RSS Panglima

RSS Panglima underway in the Singapore Strait
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Panglima
OperatorRoyal Navy
BuilderUnited Engineers Ltd
Laid down1954
Launched14 January 1956
CommissionedMay 1956
FateTransferred to Malaysia
Malaysia
NameKD Panglima
OperatorRoyal Malaysian Navy
Commissioned22 September 1963
FateTransferred to Singapore
Singapore
NameRSS Panglima
OperatorRepublic of Singapore Navy
Commissioned1 January 1966
Decommissioned9 July 1991
IdentificationPennant number: P68
FateSold to New West Coast Pte Ltd
General characteristics
Class and typeFord-class boat
Length35.7 m (117 ft)
Beam6.1 m (20 ft)
Propulsion820 kW
Speed15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Range3,000 miles (4,800 km)
Complement49 officers and enlisted
Armament
  • 1 × anti-aircraft gun
  • Anti-submarine depth-chargers

RSS Panglima (P68) was the first ship of the Republic of Singapore Navy. The ship was commissioned in 1956 as HMS Panglima and was the third ship to be given the name. She was regarded as a milestone for the Malayan shipbuilding industry. During her Royal Navy service, the ship hosted distinguished guests such as South Vietnamese vice president Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ and Singapore's first native head of state the Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yusof bin Ishak. She also embarked on numerous goodwill visits to nearby ports and conducted naval training for new sailors.

Upon Singapore's merger to form Malaysia, the ship was recommissioned as KD Panglima in September 1962. She engaged in several minor skirmishes with Indonesia during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. Singapore's secession on 9 August 1965 led to the ship's recommissioning as RSS Panglima in January 1966.

The ship underwent a major refit prior to being transferred to Midshipman School in 1983 to serve exclusively as a training ship. In 1991, she was decommissioned and sold at auction, after having served in three navies across 35 years of active service. The Naval Military Experts Institute still bears her name today.