Patrol Boat Fast (PTF)

History

During the global military defeats following World War II (1939-1945), the United States Navy (USN) mulled over the idea of ??destroying much of its motorized torpedo boats, which played a often overlooked but critical role involved The struggle of the Japanese Empire to control the Pacific. By the time of the Vietnam War (1955-1975), U.S. authorities believed that modern warfare would be solved by extremely advanced battlefield technology - in fact, in any future air combat, missiles should go beyond "dogfights" to approach - in more In modern fighter jet designs, guns are useless.

History will show otherwise.

As the United States began to become increasingly involved in the Vietnam conflict, the offshore and riverine aspects of the war required specialized equipment to wage regional unconventional warfare. Because of this, the Navy was forced to look overseas and commissioned 20 80-foot wooden-hulled ships from Norway based on the local Tjeld-class MTB (Westmoon) developed based on Norway's experience in WWII. The torpedo-launching capabilities of the new U.S. Navy ships were eliminated due to North Vietnam's lack of conventional naval surface targets that traditional torpedo boats attacked.

Class Twenty is part of the "Hate Class," built from 1962 to 1968. The ships operated from 1962 to 1981 and were numbered PTF-3 to PTF-22.

The 80-ton ship is 25 meters long, 7.5 meters wide and has a draft of 1.8 meters. This last feature is particularly noteworthy because it gives the Nasty boat a very shallow hull profile, which allows the series to operate in the shallows of rivers and in open water close to the coast. Power is provided by two Napier Deltic turbo diesel engines producing 6,200 horsepower and propelling the fast patrol boat to a speed of 38 knots. A typical crew roster consists of 17 personnel and weapons: 1 x 40mm Bofors autocannon (aft midship firing), 2 x 20mm guns and an 81mm mortar/.50 caliber Heavy Machine Gun (HMG) weapon combination mount, Called "Piggyback".

Additionally, the crew can use their own personal weapons in specific firefights against land targets.

The U.S. Navy began its relationship with Nasty ships in 1962 with an order for two ships (PTF-3 and PTF-4), which was further strengthened by an order of 14 ships in 1966.

Trumpy & Sons built six more in Annapolis, Maryland, USA, one of the few shipyards in the US to build PT ships for the US Navy during World War II.

In action, the PTF series has good visibility and possesses capabilities that are lacking in larger warships limited to deep sea operations. The PTF has served in the "Brown Water Navy" and has assisted a variety of mission types throughout his career, including special forces support and rapid attack on unsuspecting targets.

Of the twenty commissioned, six went missing during the war years. The surviving ships were eventually handed over to the South Vietnamese Navy, which operated until the early 1970s, after which the remainder went to the U.S. Navy.

Since then, the ships have remained low-key until they were finally scrapped in the early 1980s - with operating costs being a major concern.

Specification for Fast Patrol Craft (PTF)

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

ARMAMENT

AIR WING