Boghammar

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Two views of a modified speedboat used in an attempted attack against Israeli targets, on 5 May 1990

A Boghammar is a High Speed Patrol Boat (HSPB) for use in coastal patrol. The term Boghammar originated from the Iranian patrol boats manufactured by the Swedish company Boghammar Marin AB during the 1980s used in the Iran-Iraq War and the Tanker War.

Wider use

The term boghammar, sometimes spelled boghammer, has also come to mean an improvised naval fighting vessel, typically used by a local irregular military force and usually being a modified civilian boat or other similar machine. It is usually a speedboat or fast patrol boat (as used by police for harbor/river patrol) on which are mounted recoilless rifles, heavy machine guns, mortars, or other relatively small weapons systems. A boghammar is usually unarmoured.

Boghammars, in this sense, have been used by paramilitary forces to attack offshore oil platforms and civilian shipping, or even larger military vessels, most notably by Iran in the Tanker War. Other users of such vessels include Nigerian militants, LTTE Sea Tigers, and Somali pirates.

See also

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