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BRP Artemio Ricarte (PS-37)
Encyclopedia
The BRP Artemio Ricarte (PS-37) 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 Starling (P241) 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...
. She is currently assigned with the Patrol Force of the Philippine Fleet.
History
Launched as the third of five patrol vessels of the Peacock classPeacock 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
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...
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...
.
Naval Exercises
The Artemio Ricarte was part of the Philippine Navy contingent to join CARAT 2004, together with her sistership BRP Emilio JacintoBRP Emilio Jacinto (PS-35)
The BRP Emilio Jacinto is the lead ship of the three Jacinto class of corvettes, and are considered as one of the most modern ships in the Philippine Navy. She was originally called HMS Peacock during her service with the Royal Navy...
. This was followed immediately with a separate exercise with two Royal Navy ships, namely HMS Exeter
HMS Exeter (D89)
HMS Exeter was a Type 42 destroyer, the fifth ship of the Royal Navy to be named Exeter, after the city of Exeter in Devon.Exeter was the first of the slightly modified 'Batch 2' Type 42 destroyers. This was a mid-build consideration with her later sister ship, HMS Southampton sporting a similar...
(D89) and RFA Grey Rover
RFA Grey Rover (A269)
RFA Grey Rover was a Rover class small fleet tanker of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.- External links :*...
(A269).
On 10 April 2007, Artemio Ricarte, together with BRP Quezon
BRP Quezon (PS-70)
The BRP Quezon is one of two Rizal class ships in service with the Philippine Navy. She is formerly an ex-USN Auk class minesweeper that were produced during World War II, and is now classified as a patrol corvette protecting the vast waters of the Philippines...
and BRP Bienvenido Salting, took part in a 10-day naval exercises with the Malaysian Navy dubbed "MALPHI LAUT 2007". Malaysian vessels that took part include KD Kedah, KD Laksamana Tan Pusmah, and KD Yu.
She joined BRP Juan Magluyan (PG-392)
BRP Juan Magluyan (PG-392)
The BRP Juan Magluyan is one of the Jose Andrada class coastal patrol boats of the Philippine Navy. It is part of the third batch of its class ordered in 1995, and was commissioned with the Philippine Navy on July 1998. She is currently assigned with Naval Forces West in Puerto Princesa,...
and BRP Bacolod City (LC-550)
BRP Bacolod City (LC-550)
The BRP Bacolod City is the lead ship of two Bacolod City class of Logistics Support Vessels, and is based on a helicopter capable variant of the US Army's Frank S. Besson class...
and the Essex Expeditionary Strike Group during the sea exercise phase of the RP-US Balikatan 2008 on February 2008.
She was again included in the recently concluded CARAT 2008 exercises with the US Navy last May - June 2008. She was joined by BRP Nicolas Mahusay (PG-116), BRP Boni Serrano (PG-111) and the Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Pampanga (AU-003).
The Artemio Ricarte, together with BRP Leopoldo Regis (PG-847), BRP Dagupan City (LC-551)
BRP Dagupan City (LC-551)
The BRP Dagupan City is the second and last ship of two Bacolod City class of Logistics Support Vessel, and is based on a helicopter capable variant of the US Army Frank S. Besson class...
, BRP Rajah Humabon (PF-11)
BRP Rajah Humabon (PF-11)
The BRP Rajah Humabon is a frigate of the Philippine Navy, and is the last World War II-era destroyer escort/frigate active in its fleet and is one of the oldest active warships in the world...
, USS Essex (LHD-2)
USS Essex (LHD-2)
USS Essex is a built at what is now Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and commissioned on 17 October 1992 while moored at North Island NAS beside the Kitty Hawk . It is the fifth ship named for Essex County, Massachusetts...
, and USS Tortuga (LSD-46)
USS Tortuga (LSD-46)
USS Tortuga is a Whidbey Island-class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship to be named for the Dry Tortugas, a group of desert coral islets west of Key West, Florida....
were part of the naval component of the US-RP Balikatan 2009 bi-lateral exercises held on April 2009.
Technical details
The ships under this class are characterized by a low freeboardFreeboard (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 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 BushmasterM242 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 last 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.