BRP ''Datu Kalantiaw'' (PS-76) was the first of three ex-USN s that served with the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...

, the others being BRP ''Datu Sikatuna'' (PS-77/PF-5) and BRP ''Rajah Humabon'' (PS-78/PF-11). She was also the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the

from 1967 to 1981.

History

Commissioned in the US Navy as in 1943, she was mostly assigned at the Atlantic theatre doing escort duties for UGS and GUS convoys. She served in the Pacific theater in the middle of 1945 until she was decommissioned on 14 June 1946. ''Booth'' was placed in "deferred disposal status pending possible transfer to a foreign government" on 7 July 1947, and two days later was towed back to Mayport by ''ATA-209'', where the former convoy escort was inactivated on 28 July 1947. Reconditioned by the Brewer Dry Dock Co.,

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, the ship was loaned to the Republic of the Philippines under the Military Assistance Program on 15 December 1967. The

commissioned her on that day at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

as RPS ''Datu Kalantiaw'' (PS-76). On 30 June 1975, while she was still operating on loan under a foreign flag, the

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

was re-designated a

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

, FF-170. Subsequently, given the Philippine Navy's continuing need for the ship "in the interest of National Defense Requirements and in the furtherance of the Security Alliance between the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and the United States," the U.S. Navy disposed of her by Foreign Military Sale and ''Booth'' was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 July 1978. In July 1980, in line with the re-classification of all Philippine Navy ships, she was renamed BRP ''Datu Kalantiaw'' (PS-76) using a localized prefix to replace the previously used English prefix. ''Datu Kalantiaw'' continued to serve under the Philippine flag until Typhoon Clara drove her aground on 21 September 1981 on the rocky northern shore of Calayan Island, in the northern Philippines. The ammunition ship , as she neared Subic Bay that day, slated for a period of upkeep, received orders to "get underway again that evening to coordinate rescue operations" at the scene of the tragedy. Consequently, ''Mount Hood'', working in concert with Philippine Navy units "in a most adverse weather environment," retrieved 49 bodies in two days of operations, and ultimately sailed for

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

to turn them over to Philippine authorities, rescuers no longer hearing tapping from inside the ship that lay on her beam ends where Clara had cast her. Soon thereafter, Rear Admiral Simeon Alejandro, Flag Officer in Command of the Philippine Navy, "made an emotional address to the officers and men of ''Mount Hood'' upon the ship's arrival on Manila," the auxiliary's historian records, "thanking each man for his part in the mission and offering the gratitude of the Philippine nation to the Captain and crew." One contemporary account called the loss of ''Datu Kalantiaw'' "one of the worst disasters in the history of the Philippine Navy," 79 of the 97-man crew perishing.''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships''
USS Booth page

Gallery

Image:BRP Datu Kalantiaw (PS-76) aground on Cayalan Island, Philippines, 22 September 1981 (6365750).jpg, An aerial view of the capsized Philippine destroyer escort BRP ''Datu Kalantiaw'' during the Military Airlift Command's Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service rescue operations. Image:Bow of the capsized BRP Datu Kalantiaw (PS-76) on Cayalan Island, Philippines, 22 September 1981 (6365754).jpg Image:BRP Datu Kalantiaw (PS-76) capsized on Cayalan Island, Philippines, 22 September 1981 (6371751).jpg, A view of the capsized Philippine destroyer escort BRP ''Datu Kalantiaw''

References

External links

Naming and Code Designation of PN Ships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Datu Kalantiaw (PS-76) Datu Kalantiaw-class frigates Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1943 ships Maritime incidents in 1981 Shipwrecks in the Philippine Sea