BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-8)

For other ships with the same name, see BRP Gregorio del Pilar.
For the Filipino revolutionary general, see Gregorio del Pilar. For the municipality in the Philippines, see Gregorio del Pilar, Ilocos Sur.
History
Philippines
NameGregorio del Pilar
NamesakeGregorio del Pilar (1875-1899), a Filipino revolutionary general
BuilderLake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, Washington
Laid down1 February 1943
Launched10 July 1943
CompletedMay 1944
Acquired5 April 1976
Commissioned7 February 1977[1]
DecommissionedApril 1990
Renamed
  • BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-8) June 1980 - 1985
  • BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-12) 1987 - 1990
FateDiscarded July 1990; probably scrapped[1]
Notes
General characteristics
Class and typeAndrés Bonifacio class
TypeFrigate
Displacement
  • 1,766 tons (standard)
  • 2,800 tons (full load)
Length311.65 ft (94.99 m)
Beam41.18 ft (12.55 m)
Draft13.66 ft (4.16 m)
Installed power6,200 brake horsepower (4.63 megawatts)
Propulsion2 × Fairbanks-Morse 38D diesel engines
Speed18.2 knots (33.7 km/h; 20.9 mph) (maximum)
Range8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 15.6 knots (28.9 km/h)
ComplementApproximately 200
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Sperry SPS-53 Surface Search Radar[2]
  • Westinghouse AN/SPS-29D Air Search Radar[2]
  • Mk.26 Mod.1 Fire Control System[2]
  • Mk.52 Mod.3 Gun Director
Armament
Aircraft carriedNone permanently assigned; helipad could accommodate one MBB Bo 105 Helicopter
Aviation facilitiesHelipad; no support facilities aboard

The BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-8)[3] was an Andrés Bonifacio-class frigate of the Philippine Navy in commission from 1977 to 1990. She was one of six ex-United States Navy Barnegat-class seaplane tenders[4]/ex-United States Coast Guard Casco-class high endurance cutters received from the United States after the Vietnam War, two of which were acquired to supply spare parts for the other four. She and her three commissioned sister ships were the largest Philippine Navy combat ships of their time.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference USCG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Jane's Fighting Ships 1982-1983
  3. ^ This article assumes that the authoritative Jane's Fighting Ships 1980-1981, p. 370, is correct about Gregorio del Pilar's lineage (i.e., that she was the former USS Wachapreague (AGP-8), USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386/WHEC-386), and RVNS Ngô Quyền (HQ-17). The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) (see http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w1/wachapreague.htm), NavSource.org (see http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/43/4356.htm), the United States Coast Guard Historian's Office (see http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/McCulloch_1946.pdf), the Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images (see http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-w/agp8.htm), and Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1982 Part II: The Warsaw Pact and Non-Aligned Nations, p. 356, all agree with Jane's that Wachapreague/McCulloch became Ngô Quyền and then Gregorio del Pilar. However, confusion exists on these points on the Web. The Inventory of VNN's Battle Ships Part 2 (see Part 2 at http://www.vnafmamn.com/VNNavy_inventory.html Archived 2015-01-25 at the Wayback Machine) claims that Ngô Quyền (HQ-17) was the former USS Castle Rock (AVP-35) and USCGC Castle Rock (WAVP-383/WHEC-383), while the other sources (less DANFS, which does not mention Castle Rock's South Vietnamese career) all agree that Castle Rock became Trần Bình Trọng (HQ-05) in South Vietnamese service (although NavSource.org in its entry for USS Chincoteague (AVP-24) / USS Chincoteague (WAVP-375/WHEC-375) at http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/43/4324.htm also says that it was Chincoteague that became Trần Bình Trọng (HQ-05)). To complete the confusion, the Inventory of VNN's Battle Ships Part 1 (see Part 1 at http://www.vnafmamn.com/VNNavy_inventory.html Archived 2015-01-25 at the Wayback Machine) says that Wachapreague/McCulloch became RVNS Trần Quốc Toản in South Vietnamese service and that Trần Quốc Toản became Gregorio del Pilar, while the Inventory of VNN's Battle Ships Part 2 (see Part 2 at http://www.vnafmamn.com/VNNavy_inventory.html Archived 2015-01-25 at the Wayback Machine) says that Ngô Quyền was the former Castle Rock and that Ngô Quyền went on to become the Philippine Navy's BRP Francisco Dagohoy.
  4. ^ Although she had been converted into a motor torpedo boat tender during construction.