INTRODUCTION Since the 90’s, two of the six claimant countries in the disputed Spratly Group of Islands possessed submarines in their respective fleets. After the year 2000, this would change with the arrival of the French-built Scorpene and the Russian Kilo Class Submarines in the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and the Vietnam Peoples Navy (VPN) in 2014. Things are about…
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INTRODUCTION. A country with a 36,289-kilometer coastline and the world’s second largest archipelago, the Philippines’ lifeline is the sea, thus utilizing it to our advantage is a primary mission as part of today’s area denial counter to an invader. The country having a number of straits, inlets, bays and passageways can use these features in delaying the enemy’s advance. The…
LANDING SUPPORT VESSEL (LSV). It would be 17 years later that the Service Force would have a boost in the arm with commissioning of the Frank S Besson Class BRP Bacolod City (LC-550) on 03-December-1993 and BRP Cagayan De Oro (LC-551 later changed to BRP Dagupan City) on 05-April-1994. Both still extant today with a 990-ton capability load for amphibious…
Four years ago, in January 2019, news reports came out that the United States Army would divest its Maritime Capability beginning with 18 of its 35 large Runnymede Class Landing Craft Utilities and one of its 8 Frank S Besson Class Landing Support Vessels (LSVs), 2 of which were already in service with the Philippine Navy as the Bacolod City…
INTRODUCTION After the reconstitution of the Offshore Patrol (OSP) in 1945, a subsequent build up followed with the arrival of former US Coast Guard Lighthouse Tenders by 1947, surplus ships of the United States Navy made its way to the OSP from the Patrol Craft Escorts (PCE), Landing Ship Tanks (LST’s), and Submarine Chasers (SC’s). Unknown to many, from 1945…
Archaeologists working for the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment made the discovery while hunting for unexploded WWII ammunition, and say it could become one of the country’s oldest-ever shipwrecks. Sonar images of the wreck site show the hull of the 10-metre-long wooden ship, which is lying on the lake bed at around 410m beneath the surface. Speaking to Live Science, maritime archaeologist Øyvind…
INTRODUCTION The word technology is a compound of two Greek roots, tekhne for craft, and logia for learning. Technology then is the practical application of knowledge expressed through the use of a crafted device. This book focuses on 6 technologies in 3 broad categories: Weapon, Tool, and Platform. A weapon is to damage a target; a tool is to assist…
THE BEGINNINGS Formerly known as the Underwater Operations Team or UOT as the present day Philippine Navy Seals were then known, the unit was conceived by then LT Ramon N Baluyot PN while in operations with the Philippine Marines in the Sulu Sea Frontier against dissidents and combating piracy which was prevalent in the area during those times. ACTIVATION AND…
INTRODUCTION The word technology is a compound of two Greek roots, tekhne for craft, and logia for learning. Technology then is the practical application of knowledge expressed through the use of a crafted device. This book focuses on 6 technologies in 3 broad categories: Weapon, Tool, and Platform. A weapon is to damage a target; a tool is to assist…
THE BEGINNINGS On 21-June-1951, a Treaty of Friendship between the Philippines and Indonesia was signed during the administration of President Elpidio R Quirino. Seven years later, the pillars were strengthened with the signing of the Cultural Agreement between the two countries on 29-April-1959 during the term of President Carlos P Garcia, two significant accords that would pave the way for…
“We’re going to have to send you back, to rescue the Vietnamese Navy.” We forgot ‘em, and if we don’t get them or any part of them, they’re all probably going to be killed. ~ Admiral Donald Whittier, USN, Commander, Evacuation Mission, Operation Frequent Wind to CDR Paul Jacobs, USN, Commanding Officer of the Knox Class Frigate USS Kirk (FF-1087)….
RADM Peter Wake, USN is on an espionage mission in Europe during 1904-05 to obtain the German war plan to invade America. In the process, Wake becomes a German target, inescapably entangled in Russian turmoil, and headed for the disastrous Russia-Japan naval battle on the far side of the globe which will change world history forever, producing the daunting foe…
The two oldest undersea forces established on 04-September-1937 and 12-September-1959 have the distinction of having the first Submarine Forces in the Southeast Asian region. These are the Royal Thai Navy and the Indonesian Navy Force. The Royal Thai Navy acquired its first Submarines through bidding which was won by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan for a price 75,000 Pounds for…
The author, ADM James Stavridis USN (Ret) shares vignettes from 50 out of more than 5,000 books he had read during his naval career at sea. A combination of fiction and non-fiction, some are about the oceans of the world, some are about history, and some are books that are fundamental for sailors to learn and further hone their craft….
U.S. Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced on 19-May-2022 that a future destroyer will be named the USS Telesforo Trinidad in honor of a Filipino sailor who rescued a crew members when their ship caught fire more than a century ago. Despite his face being burned by an explosion, he still went back inside the ship to save…
The author, COL Thomas J Gordon USMC (Ret), said “Though I am presenting these maxims as leadership tactics, techniques, and procedures, I do not pretend that they will make you a good leader –Marines see through insincere ploys and hollow rhetoric.” Just reading a book on golf will not make you a good golfer, and just reading about leadership will…
In January 2022, one of the few remaining WWII veterans, Major Maximo P Young, passed away due to a heart ailment. He was six months away from his centennial birthday. The Armed Forces of the Philippines rendered full military honors during his internment ceremony. Major Young was an extraordinary veteran having served in 3 international conflicts: WWII, Korean War, and…
The American Era: Coastal Defense Fortifications Take Shape The importance of Corregidor Island in the military complex dates back as far as the beginning of the Spanish Colonial period during the 1500’s, as Spanish Galleons used to anchor at the Island or on other nearby islands. Apart from being a naval anchorage, it was an outpost to alert Manila and…
INTRODUCTION From 7 January to 9-April-1942, the Battle of Bataan was fought by the Fil-Am troops of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). Said battle displayed the courage and gallantry of the Filipino from all walks of life to preserve the democratic way of life and freedom of free loving people of the world at the…
Early Days of Mischief. It was during the years 1888-1904 in Owenton, Kentucky that Willis Augustus Lee Jr. was nicknamed “Mose.” His father, Judge Lee Sr, was the circuit judge who tried civil and criminal cases. His mom, Susan, died of a heart attack in 1913. His elder brother, Clarence also died at an early age. His father had a…
“ Coast Defense, in its broadest sense, includes all measures taken to provide protection against any form of attack at or near the shore line as well as within the combat zone immediately in rear thereof. ” -US FM 31-10 Basic Field Manual of Coast Defense INTRODUCTION In October 2019, the Philippine Army activated the Artillery Regiment’s 1st Land-Based Missile…
INTRODUCTION. Some of the Marine Corps’ most difficult assignments were not only excessively costly, but also had questionable strategic value. The Marine Generals’ willingness to take on almost any assignment therefore came at a stiff price. They acceded for having little say in the Pacific War strategy, and because they were ready to demonstrate their added value to the military…
As the jurisdiction to the BENHAM RISE plateau was finally given to the Philippines in 2017, unknown to many, the Philippines has an Oceanographic and Research Capability that dates back to the 1900s until the present. In December 1900, the US Coast and Geodetic Survey (USCGS) sent personnel to Manila to establish the sub-office of the USCGS in the Philippines….
INTRODUCTION. The Battle of Jutland to the British or Skagerrak to the Germans set the two largest fleets of World War I, the Grand Fleet of Great Britain and the High Seas Fleet of Imperial Germany, against each other on 31-May to 1-June-1916. It was the largest clash of capital ships in World War I. The battle involved over 100,000…
I am sharing an article I had written six years ago, now with revisions as further information came to light in supporting the Philippine Navy’s acquisition of Submarines through a historical perspective. INTRODUCTION. On 22-September-1914, in the cold choppy waters of the North Sea, a few miles from the coast of the Netherlands in less than 90 minutes, HMS Aboukir,…