Independence-class patrol craft

The Independence class patrol craft was a series of patrol vessels (gun) built by Vosper Thornycroft in the 1970s for the Republic of Singapore Navy.

History
Due to the independence of Singapore in 1965, there was a need to organize and expand maritime patrol and monitoring capabilities for the fledgling country. A SGD $30 million dollar contract was signed with Vosper Thornycroft by then Permanent Secretary of the Defence and Interior Ministry, Mr George Edwin Bogaars in June 1968 for 6 gun armed patrol craft for the Maritime Command (MC) which was the predecessor of the current Republic of Singapore Navy. The first vessel were built by Vosper in Portchester, Portsmouth, United Kingdom while the remainder were constructed at the Vosper Thorneycroft Uniteers (VTU) Singapore yard in Tanjong Rhu. All patrol craft were commissioned by January 1972 and were decommissioned by the early 1990s.

Design
These patrol craft were based on Vosper's 110 ft design and came in two classes. The A-class were fitted with a 40mm Bofors gun forward and a 20mm Oerlikon gun aft, both capable of engaging air and surface targets. The B-class were fitted with a 76.2mm Bofors gun forward, which had a surface and shore bombardment capability, and a 20mm Oerlikon gun at the aft.