BRP ''Sultan Kudarat'' (PS-22) was a of the Philippine Navy. It was originally built as USS ''PCE-881'', a for 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1961 it was transferred to South Vietnam for service in the

Republic of Vietnam Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; ; ''HQVNCH'') was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats fro ...

as RVNS ''Đống Đa II'' (HQ-07). It was acquired by the Philippine Navy on April 1976, and was commissioned later on as RPS ''Sultan Kudarat'' (PS-22). Along with other World War II-era ships of the Philippine Navy, ''Sultan Kudarat'' was considered one of the oldest active fighting ships in the world, until its retirement in July 5, 2019.

History

Commissioned in the US Navy as USS ''PCE-895'' in 1944, she was renamed USS ''Crestview'' (PCE-895) on February 15, 1956, named for the City of Crestview, Florida, "in accordance with a recent Navy decision to name its patrol vessels, previously known only by the hull number, by the names of cities of the United States with populations between 2,500 and 10,000". She was then transferred to the South Vietnam on November 29, 1961. She served the

as RVNS ''Đống Đa II'' (HQ-07) up until her escape to 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 ...

in 1975, together with other South Vietnamese Navy ships and their respective crew.''NavSource Online: Patrol Craft Escort Photo Archive''
Crestview (PCE 895) ex-PCE-895
She was formally acquired by the Philippine Navy on April 5, 1976, and was commissioned into the Philippine Navy on July 27, 1976, and was renamed RPS ''Sultan Kudarat'' (PS-22). She was renamed to BRP ''Sultan Kudarat'' (PS-22) in June 1980 using a new localized prefix.''Philippine Navy Information Manual 1995 – Adoption of Pilipino Translation of "Bapor ng Republika ng Pilipinas"'' Between 1990 and 1991 the ''Sultan Kudarat'' underwent major overhaul, weapons and radar systems refit, and upgrade of communications gear.Saunders, Stephen: ''Jane's Fighting Ships 107th Edition 2004–2005''. Jane's Information Group Ltd, 2004. She was assigned with the Patrol Force, later on the Offshore Patrol Force of the Philippine Fleet. BRP ''Sultan Kudarat'' was decommissioned on July 5, 2019. In October 2022, the Ship along with the BRP ''Rajah Humabon'' (PS-11) and BRP ''Cebu'' (PS-28) was seen tilted over and submerged at the Naval Station Pascual Ledesma in

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

after the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Nalgae.

Technical details

There are slight differences between the BRP ''Sultan Kudarat'' as compared to some of her sister ships in the Philippine Navy, since her previous configuration was as a patrol craft escort ( PCE), while the others are configured as rescue patrol craft escort ( PCER) and minesweepers ( ''Admirable'' class) ships.

Armaments

Originally the ship was armed with one Mk.26 3"/50 caliber dual purpose gun, three single Bofors 40 mm guns, one

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introductio ...

depth charge projector, four depth charge projectiles (K-guns) and two depth charge tracks. Changes were made during its transfer to the

South Vietnamese Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; ; ''HQVNCH'') was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats fro ...

, as it appears in photos show the removal of her anti-submarine weapons, and addition of four Mk.10 Oerlikon 20 mm guns. This made the ship lighter and ideal for surface patrols, but losing her limited anti-submarine warfare capability. The same configuration applies when she was transferred to the Philippine Navy up until around 1990–1991. During its overhaul and refit between 1990 and 1991, the Philippine Navy made some changes in the armament set-up. Some sources claim the loss of its three Bofors 40mm cannons during the 1990–1991 overhaul and refit period, but photos as of 2009 show the Bofors guns still present. Final armaments fitted to the ship are one Mk.26 3"/50-caliber gun (fore), three single Bofors 40 mm cannons (aft), four Mk.10

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models em ...

s (2 each on bridge wings), and four M2 Browning .50 cal (12.7 mm) caliber machine guns (2 besides main bridge, 2 aft near the lower Bofors gun tub).

Electronics

Also during the refit the ship's

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

CRM-NIA-75 surface search radar and

SPN-18 navigation radar was replaced by a

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitali ...

AN/SPS-64(V)11 surface search and navigation radar system. Later modifications included the installation of an additional

Furuno (commonly known as Furuno) is a Japanese electronics company whose main products are marine electronics, including marine radar systems, fish finders, and navigational instruments. The company also manufactures global positioning systems a ...

navigation radar, long range and satellite communications system and GPS system standard to all Philippine Navy ships.

Machinery

The ship is powered by two GM 12-278A diesel engines, with a combined rating of around driving two propellers. The main engines can propel the 914 tons (full load) ship to a maximum speed of around .''DLSU N-ROTC Office.'
Naming and Code Designation of PN Vessels
. Recent photos show that air-conditioning was also installed on the ''Sultan Kudarat''.

References

External links

Philippine Defense Forum

DLSU ROTC

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sultan Kudarat (PS-22) PCE-842-class patrol craft Ships built in Portland, Oregon 1943 ships Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Republic of Vietnam Navy Vietnam War naval ships of South Vietnam PCE-842-class patrol craft of the Philippine Navy Miguel Malvar-class corvettes Corvettes of the Philippines