USS Cyclone (PC-1)
The Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships led a very short life in service with the United States Navy.
By Staff Writer
The USS Cyclone (PC 1) was developed as a coastal patrol craft for use with special forces operatives. Though a promising design and full of capabilities, the vessel found itself being too large for true special ops work and too small for true naval use. As such, the USS Cyclone was discontinued from use at the turn of the century and donated to the Philippine Navy for counter-terrorism work. The Cyclone possessed speed, maneuverability and firepower that was seemingly unmatched for a ship of this type, unfortunately, the design never found a home for the United States Navy, serving for a few short years in the 1990's. The USS Cyclone was the first ship in her Cyclone-class and served as an important test-bed of sorts before the other 13 vessels came online.
The USS Cyclone is powered by four Paxman marine diesel engines powering four shafts at about 14,400bhp. A top speed of 35 knots is reported and the vessel is crewed by 36 personnel made up largely of enlisted personnel (24), four officers and up to eight special forces operatives. Sensor capabilities revolves around the powerful Sperry Vision 2100M integrated combat and navigation system. Armament consisted of 1 x Mk 96 cannon, 1 x Mk 38 25mm Bushmaster chain gun, several 40mm grenade launchers or 12.7mm heavy machine guns on pintle mounts and at least 6 x FIM-92 Stinger short-range air-to-air missile systems.
The profile of the USS Cyclone was dominated by the forward superstructure with two other structures midship and aft. A series of catwalks connected the three areas. The cannon was mounted in a position on the bow and a communications/sensor mast lay atop the main superstructure. The stern area could hold special forces rubber raiding crafts as needed.
The USS Cyclone was first ordered in 1990 and laid down the following year. She was launched in 1992 and officially commissioned in 1993. She was finally decommissioned on February 28th, 2000 and transferred into Coast Guard duty. She was later delivered to the Philippine Navy as the BRP Mariano Alvarez (PS 38) on March 8th, 2004.
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Last Updated: 11/3/2008
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