BRP Negros Occidental (PS-29)
Encyclopedia
BRP Negros Occidental (PS-29) was 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-884, 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 Negros Occidental after the Philippine province of the same name
Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Bacolod City and it occupies the northwestern half of Negros Island; Negros Oriental is at the southeastern half...
. The ship is . Along with other World War II-era ships of the Philippine Navy, Negros Occidental was considered as one of the oldest active fighting ships in the world until its decommissioning.
History
Commissioned in the US Navy as USS PCE-884 in 1945, 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"....
(currently 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"....
) and was renamed RPS (now BRP) Negros Occidental (PS-29) in 1948. Her last assignment was with the Patrol Force of the Philippine Fleet.. She was decommissioned from the fleet on 09 December 2010 after it was found to be beyond economical repair. She is to be sold as scrap while her equipments were removed as spare for operational sisterships.
Technical details
Originally the ship was armed with one 3"/50 caliber dual purpose gun, three twin Bofors 40 mm guns, four 20 mm Oerlikon guns, 1 Hedgehog depth charge projector, four depth charge projectiles (K-guns) and two depth charge tracks.The same configuration applies up until the late 1980s when 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 most of her old anti-submarine weapons and systems, and added four 12.7 mm general purpose machine guns, making her lighter and ideal for surface patrols, but losing her limited anti-submarine warfare capability.
The ship is powered by two GM 12-278A diesel engines, with a combined rating of around 2200 bhp driving two propeller
Propeller
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).
There are slight difference between the BRP Negros Occidental as compared to some of her sister ships in the Philippine Navy, since her previous configuration was as a patrol craft escort, while the others are configured as minesweepers and patrol craft escort rescue ships.