RPS Rajah Soliman (D-66)
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | USS Bowers |
Builder | Bethlehem Steel Shipyard Corp., San Francisco, California |
Laid down | 14 January 1943 |
Launched | 31 October 1943 |
Commissioned | 27 January 1944 |
Recommissioned | 6 February 1951 |
Decommissioned | 18 December 1958 |
Stricken | 1 May 1961 |
Identification | DE-637 |
Fate | Loaned to Philippine Navy 31 October 1960, renamed as RPS Rajah Soliman (D-66). Sold outright to the Philippine government on 21 April 1961.[1][2] |
Philippines | |
Name | RPS Rajah Soliman |
Operator | Philippine Navy |
Acquired | 31 October 1960 |
Commissioned | unconfirmed |
Decommissioned | December 1964 |
Stricken | December 1964 |
Identification | D-66 |
Fate | Sunk 29 June 1964, raised December 1964. Hulk sold to Mitsubishi International Corp., January 1966 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Buckley-class destroyer escort/ Charles Lawrence-class high speed transport |
Displacement |
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Length | 306 ft (93 m) |
Beam | 36.83 ft (11.23 m) |
Draft | 13.5 ft (4.1 m) |
Installed power | 12,000 hp (8,900 kW) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 24 knots (44 km/h) maximum |
Range | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h) |
Complement | 186 |
Armament |
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RPS Rajah Soliman (D-66) was a destroyer escort/frigate that served with the Philippine Navy between 1960 and 1964. A Buckley-class destroyer escort, it was originally named USS Bowers during its previous service with the United States Navy. It was the first destroyer escort to be operated by the Philippine Navy, and is the only member of its class ever operated by the service. Rajah Soliman was also the flagship of the Philippine Navy during its time in commission, which ended with the sinking of the vessel in 1964.[3]