RPS ''Rajah Soliman'' (D-66) was a

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

/ frigate that served with the Philippine Navy between 1960 and 1964. A , it was originally named during its previous service with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. It was the first destroyer escort to be operated by the Philippine Navy, and is the only member of its class ever operated by the service. ''Rajah Soliman'' was also the flagship of the Philippine Navy during its time in commission, which ended with the sinking of the vessel in 1964.

Acquisition and service

The ex- was transferred to the Philippine Navy on 31 October 1960, as a loan under the terms of the

Military Assistance Program The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Eu ...

; on 21 April 1961, the ship was sold outright to the Philippines. ''Rajah Soliman'' served as the Philippine Navy's flagship during her service life. In June 1964, the ship entered a refit period at the Bataan National Shipyard, located in

Mariveles Mariveles, officially the Municipality of Mariveles ( tl, Bayan ng Mariveles), is a first class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 149,879 people. History Founded as a ''p ...

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...

, for repairs to her engine.

Sinking, raising, and disposal

On 29 June 1964,

Typhoon Winnie Typhoon Winnie, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ibiang, was the worst tropical cyclone to impact the Chinese provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangsu, and Shandong in 200 years. Originating from an area of low pressure over the Pacific Oce ...

, also known as Typhoon Dading, hit the Bataan Peninsula; the storm surge associated with the cyclone struck ''Rajah Soliman'', which was at the time docked at the shipyard's pier. The storm battered the ship's superstructure and starboard side against the pier, causing ''Rajah Soliman'' to capsize and sink at the dock. The effects of the storm also caused the wreck to fill with mud, sand and other debris. After the storm, an attempt to salvage the ship was made by the Philippine Navy; the attempt failed as a result of the necessary equipment not being available. The

agreed to salvage the ship as a training exercise, and between December 1964 and January 1965, two U.S. Navy salvage ships, and , used the

parbuckle salvage Parbuckle salvage, or ''parbuckling'', is the righting of a sunken vessel using rotational leverage. A common operation with smaller watercraft, parbuckling is also employed to right large vessels. In 1943, the was rotated nearly 180 degrees to ...

technique to raise ''Rajah Solimans wreck from the harbor floor. After the vessel had been successfully raised, it was towed to the Ship Repair Facility at Subic Naval Base, located nearby. A

survey Survey may refer to: Statistics and human research * Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population * Survey (human research), including opinion polls Spatial measurement * Surveying, the techniq ...

of the raised ''Rajah Soliman'' found that the ship had been damaged beyond economical repair. Designated for disposal, the hulk was sold for scrapping on 31 January 1966 to Mitsubishi International Corp.

References

{{1964 shipwrecks Frigates of the Philippine Navy Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Philippine Navy 1943 ships Maritime incidents in 1964