Philippine Navy

Philippine Navy

The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....

also installed a new Raytheon Gyro Compass, Sperry Marine Naval BridgeMaster E Series Surface Search Radar, GPS, Anemometer, and EM logs. These were integrated with the ship's existing systems. The Phase 1 upgrade was completed in 2005.

The Phase 2 is the Marine Engineering Upgrade Program, which includes the repair and remediation of the hull, overhaul and improvement of the Main Propulsion including control and monitoring systems, electrical plant, auxiliary systems, outfitting and hull furnishings and training the navy crew in the operation and maintenance of the new plant.

Phase 3, which is still under bidding, is a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP).

Apart from the upgrades, additional refits were made to replace the four (4) 7.62mm machine guns with two (2) .50 caliber heavy machine guns and two Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...

s. There are plans to add anti-ship missiles to the ships, but due to top-weight problems, it would have to be a lightweight system such as Sea Skua

Sea Skua

The Sea Skua is a British lightweight short-range air-to-surface missile designed for use from helicopters against ships. It is primarily used by the Royal Navy on the Westland Lynx helicopter, although Kuwait uses it in a shore battery and on their Umm Al Maradem fast attack craft.The British...

, although no missiles have been ordered to date.

History

Technical details

Upgrades

External links

See also