BRP Diego Silang (PF-9)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} Philippines | |
| Name | Diego Silang |
| Namesake | Filipino revolutionary Diego Silang y Andaya (1730-1763) |
| Builder | Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Washington |
| Laid down | 6 June 1943 |
| Launched | 15 January 1944 |
| Completed | July 1944 |
| Acquired | 5 April 1976 |
| Commissioned | 5 April 1976 |
| Decommissioned | April 1990 |
| Renamed |
|
| Fate | Discarded July 1990; probably scrapped |
| Notes |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Andrés Bonifacio-class frigate |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 311.65 ft (94.99 m) |
| Beam | 41.18 ft (12.55 m) |
| Draft | 13.66 ft (4.16 m) |
| Installed power | 6,200 horsepower (4.63 megawatts) |
| Propulsion | 2 × Fairbanks Morse 38D8 1/8 diesel engines |
| Speed | 18.2 knots (33.7 km/h; 20.9 mph) (maximum) |
| Range | 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 15.6 knots (28.9 km/h) |
| Sensors & processing systems | |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | None permanently assigned; helipad could accommodate one MBB Bo 105 Helicopter |
| Aviation facilities | Helipad; no support capability |
BRP Diego Silang (PF-9)[2] was an Andrés Bonifacio-class frigate of the Philippine Navy in commission from 1976 to 1990. She and her three sister ships were the largest Philippine Navy ships of their time.
Construction and United States Navy service 1944-1946
.jpg)
Diego Silang was built in the United States by Lake Washington Shipyard at Houghton, Washington, as the United States Navy Barnegat-class seaplane tender USS Bering Strait (AVP-34). Commissioned in July 1944, Bering Strait served in the Central Pacific during World War II and on occupation duty in Japan postwar. She was decommissioned in June 1946 and placed in reserve.
United States Coast Guard service 1949-1971
.jpg)
The U.S. Navy loaned Bering Strait to the United States Coast Guard, which commissioned her in 1949 as the Casco-class Coast Guard cutter USCGC Bering Strait (WAVP-382). Reclassified as a high endurance cutter and redesignated WHEC-382 in 1966, she patrolled ocean stations in the Pacific Ocean, for nearly 22 years, reporting weather data and engaging in search-and-rescue and law-enforcement operations. During the Vietnam War, she served two tours off Vietnam, in 1967-1968 and in 1970.
Republic of Vietnam Navy service 1971-1975
Bering Strait was transferred to South Vietnam in 1971 and was commissioned into the Republic of Vietnam Navy as the frigate RVNS Trần Quang Khải (HQ-02). When South Vietnam collapsed at the end of the Vietnam War in April 1975, Trần Quang Khải fled to Subic Bay in the Philippines, packed with South Vietnamese refugees.
Acquisition by the Philippines
On 22 May 1975 and 23 May 1975, a U.S. Coast Guard team inspected Trần Quang Khải and several other former Casco-class cutters which had been transferred to South Vietnam in 1971 and 1972 and, like Trần Quang Khải, fled to the Philippines in April 1975. One of the inspectors noted: "These vessels brought in several hundred refugees and are generally rat-infested. They are in a filthy, deplorable condition. Below decks generally would compare with a garbage scow."[3] After Trần Quang Khải was cleaned, repaired, and made ready to return to service, the U.S. Navy transferred her to the Republic of the Philippines, with the formal transfer occurring on 5 April 1976.
Philippine Navy service 1977-1990
The ship was acquired by the Philippine government on 5 April 1976, and was commissioned as Philippine Navy frigate RPS Diego Silang (PF-9). In June 1980[4] she was reclassified and renamed as BRP Diego Silang (PF-9), and served the Philippine Navy until her decommissioning in June 1985.[5] She was again recommissioned afterwards as BRP Diego Silang (PF-14) and was finally decommissioned in April 1990.
Disposal
After finding her beyond economical repair, Diego Silang was discarded in July 1990 and probably scrapped.[6] Some of her usable parts were made available for her sister ship BRP Andrés Bonifacio (PF-7).
