The BRP ''Rafael Pargas'' (PC-379) is the ninth ship of the
''Jose Andrada'' class coastal patrol boats 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 ...
. It is part of the second batch of its class ordered through US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) in 1993, and was commissioned with the Philippine Navy on 1 June 1995.
[''GlobalSecurity.org']
PG Jose Andrada Class
[''Manokski's ORBAT @ Hueybravo.']
It was initially designated as Fast Patrol Craft, and was numbered "DF-379", but later on was re-designated as a Patrol Gunboat, and was finally re-numbered as "PG-379".
[ Another round of reclassification was made in April 2016, which redesignated the patrol gunboat as the coastal patrol craft "PC-379".
The vessel is named after Rafael Pargas, a graduate of the ]US Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is ...
, who became the executive officer for Donald Blackburn
Brigadier General Donald Dunwody Blackburn (September 14, 1916 – May 24, 2008) was a United States Army Special Forces officer, best known for his significant command and developmental roles in the U.S. Army Special Forces.
He was also the comm ...
's World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
guerrilla force.[Harkins, P., 1956, Blackburn's Headhunters, London: Cassell & Co. LTD]
Technical Details
The ship was built to US Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...
standards with aluminum hull and superstructure.[ She is powered by two Detroit Diesel 16V-92TA Diesel Engines with a combined power of around 2,800 hp driving two propellers for a maximum speed of . Maximum range is at , or alternatively at .][
The ship originally designed to carry one bow Mk.3 40 mm gun, one 81 mm mortar aft, and four 12.7 mm/50 caliber machine guns.][ Instead, she is armed with one 25mm Bushmaster chain gun on Mk.38 Mod.0 mount, four M2HB Browning 12.7 mm/50 caliber machine guns on Mk.26 mounts, with two positioned forward and two aft; and two M60 7.62 mm/30 caliber machine guns, both mounted amidships. The ship can carry 4,000 rounds of 12.7 mm and 2,000 rounds of 7.62 mm A large "Big Eyes" binocular is also carried on tripod mounts, one on the forecastle and one just above the mast.][
As part of the second batch (PG-379 to PG-395), it is equipped with Mk.38 Mod.0 M242 Bushmaster 25mm chain gun that the first batch of ships do not carry.][''AFP Materiel Technical Specification Archives - PN Light Surface Warships']
Andrada (Halter 78) class Coastal Patrol Craft (24)
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She is equipped with a Raytheon
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...
AN/SPS-64(V)11 surface search and navigation radar but with a smaller antenna as those used in bigger Philippine Navy ships.[ Like all other Philippine Navy ship, she was installed with the Philippine Navy Vessel Tracking System (VTS) by the Naval Sea Systems Command.][Wertheim, Eric: ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 15th Edition'', page 553. Naval Institute Press, 2007.]
Footnotes
References
External links
Philippine Navy Official website
Philippine Defense Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafael Pargas (PC-379)
Patrol vessels of the Philippine Navy
1995 ships