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Asheville-class gunboat

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For the earlier class, see Asheville-class gunboat (1917).

The Asheville-class gunboats were a class of small warships built for the United States Navy in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The class is named for a city in western North Carolina and the seat of Buncombe County. All Asheville-class gunboats have since been donated to museums, scheduled for scrapping, or transferred to the Greek, Turkish, Colombian and South Korean Navies. The last two Asheville-class gunboats in US service were USS Chehalis and USS Grand Rapids, which were operated by the Naval Surface Warfare Center until they were stricken in 2016.[1][2][3]

USS Gallup (PG-85) in June 1967
Class overview
NameAsheville class
Preceded byPGM-39 class
Succeeded byPSMM Mk5 multi-purpose patrol boat (PSMM)
Built1966–1971
Completed17
Lost1
General characteristics
TypePGM motor gunboat
Displacement240 long tons (244 t)
Length164 ft 6 in (50.1 m)
Beam24 ft (7.3 m)
Draft9 ft 6 in (2.9 m)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 16 kn (30 km/h) max on diesels
  • 42 kn (78 km/h) max on turbine
Range1,700 nmi (3,100 km)
Complement24 crew (4 officers)
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
  • Guns: 1 × USN 3 in (76 mm) /50 Mk 34; 50 rounds/min to 7 nmi (13 km); weight of shell 6 kg.
  • 4 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (2 × 2)
  • 1 × Bofors 40 mm/60(56) Mk 10.
  • Missiles: Some units had the 40 mm replaced with various missile configurations

Origination

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The Asheville-class gunboats were originally designated PGM motor gunboats, but were reclassified in 1967 as PG patrol combatant ships.[4]

The Asheville class employed a combined diesel or gas turbine (CODOG) propulsion system; twin Cummins diesel engines for endurance, and a GE LM1500 gas turbine for high-speed dash. Engine controls were operated by pneumatics. The controllable reversible pitch propeller allowed them to stop in less than two ship lengths from full speed. They were the first gas turbine ships in the US Navy, as well as the first with aluminum hulls and fiberglass superstructures.

History

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Originally designed for the Caribbean patrols, the Asheville class were deployed into Southeast Asia. They proved successful in coastal work, intercepting small boats attempting to transport arms along the Vietnam coast. Attempts to use them on the inland rivers proved disastrous to the small lightly armored ships, USS Canon was severely damaged by over eight rocket strikes, resulting in half of the crew being wounded.[5]

USS Surprise and USS Defiance were deployed in the Mediterranean to counter the Soviet gunboats.

Five of the gunboats were fitted with various missile systems replacing the 40 mm guns. Benicia conducted test firings in the spring of 1971 of a modified AGM-12 Bullpup surface-to-surface missile system and Antelope and Ready were fitted with two launch cells aft plus reload boxes on deck. Grand Rapids and Douglas were fitted with an improved AGM-78 Standard ARM missile.[6]

Ships

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A total of 17 Asheville-class gunboats were built between 1966 and 1971.

During the Third Cod War between Iceland and Great Britain in 1975–1976 the Icelandic Coast Guard, through the Minister of Justice Ólafur Jóhannesson (the political leader of the Coast Guard), requested the loan of one or more Asheville boats from the United States Navy. With their high speed they were considered ideal for the Icelanders to counter the British frigates protecting fishing trawlers on the Icelandic fishing banks. The U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger categorically turned down the Icelandic request.[7] This hardly came as a great surprise to the Icelanders, as the request for the Asheville boats was probably a political ploy, intended to show how serious Iceland was in overcoming the Royal Navy in the struggle for the fishing banks.[8] The seaworthiness of the Ashevilles in the rough seas of the North Atlantic around Iceland has to be considered doubtful, at best.

Original commission

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The following Asheville-class gunboats were commissioned for the U.S. Navy.[9][10]

(PG-93, PG-95, PG-97, PG-99 & PG-101 were built by Peterson Builders, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; most of the remaining PG-84 class were built by Tacoma Boatbuilding Company.)

Hellenic Navy

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Two of the ships were transferred to the navy of Greece; both ships were in reserve from April 1977 before being refitted and transferred. The gas-turbine propulsion engines were removed prior to transfer and the ships were reclassified as coastal patrol craft.

  • Tolmi (ΤΟΛΜΗ) (ex-Green Bay) transferred 30 October 1989[11] recommissioned on 18 June 1991.
  • Ormi (ΟΡΜΗ) (ex-Beacon) transferred 30 October 1989[12] recommissioned on 18 June 1991.

Colombian National Armada

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Turkish Navy

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Republic of Korea Navy

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Uss Chehalis (Pg-94)". Archived from the original on 5 November 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
  2. ^ "USS GRAND RAPIDS (PG 98)". Nvr.navy.mil. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  3. ^ "USS CHEHALIS (PG 94)". Nvr.navy.mil. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  4. ^ "History of the US Gunboat Navy". Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  5. ^ "Uss Canon (Pg-90)". Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Evolution of the ASHEVILLE class of Patrol Gunboats". Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  7. ^ Háskólabókasafn, Landsbókasafn Íslands-. "Tímarit.is". Timarit.is. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Sigurlaugur Ingólfsson, Skipakostur Breta og Íslendinga í þorskastríðunum" (PDF). Lhg.is. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  9. ^ "The ASHEVILLE CLASS Patrol Gunboat (PG)". Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  10. ^ "PG 84 Asheville". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  11. ^ Naval Vessel Register: USS Green Bay
  12. ^ Naval Vessel Register: USS Beacon
  13. ^ Naval Vessel Register: USS Tacoma
  14. ^ a b c d "Named Patrol Craft". Archived from the original on 18 December 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
  15. ^ Naval Vessel Register: USS Welch
  16. ^ "PG-96 Benicia". Navsource.org. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
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