BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36)

BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36)
Career (United Kingdom)
Name: Plover
Builder: Hall, Russell & Company, Aberdeen
Laid down: 1982
Launched: 12 April 1983
Commissioned: 1984
Decommissioned: 1 August 1997
Fate: Transferred to Philippine Navy in 1997.
Badge:
Career (Philippines)
Name: Apolinario Mabini
Namesake: Apolinario Mabini (1864-1903), was a Filipino theoretician who wrote the constitution for the first Philippine republic of 1899-1901, and served as its first prime minister in 1899.
Operator: Philippine Navy
Acquired: 1 August 1997
Commissioned: 4 August 1997
Fate: In service with the Philippine Navy
General characteristics
Class and type:Jacinto class(also known at Tatlong Bayani class)
Type:Patrol Corvette
Displacement:763 tons full load
Length:205.4 ft (62.6 m)
Beam:32.8 ft (10.0 m)
Draft:8.9 ft (2.7 m)
Installed power:14,188 bhp (10,580 kW)
Propulsion:[1][2]
  • 2 × APE-Crossley SEMT-Pielstick 18 PA6 V 280 Diesel engines
  • 2 × shafts
  • 1 × Schottel S103 LSVEST drop-down, shrouded loiter retractable propeller, 181 shp
Speed:25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) (sustained speed)
Range:2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) at 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph)[1]
Boats and landing
craft carried:		2 × Avon Searaider 5.4m 30-kn. 10-man Semi-rigid boat aft[2]
Complement:31
Sensors and
processing systems:		Sperry Marine Naval BridgeMaster E Series Surface Search Radar

Kelvin Hughes Type 1006 Navigation Radar
Ultra Electronics Command and Control System

Radamec 1500 Series 2500 Electro-Optical Tracking/Fire Control System
Armament:1 × 76 mm Oto Melara Compact DP gun

1 × 25 mm M242 Bushmaster on MSI Defence Seahawk mount
2 × 20 mm Mk.16 cannons on Mk.68 mounts

2 × .50 caliber machine guns
Armor:Belted Steel

The BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36) is one 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 Plover (P240) during her service with the Royal Navy. Named after Apolinario Mabini, a hero of the Philippine revolution and a former Prime Minister, she is currently assigned with the Patrol Force of the Philippine Fleet.

History

as HMS Plover (P240)

Launched as the second of five patrol vessels of the Peacock class, she was originally part of the Hong Kong Squadron of the Royal Navy. The ships were built by Hall, Russell & Company in the United Kingdom and were commissioned into Royal Navy service from 1983 to 1984. The class was designed specifically for patrol duties in Hong Kong 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.[3]

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 until 1997. They were sold to the Philippines 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.[2]

Apolinario Mabini at Balikatan 2010 (BK10)

Technical details

The ships under this class are characterized by a low freeboard, an Oto-Melara 76 mm gun turret located forward, large funnel amidships and a crane and rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) aft.

The Oto Melara 76 mm Compact DP, the ships' primary weapon, has a range of up to 10 nautical miles (20 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 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 25 mm cannon, is integrated with the 76 mm primary weapon via an Ultra Electronics Command and Control System and a Radamec 1500 Series 2500 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.[2][4]

In addition to the abovementioned guns, these ships also carry two .50 caliber heavy machine guns at the bridgewings, and two Oerlikon 20 mm cannons at the midships.

The ships are powered by two APE-Crossley SEMT-Pielstick diesels (14,188 bhp combined) driving two three-bladed propellers. It has a drop down loiter engine with a shrouded prop of 181 bhp (135 kW) used to keep station and save fuel. The main engines can propel the 664 ton (712 tons full load) ship at over 28 knots (52 km/h), with a sustained speed of 25 knots (46 km/h). Its range is 2,500 nautical miles (4,630 km) at 17 knots (31 km/h).[1]

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.[5]

The ship also carries two Avon Searaider 5.4 m, 30 kt, 10-man RHIB.[2]

Notable Deployments

The Apolinario Mabini together with BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15) and BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS-36) are the naval vessels that the AFP Western Command sent to help in the searching efforts for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.[6]

Upgrades

Aside from the new M242 Bushmaster 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 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 in 2005.[7]

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.[5]

Phase 3, which is still under bidding, is a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP).[7]

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 20 mm Mk.16 cannons.[8] 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, although no missiles have been ordered to date.[2]

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Saunders, Stephen: Jane's Fighting Ships 107th Edition 2004-2005. Jane's Information Group Ltd, 2004.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Wertheim, Eric: The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 15th Edition, page 552. Naval Institute Press, 2007.
  3. ↑ Royal Navy Postwar. Peacock Class Offshore Patrol Vessels.
  4. ↑ Friedman, Norman: The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapons System 5th Edition, page 307. Naval Institute Press, 2006.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Manokski's ORBAT @ Hueybravo. Jacinto class corvettes page.
  6. ↑ "PH joins SE Asia search for Malaysian plane". Rappler.com. 2014-03-08. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 AFP Materiel Technical Specification Archives Capital Ships.
  8. ↑ GlobalSecurity.org PS Emilio Jacinto class.

External links

See also