Rizal-class corvette

The Rizal class is a ship class of two patrol corvettes currently in service of the Philippine Navy, and are currently its largest class of corvettes. These ships were formerly used by the US Navy as Auk class minesweepers. Under the Philippine Navy, the two vessels have undergone upgrades and modification, and were categorized as corvettes.

History
The Auk class of naval ships were Allied minesweepers serving with the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy during the Second World War. In total, there were a recorded 95 Auk class minesweepers under Allied command during that time.

Thirty-two minesweepers were ordered by the US (as BAM-1 to 32) intending them to be supplied to the Royal Navy under Lend-lease but 12 were retained for USN use and given names and "AM" hull classification prefix. Those transferred were given "J" pennant number prefixs and formed the Catherine class

Eleven minesweepers of the Auk class were lost in World War II; only one (USS Skill) was sunk — by U-593.

Out of the reserved US Navy units, two were transferred to the Philippines as part of the US Military Assistance Program, these were USS Murrelet (renamed BRP Rizal) in 1965, and USS Vigilance (renamed BRP Quezon) in 1967.

Both ships were stricken in 1994, but were overhauled with assistance from Hatch & Kirk, Inc., and returned to service in 1995-1996. Recent upgrades includes a satellite radio dish for communications. As of 2008, both ships are still on the active roster of the Philippine Navy, and are assigned with the Patrol Force.

With 40 years of active duty with the Philippine Navy, both have been involved local and international crisis, exercises, and incidents.

Technical details
Although fairly armed for her size, her weapon systems are manually operated and are of World War II origin.

The two Mk24 3"/50 caliber guns, the ships' primary weapons, have a range of up to 14600 yd yards and are also capable of anti-aircraft warfare.

In addition to the above mentioned guns, she also carries a total of two twin Mk1 Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns, two twin Mk4 20 mm Oerlikon cannons, and four 50 caliber machine guns.

The ship is powered by two EMD 16-645E7 diesel engines with a combined power of around 5800 bhp driving two propellers. The main engines can propel the 1,250 ton (full load) ship at a maximum speed of around 18 kn. It has a maximum range of 5000 nmi at a speed of 12 kn.