BRP ''Gregorio del Pilar'' (PS-15) is the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of her class of

offshore patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they ...

of the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an es ...

. She is the second ship to be named after

Gregorio del Pilar Gregorio Hilario del Pilar y Sempio (; ; November 14, 1875 – December 2, 1899) was a Filipino general of the Philippine Revolutionary Army during the Philippine–American War. As one of the youngest generals in the Revolutionary Army, he ...

, a Filipino revolutionary general known for his role at the

Battle of Tirad Pass The Battle of Tirad Pass ( es, Batalla de Paso Tirad; tgl, Labanan sa Pasong Tirad; ilo, Gubat ti Paso), sometimes referred to as the "Philippine Thermopylae", was a battle in the Philippine–American War fought on December 2, 1899, in north ...

. She was originally designated as "''PF-15''" from 2012 to mid-2016. Then the Navy adopted a new code designation system and she was redesignated as "''FF-15''". In February 2019, the Navy downgraded the status of the entire class from

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

to patrol ship and redesignated her to "''PS-15''". From 1967–2011, the ship was a

high endurance cutter The designation of high endurance cutter (WHEC) was created in 1965 when the United States Coast Guard adopted its own designation system. High endurance cutters encompass the largest cutters previously designated by the United States Navy as gu ...

of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

, known as USCGC ''Hamilton''. The U.S. decommissioned the cutter on 28 March 2011, and was acquired by the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

under the ''Excess Defense Articles'' and the

Foreign Assistance Act The Foreign Assistance Act (, et seq.) is a United States law governing foreign aid policy. It outlined the political and ideological principles of U.S. foreign aid, significantly overhauled and reorganized the structure U.S. foreign assistance ...

. It is one of three ex-US Coast Guard ''Hamilton''-class cutters that serve in the Philippine Navy.

Construction and design

The ship now known as BRP ''Gregorio del Pilar'' (PS-15) was launched on December 18, 1965, at

Avondale Shipyards Avondale Shipyard was an independent shipbuilding company, acquired by Litton Industries, in turn acquired by Northrop Grumman Corporation. In 2011, along with the former Ingalls Shipbuilding, the yard was part of Huntington Ingalls Industries. It ...

near

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is border ...

, as USCGC ''Hamilton'' (WHEC-715) and was named for

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

the first

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

and founder of the

United States Revenue Cutter Service ) , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries=4 August , decorations= , battle_honours= , battle_honours_label= , disbanded=28 January 1915 , flying_hours= , website= , commander1= , co ...

. ''Hamilton'' was commissioned March 18, 1967. The ship is designed with a high level of habitability and provides fairly comfortable accommodations, including air conditioning. ''Gregorio del Pilar'' is the first Philippine military vessel to employ the now common shipboard application of aircraft gas turbine jet engines with the use of controllable pitch propellers and is equipped with two

Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially airlines) and military avia ...

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

s that can propel the ship at speeds up to . ''Gregorio del Pilar'' also has two

Fairbanks-Morse Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, radios, farm tractors, fee ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-cal ...

s, capable of driving the ship economically at for up to without refuelling. A retractable/rotatable bow propulsion unit provides manoeuvrability in tight situations.

Armament

The ship was armed with a Mk.75

Oto Melara 76 mm The OTO Melara 76 mm gun is a naval gun built and designed by the Italian defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/62 Strales. The system is compact enough to be installed on rel ...

Compact main gun, two Mk.38 M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain gun at midships, and a

Phalanx CIWS The Phalanx CIWS (often spoken as "sea-wiz") is a gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the Gene ...

system aft. The CIWS and chain guns were removed by the US Coast Guard prior to its turn-over to the Philippine Navy. Only the Mk.75 gun remains. Plans to install additional weapons were made, which includes one Mk. 38 Mod 1 25 mm

chain gun A chain gun is a type of autocannon or machine gun that uses an external source of power to cycle the weapon's action, rather than diverting excess energy from the cartridges' propellant as in a typical automatic firearm, and does so via a cont ...

aft, two Mk.16 20 mm

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bul ...

s midships, and six

12.7 mm machine guns 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. These were installed during its scheduled dock works before the commissioning ceremonies. Photos during the commissioning ceremonies confirmed the presence of such weapons. The Philippines reportedly ordered at least four new Mk.38 Mod 3 25mm naval guns, and are expected to be installed on all ''Gregorio del Pilar'' class ships. It was also reported that the Philippine Navy will be getting sophisticated radar system capable of detecting and tracking surface threats, a Harpoon anti-ship missile system, and torpedo decoy systems. This would be purchased from the United States possibly under a government-to-government deal.

Flight support

The ship has a flight deck and hangar capable of handling helicopters. A BO-105 light surveillance helicopter was initially assigned to the ship, and was replaced by the AgustaWestland AW109 Power, which made its first official shipboard deployment on May 21, 2014.

Modernization

The Philippine Navy plans to modernize the entire ship of the class, with an initial program to upgrade the ship's sensors, and another program to improve its weapon systems. Several systems were acquired through US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF), which includes the BAE Systems Mk. 38 Mod. 2 machine gun system, the SAAB AN/SPS-77 Sea Giraffe AMB 3D air/surface search radar, and the

FLIR Systems Teledyne FLIR LLC (an acronym for "forward-looking infrared"), a subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies, specializes in the design and production of thermal imaging cameras and sensors. Its main customers are governments and in 2020, approximately ...

SeaFLIR 230 Electro-Optical/Infra-Red Camera. Meanwhile, the Philippine Navy will launch a program to acquire, install and integrate several other sensors into the ship, as part of the Horizon 2 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program. Among those to be acquired are new Combat Management System (CMS), Hull Mounted Sonar (HMS), and a Radar Electronic Support Measures (R-ESM). Future upgrades are planned to install defensive and offensive missile systems, as well as torpedo weapon system, although funding is still being secured and might only be included in the next phase of the Navy's modernization program. In 2020 October 14, Navy chief Giovanni Carlo Bacordo revealed the completion of the ''3D modeling program'' for the entire ship class' cabling systems to be used for their electronic upgrades (CMS + 4 sensors).

Service history

United States Coast Guard (1967–2011)

In 1988, ''Hamilton'' completed a three-year fleet renovation and modernization that provided the ship with modern weapons and electronics systems. All spaces and machinery were also completely overhauled and refurbished. The new technology enables ''Hamilton'' to operate seamlessly 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 of ...

. ''Hamilton'' has served a variety of missions with distinction. During a 1969–70 deployment to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

, ''Hamilton'' interdicted weapons smugglers and fired more than 4,600 rounds of gunfire in support of U.S. and Vietnamese troops ashore. From 1965–1975, ''Hamilton'' served on

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

Stations, collecting valuable oceanographic data and conducting frequent search and rescue missions. ''Hamilton'' also directed the interdictions of over 21,000

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

an migrants throughout the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean S ...

during Operation Able Manner. In 1994, ''Hamilton'' received the

Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

for rescuing 135 Haitians from the sea after their sailboat capsized and sank. In 1996, ''Hamilton'' transited the Panama Canal and served as the command and control platform for Operation Frontier Shield, a multi-agency effort to curtail the influx of narcotics into the United States. ''Hamilton'' intercepted 14 drug-laden vessels carrying more than 115 tons of contraband worth 200 million dollars. In 1999, ''Hamilton'' seized over of cocaine bound for the U.S. in the Eastern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. ''Hamilton'' frequently patrolled the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea (, ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasses on Earth: Eurasia and The Ame ...

off the

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

n coast at the Maritime Boundary Line (MBL) which separates the Russian and the United States Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). ''Hamilton''s presence on the MBL deters foreign fishing vessels from fishing in the U.S. EEZ. In March 2007, ''Hamilton'' assisted in the largest recorded maritime drug bust in history. The two vessels intercepted the Panamanian-flagged fishing vessel ''Gatun'' in international waters and were able to recover 20 metric tons of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $600 million retail. The seizure was the largest drug bust in US history and the largest interdiction at sea.

Philippine Navy (2011–present)

Proposal to decommission USCGC ''Hamilton'' from the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

was made for fiscal year 2011 budget, and the

sent a formal letter of interest for its purchase. USCGC ''Hamilton'' was decommissioned on March 28, 2011, and transferred to the Philippine Navy as an excess defense article under the Foreign Assistance Act. The Philippines sent a team to conduct a thorough inspection of the ship in November 2010. The US Coast Guard removed some of the ship's equipment before its transfer to the Philippine Navy and plans to use those equipment as spare parts for the other US Coast Guard ships. Among those that were removed are the AN/SPS-40 air surface search radar,

, and two Mk.38 M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain guns. In return, the US Coast Guard began procuring and installing the safe-to-sail navigation equipment, radar systems and additional electronics that the Philippines requested as part of its transfer support case. The Philippine Navy installed a 25 mm chain gun, two 20 mm guns, and six mounted 50-caliber guns as replacement for the equipment removed. The ship's transfer cost was pegged at Php450 million, while operation costs for two years was estimated at Php120 million. Funding came from Philippines'

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-relat ...

, considering that the vessel is projected to be deployed to secure oil platform and exploration activities in the Western and Southern Philippines. Training for the crew started in January 2011, when the US Coast Guard provided 10 weeks of combined dockside and underway training on for the ship's prospective commanding officer, executive officer and crew. ''Gregorio del Pilar'' (PF-15) was formally transferred to the Philippines on May 13, 2011, at the transfer ceremony on Coast Guard Island. Captain Alberto A. Cruz became its first commanding officer. Its maiden voyage included a port visit to Hawaii and docking at Alameda, California to finish the remaining work, with around 13 separate contracting actions. ''Gregorio del Pilar'' conducted a test at the coast of California to measure the crew's capabilities and the ship's seaworthiness. ''Gregorio del Pilar'' made a port visit at

Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (JBPHH) is a United States military base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It is an amalgamation of the United States Air Force's Hickam Air Force Base and the United States Navy's Naval Station Pearl Harbor, wh ...

which was the first time that a Philippine vessel docked at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

. She arrived on the Philippines on August 17, 2011 after port visit in Guam. ''Gregorio del Pilar'' arrived in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

on August 21, 2011. The arrival ceremony was held on August 23, 2011, and minor improvements were done the following days. BRP ''Gregorio del Pilar'' (PF-15) was formally commissioned by the Philippine Navy on December 14, 2011, at Pier 13, Manila South Harbor.

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and Colloquialism, colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, 15th presid ...

's elder sister, Ballsy Cruz, was the principal sponsor of the ship. President Aquino hoped that this, his first major military acquisition, would be a symbol of his administration's intention to strengthen and modernize the Philippine Navy and the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, and to defend its territory and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea. BRP ''Gregorio del Pilar'' was involved in a standoff in 2012 at the

Scarborough Shoal Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc (in Spanish), Panatag Shoal ( fil, Kulumpol ng Panatag, lit=serene cluster), Huangyan Island (Mandarin zh, c=黄岩岛, p=Huáng Yán Dǎo, l=yellow rock island), and Democracy Reef, are two ro ...

when it tried to apprehend eight Chinese fishing vessels in the island. BRP ''Gregorio del Pilar'' was also one of the naval vessels that the

AFP Western Command The Western Command (abbrv. as WESCOM) is the Armed Forces of the Philippines' unified command in charge of the islands of Palawan and Kalayaan, including the disputed Spratly Islands group. It is responsible for the defense of these areas agains ...

sent to help in the searching efforts for

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370/MAS370) was an international passenger flight operated by Malaysia Airlines that disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to its planned destination ...

Barack Obama touring BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15)

On November 17, 2015,

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

visited and toured the ship on the sidelines of the APEC Summit to highlight the United States' commitment to assist East Asian countries in maritime security, amidst the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. After touring the ship, he announced that a third ''Hamilton''-class cutter similar to ''Gregorio del Pilar'' ( USCGC ''Boutwell'' (WHEC-719)) and the

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

will be turned over to the Philippine Navy. Around mid-2016, the Philippine Navy started calling the ship in its new code designation FF-15, together with its sister ship BRP ''Ramon Alcaraz'' which was re-designated as FF-16, and the new BRP ''Andres Bonifacio'' designated as FF-17. On August 29, 2018, she ran aground at Hasa Hasa Shoal in the West Philippine Sea off Palawan. She was eventually removed from the shoal on September 3, 2018, and towed to

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Su ...

for repairs. In September 2022, ''Gregorio Del Pilar'' completed a 4 year repair and overhaul period. It was then announced that the ship will soon deploy to the South China Sea.

Notable operational deployments

Port calls

On July 27, 2011, ''Gregorio del Pilar'' arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam for a scheduled port visit. She took on supplies and fuel, and held a reception hosted by the Philippine Consulate in Honolulu and the Philippine Celebrations Coordinating Committee of Hawaii. The crew also visited the USS ''Arizona'' Memorial. It also marks the first time a Philippine naval vessel pulled into Pearl Harbor.

Search and rescue

BRP ''Gregorio Del Pilar'' was assigned to Naval Forces Western to help in a joint multinational disaster relief and response operations dubbed '' Operation Damayan'' after the Visayan Islands were struck by

Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded. On making landfall, Haiyan devastated portions of Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines. It is one of the ...

in November 2013. On 2014, the ship has been deployed in the search for the missing

Exercises

On July 30, 2011, ''Gregorio del Pilar'' and conducted a Passing Exercise (PASSEX) off the coast of Hawaii. On August 22, 2011, the United States Embassy in Manila posted on their Facebook account photos indicating that BRP ''Gregorio del Pilar'' had an in-stride training with on their transit to Guam, which may have started around August 4, 2011. On August 14–16, 2012, the Naval Forces Northern Luzon (NFNL) conducted a small-scale Naval Exercise code-named SAGEX 02–12 at the waters of South China Sea. BRP ''Gregorio del Pilar'' together with and participated under Naval Task Force (NTF) 11. The exercise includes

patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology From French ''patrouiller'', from Old Fre ...

, simulated tracking of targets and

interdiction Interdiction is a military term for the act of delaying, disrupting, or destroying enemy forces or supplies en route to the battle area. A distinction is often made between strategic and tactical interdiction. The former refers to operations whose ...

and capped by live firing exercises. ''Gregorio del Pilar'', together with BRP ''Rajah Humabon'' participated in the sea phase exercises with the US Navy during the Balikatan 2013 from April 5 to 17, 2013. The ship conducted an offshore visit at Lingayen, Pangasinan during the city's "Pistay Dayat 2013" ("Feast of the Sea 2013"), with an open house tour and rescue exhibition exercises performed by the crew. From June 27 to July 2, 2013, ''Gregorio del Pilar'' participated in joint naval maneuvers during

Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training The Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Exercise CARAT) is a series of annual bilateral military exercises conducted by the United States Pacific Fleet with several member nations of ASEAN in Southeast Asia. Currently, the navies of Banglad ...

2013 Philippines (CARAT 2013 Philippines) with other Philippine and United States naval and coast guard ships. The at-sea phase was conducted on June 27 off the waters midway from Zambales province and Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal. The ship, together with its

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

participated in joint naval maneuvers as part of CARAT 2014 Philippines from June 26 to July 1, 2014. It was scheduled to conduct exercises on gunnery, combined air, surface, anti-submarine operations at sea. In May 2018, the BRP ''Gregorio del Pilar'' participated in the ''Third Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo 2018'' held from May 8 to 9, 2018 in

Lombok Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is rou ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. In ...

References

External links

''Hamilton''/ ''Hamilton'' home pageUSCG Decommissioning announcementPhilippine Navy Official websitePhilippine Defense ForumNaming and Code Designation of PN Ships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregorio del Pilar Hamilton-class cutters of the Philippine Navy 1965 ships Ships built in Bridge City, Louisiana