Malvar-class corvette should not be confused with Miguel Malvar-class frigate.
On 10 December 2021, the remaining two ships of the class were finally decommissioned. However, supertyphoon Odette hit the Philippines just six days after their decommissioning, and so BRP Magat Salamat (PS-20) was pressed back into service "with a volunteer force composed mainly of its last crew" to serve as a temporary command post for relief operations in the severely effected Dinagat Islands.[2]
The PCE class of naval ships served with the United States Navy during the Second World War.
Out of the reserved US Navy units, six were transferred to the Philippines as part of the US Military Assistance Program (PS-28 to PS-33), while five were former South Vietnamese Navy units that escaped to the Philippines in 1975.
With 40 years of active duty with the Philippine Navy, ships of this class have been involved in local and international crisis, exercises, and incidents.
Originally the ship was armed with one 3" (76mm) L/50 dual-purpose gun, two to six Bofors 40 mm guns, 1 Hedgehog depth charge projector, four depth charge projectiles (K-guns) and two depth charge tracks.[3]
The same configuration applied up until the late 1980s when the Philippine Navy removed most of its old anti-submarine weapons and systems, losing its already-limited ASW abilities, but installed three 20 mm Oerlikon guns and four 12.7 mm heavy machine guns, making them lighter and more suited for surface patrols.[4]
The ship was originally powered by two Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, but these were replaced by two GM 12-567ATL diesel engines similar to her sister ships, with a combined rating of around 1710bhp. These were then again replaced in the mid 1990s with two GM 12-278A diesels with a combined rating of around 2200bhp driving two propellers. The main engines can propel the 914-ton (full load) ship to a maximum speed of around 16kn.[5]
| Ship name | Bow number | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Service | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRP Datu Tupas | PS-18 [6] | 14 November 1943 | 5 April 1976 | 1977 | Patrol Force | Used as parts hulk for sisterships. |
| BRP Miguel Malvar | PS-19 | 1 March 1944 | 7 February 1977 | 10 December 2021 | Offshore Combat Force | Decommissioned |
| BRP Magat Salamat | PS-20 | 19 March 1944 | 7 February 1977 | 10 December 2021 | Offshore Combat Force | Used as temporary command post in Dinagat Islands as reported in 2021 Dec 28 |
| BRP Sultan Kudarat | PS-22 | 18 May 1943 | 22 July 1976 | 5 July 2019 [7] | Offshore Combat Force | Capsized at Sangley Point, Cavite |
| BRP Datu Marikudo | PS-23 | 18 March 1944 | 5 April 1976 | 9 December 2010 [8] | Patrol Force | Sold for scrap; equipment stripped as spare parts |
| BRP Cebu | PS-28 | 10 November 1943 | 2 July 1948 | 1 October 2019 | Offshore Combat Force | Capsized at Sangley Point, Cavite. |
| BRP Negros Occidental | PS-29 | 24 February 1944 | 2 July 1948 | 9 December 2010 | Patrol Force | Sold for scrap; equipment stripped as spare parts |
| RPS Leyte | PS-30 | 20 June 1944 | 2 July 1948 | 1979 | Patrol Force | Grounded and lost in 1978. |
| BRP Pangasinan | PS-31 | 24 April 1943 | 2 July 1948 | 1 March 2021 | Offshore Combat Force | Sunk as target for SINKEX phase of Exercise Balikatan 2023 on 26 April 2023.[9] |
| BRP Iloilo | PS-32 | 3 August 1943 | 2 July 1948 | September 2016 [10] | Offshore Combat Force | Weapons, machinery & electronics stripped for spare parts; hull awaiting disposal |
| RPS Samar | PS-33 [11] | 20 November 1943 | 24 May 1948 | 1960 | Patrol Force | After Decommissioning from Philippine Navy, she was transferred to the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1960.She was renamed RPS RESEARCH and served with BCGS until 1975 and eventually returned to the Philippine Navy and Probably Scrapped. Source: NAMRIA INFOMAPPER July 2001 issue and CDR Mark R Condeno |