Naval Fast Strike Craft and Patrol Boats

Poole, Dorset, England: Blandford Press, 1979. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Good. John W. Wood, W. Hobson, J. Pelling, D. Smith, and. The format is approximately 5.5 inches by 7.75 inches. 176 pages. Illustrations (color) and line drawings. Tables. Index. Scuff on fep. Corners bumped. DJ not present. Previous owner's embossed stamp on fep, title page, page 99 and first index page. The pages in this work recount some of the more dramatic events that have taken place n the evolution of both fast strike craft and fast patrol boats, as well as describing the duties they perform, their weapons, their electronic sensors, and their propulsion machinery. Full color illustrations, brief 'character studies' and specifications are provided for the great majority of these vessels in service throughout the world. One of the primary objectives of this book is to aid the speedy recognition of these craft, hints on 'spotting' are also included. A fast attack craft (FAC,or fast strike craft) is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defensive capabilities to survive in blue water. The size of the vessel also limits the fuel, stores and water supplies. In size they are usually between 50-800 tonnes and can reach speeds of 25-50 knots. A fast attack craft's main advantage over other warship types is its affordability. Many FACs can be deployed at a relatively low cost, allowing a navy which is at a disadvantage to effectively defend itself against a larger adversary. A small boat, when equipped with the same weapons as its larger counterpart, can pose a serious threat to even the largest of capital ships. Their major disadvantages are poor seagoing qualities, cramped quarters and poor defense against aerial threats. With the development of the anti-ship missile, FACs were reborn in the Soviet Union as "missile boats" or "missile cutters". The first few missile boats were originally torpedo boats, with the torpedo tubes replaced by missile launchers. Again, small fast craft could attack and destroy a major warship. The idea was first tested by the Soviet Union which, in August 1957, produced the Komar class which mounted two P-15 Termit missiles on a 82 ft hull with a top speed of around 40 knots (46 mph). Endurance was limited to 1,000 nautical miles (1,200 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and the vessels had supplies for only five days at sea. 110 Komar-class vessels were produced, while over 400 examples were built of the following Osa class with a significant portion of the total being sold to pro-Soviet nations. The first combat use of missile boats was an attack by two Egyptian Soviet-built Komar-class boats on the Israeli destroyer Eilat on 20 October 1967, several months after the Six-Day War. The two boats launched a total of four P-15 missiles, three of which struck the Eilat and sank her with the loss of 47 crew dead or missing and over 90 wounded. A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they generally range in size. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, police, or customs, and may be intended for marine ("blue water"), estuarine ("green water"), or river ("brown water") environments. Per their name, patrol boats are primarily used to patrol a country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but they may also be used in other roles, such as anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, fishery patrols, immigration law enforcement, or search and rescue. Depending on the size, organization, and capabilities of a nation's armed forces, the importance of patrol boats may range from minor support vessels that are part of a coast guard, to flagships that make up a majority of a navy's fleet. Their small size and relatively low cost make them one of the most common naval vessels in the world.