BRP Cebu (PS-28)
Encyclopedia
BRP Cebu (PS-28) is a of the Philippine Navy
Philippine Navy
The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....
. She was originally built as USS PCE-881, a for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was decommissioned from the U.S. Navy and transferred to the Philippine Navy in July 1948 and renamed RPS Cebu (E-28) after the Philippine province of the same name
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
. The ship is . Along with other World War II-era ships of the Philippine Navy, Cebu is considered as one of the oldest active fighting ships in the world today.
History
Commissioned in the US Navy as USS PCE-881 in 1944, and was decommissioned after World War II.She was then transferred and commissioned into the Philippine Naval Patrol
Philippine Navy
The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....
and was renamed RPS Cebu (E-28) in July 1948. She was carried on to the Philippine Navy
Philippine Navy
The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....
in 1950, and between 1965-1966 she was renamed as RPS Cebu (PS-28) using a new classification system. Again in June 1980 she was renamed BRP Cebu (PS-28) using a new localized prefix.
In 1992 the Iloilo underwent major overhaul, weapons and radar systems refit, and upgrade of communications gear.
Cebu won the Philippine Navy "Ship of the Year" award for the year 2009.
She is currently assigned with the Patrol Force of the Philippine Fleet, under the jurisdiction of Naval Forces Western Mindanao.
Notable Operations
Between 19 - 22 March 1958, then RPS (Republic of Philippines Ship) Cebu participated in the first bilateral exercise between the Philippine and US Navies dubbed Exercise "Bulwark". It took part on the 3rd phase of the exercise that took place in the waters of Corregidor and Caballo Islands.As of 23 June 2008, she and her onboard medical team oparticipated in the search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
of the MV Princess of the Stars
MV Princess of the Stars
MV Princess of the Stars was a ferry owned by Filipino shipping company Sulpicio Lines that capsized off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon at the height of Typhoon Fengshen on June 21, 2008...
of Sulpicio Lines
Sulpicio Lines
Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation is a shipping line in the Philippines. It is notable in the Philippines and around the world for owning and operating the vessel MV Doña Paz, which figured in the worst maritime disaster during peace time on December 20, 1987 where 4,375 people lost their...
, which capsized off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon at the height of Typhoon Fengshen on 22 June 2008.
BRP Cebu and BRP Pangasinan (PS-31)
BRP Pangasinan (PS-31)
BRP Pangasinan is a of the Philippine Navy. She was originally built as USS PCE-891, a for the United States Navy during World War II. She was decommissioned from the U.S. Navy and transferred to the Philippine Navy in July 1948 and renamed RPS Pangasinan . The ship is...
have alternately secured the Southern Sulu Sea where the Baduria Well is located. She also provides security for the West Aquarius Oil Rig.
Technical details
There are slight difference between the BRP Pangasinan 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 classAdmirable class minesweeper
The Admirable class was the largest and one of the most successful classes of minesweepers the United States Navy ordered during World War II. Typically, the minesweeper detected and removed mines before the rest of the fleet arrived, thereby ensuring safe passage for the larger ships...
) ships.
Armaments
Originally the ship was armed with one Mk.26 3"/50 caliber dual purpose gun, three twin Mk.1 Bofors 40 mm guns, four Mk.10 20 mm Oerlikon guns, 1 Hedgehog depth charge projector, four depth charge projectiles (K-guns) and two depth charge tracks. This configuration applies before its overhaul in the early 1990s.During its overhaul and refit in 1992, the Philippine Navy
Philippine Navy
The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....
removed her old anti-submarine weapons and systems, and 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 http://www.timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=14874.0 at of 2009 show the Bofors guns still present, although in singles instead of twins. Final armaments fitted to the ship are one Mk.26 3"/50-caliber gun (fore), three single Bofors 40 mm cannons
Bofors 40 mm gun
The Bofors 40 mm gun is an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...
(aft), four Mk.10 Oerlikon 20 mm cannons
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
(2 each on bridge wings), and four M2 Browning 12.7 mm/50 caliber machine guns (2 besides main bridge, 2 aft near the ship's end). This made the ship lighter and ideal for surface patrols, but losing her limited anti-submarine warfare capability.
Electronics
Also during the refit the ship's SPS-21D surface search radar and RCARCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
SPN-18 navigation radar was replaced by a Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
AN/SPS-64(V)11 surface search and navigation radar system. Later modifications included the installation of long range and satellite communications systems, 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 2200 bhp driving two propellerPropeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
s. The main engines can propel the 914 tons (full load) ship to a maximum speed of around 16 knots (31 km/h).
Notable Popular Culture
- BRP Cebu was the ship escorting a fictional Philippine Navy Whidbey Island class LSD BRP Cagayan de Oro during a mission to reclaim the Mischief Reef from the Chinese in the 1997 novel Dragon Strike - The Millennium WarDragon Strike (novel)Dragon Strike is the first novel written by British journalists Humphrey Hawksley and Simon Holberton and first published in 1997, concerning a hypothetical war in 2001...
by Humphrey HawksleyHumphrey Hawksley-Education:Hawksley was educated at the Junior and Senior schools of St. Lawrence College, an independent school for boys , in the coastal seaside town of Ramsgate in Kent, in south east England.-Life and career:...
and Simon Holberton. In the said novel, the mission failed as Chinese Su-27s sank the Cagayan de Oro, and Chinese forces repulsed the attacks of the Philippine Marines to retake the reef. This resulted to the total withdrawal of the Philippines from the South China Sea war against China.