BRP ''Pangasinan'' (PS-31) was a of the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...

. She was originally built as USS ''PCE-891'', a 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). Along with other World War II-era ships of the Philippine Navy, ''Pangasinan'' was considered one of the oldest active fighting ships in the world, up until its decommissioning on March 1, 2021 after 72 years of service. The ship was subsequently used as the target during a Sinking Exercise ( SINKEX) conducted as part of Exercise Balikatan 2023. She was sunk off the coast of Zambales on April 26, 2023.

History

Commissioned in the US Navy as USS ''PCE-891'' in 1944, and was decommissioned after World War II. She was then transferred and commissioned into the Philippine Naval Patrol and was renamed RPS ''Pangasinan'' (E-31) in 1948. She was carried on to the

in 1951, and in 1965 she was renamed as RPS ''Pangasinan'' (PS-31) using a new ship naming and classification system. Again in June 1980 she was renamed BRP ''Pangasinan'' (PS-31) using a new localized prefix.''Philippine Navy Information Manual 1995 - Adoption of Pilipino Translation of "Bapor ng Republika ng Pilipinas"'' Between 1990 and 1991 the 'ship underwent major overhaul, weapons and radar systems refit, and upgrade of communications gear.Saunders, Stephen: ''Jane's Fighting Ships 107th Edition 2004-2005''. Jane's Information Group Ltd, 2004. She was assigned with the Patrol Force of the Philippine Fleet, which was later renamed as the Offshore Combat Force. She was formally retired on 1 March 2021 together with BRP ''Quezon'' (PS-70), BRP ''Salvador Abcede'' (PC-114), and BRP ''Emilio Liwanag'' (PC-118). The ship was subsequently used as the target during a Sinking Exercise ( SINKEX) conducted as part of Exercise Balikatan 2023, and was sunk off the coast of Zambales on 26 April 2023.

Notable Deployments / Exercises

On 16 July 1973, ''Pangasinan'' under the command of Lt. Cdr. Arturo Y. Capada (PN), dispatched a motor whale boat operated by ET3 Celso Rosario (PN) and rescued a Philippine Constabulary detachment of 9 troopers from Tandu Batu, Luuk, Sulu. ET3 Rosario died in the said rescue operation, which earned him the

Philippine Medal of Valor The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. In August 2002, she was also one of the

ships which rescued Filipino refugees from Sabah beating the 24 August 2002 deadline imposed by the Malaysians for undocumented workers to leave. On 14 October 2003 while conducting patrol operations along the Philippine-Malaysian border, ''Pangasinan'' apprehended a motor launch carrying some R3.5 million worth of smuggled goods off Tawi-Tawi. Last 20 May 2008, as part of a composite team from the Philippine Army 53rd Infantry Battalion,

- Naval Forces Western Mindanao, and the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police ( fil, Pambansang Pulisya ng Pilipinas, acronymed as PNP) is the armed national police force in the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Current ...

, she joined a raid on the island of Ticala, San Pablo, Zamboanga del Sur, in order to put an end to sea robberies and extortion in the waters of Illana Bay. In July 2011, ''Pangasinan'', together with and US Navy ships and , took part in the sea phase bilateral exercises Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Philippines 2011. In August 2019, the ship transported relief goods for victims of the twin Earthquakes that happened in July 2019 in

Itbayat, Batanes Itbayat, officially the Municipality of Itbayat, ( ivv, Kavahayan nu Itbayat; tl, Bayan ng Itbayat), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Batanes, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 3,128 people. Itbayat ...

. The goods consisted of 795 sacks of family food packs, 312 boxes of relief supplies, 32 25-kg sacks of rice, 10 50-kg sacks of rice, six boxes of sardines, eight boxes of

instant noodles Instant noodles, or instant ramen, is a type of food consisting of noodles sold in a precooked and dried block with flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. The dried noodle block was originally created by flash frying cooked noodles, and this is ...

, six boxes of instant coffee, 30,000 liters of mineral water, and 92 boxes of assorted grocery items.

Technical details

There are slight difference between the BRP ''Pangasinan'' as compared to some of her sister ships in the Philippine Navy, since her previous configuration was as a patrol craft escort ( PCE), while the others are configured as rescue patrol craft escort ( PCER) and minesweepers ( ''Admirable'' class) ships.

Armaments

Originally the ship was armed with one forward Mk.26 /50 caliber dual purpose gun, three aft twin Mk.1 Bofors

40 mm 40 mm grenade (also styled 40mm grenade) is a generic class-name for grenade launcher ammunition ( subsonic shells) in caliber. The generic name stems from the fact that several countries have developed or adopted grenade launchers in ...

guns, four Mk.10

20 mm 20 mm caliber is a specific size of popular autocannon ammunition. It is typically used to distinguish smaller-caliber weapons, commonly called "guns", from larger-caliber "cannons" (e.g. machine gun vs. autocannon). All 20 mm cartridges ha ...

Oerlikon guns, 1 Hedgehog depth charge projector, four depth charge projectiles (

K-guns A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use ...

) and two depth charge tracks.''NavSource Online: Patrol Craft Escort Photo Archive.'
PCE-891
. This configuration applies before its overhaul in the early 1990s. During its overhaul and refit between 1990 and 1991, the

removed her old anti-submarine weapons and systems, and made some changes in the armament set-up. Some sources claim the loss of its three Bofors 40mm cannons during the 1990-1991 overhaul and refit period,. Final armaments fitted to the ship are one Mk.26

3"/50-caliber gun The 3"/50 caliber gun (spoken "three-inch fifty-caliber") in United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile in diameter, and the barrel was 50 calibers long (barrel length is 3 in × 50 = ). Different guns (identifi ...

(fore), three twin Mk.1 Bofors 40 mm cannons (aft), four Mk.10 Oerlikon 20 mm cannons (2 each on bridge wings), and four M2 Browning .50 cal (12.7 mm)caliber machine guns (2 besides main bridge, 2 aft near the lower Bofors gun tub). This made the ship lighter and ideal for surface patrols, but losing her limited anti-submarine warfare capability.

Electronics

Also during the refit the ship's RCA CRM-NIA-75 surface search radar and RCA SPN-18 navigation radar was replaced by a Raytheon AN/SPS-64(V)11 surface search and navigation radar system. Later modifications included the installation of an additional Furuno navigation rada

long range and satellite communications systems, and GPS system standard to all Philippine Navy ships.

Machinery

The ship is powered by two GM 12-278A diesel engines with a combined rating of around driving two

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s. The main engines can propel the 914 tons (full load) ship to a maximum speed of around .''DLSU N-ROTC Office.'
Naming and Code Designation of PN Vessels
.

Gallery

File:US Navy 110705-N-VY256-028 The guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines Navy corvettes.jpg, Representing the Philippine Navy, with USS ''Chung-Hoon'' (DDG-93) at CARAT Philippines 2011 exercise with the US Navy. File:US Navy 110705-N-XR557-299 during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Philippines 2011.jpg, with BRP ''Rizal'' (PS-74), USS ''Chung-Hoon'' (DDG-93), and ''USS Howard'' (DDG-83) at CARAT Philippines 2011 exercise with the US Navy. File:US Navy 110705-N-XR557-190 Ships are underway during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Philippines 2011.jpg, with BRP ''Rizal'' (PS-74), USS ''Chung-Hoon'' (DDG-93), and ''USS Howard'' (DDG-83) at CARAT Philippines 2011 exercise with the US Navy.

References

External links

Philippine Defense Forum

DLSU ROTC