Jacinto-class corvette

The Jacinto class is a ship class of three patrol corvettes currently in service with the Philippine Navy. The ships formerly served in the Royal Navy's Hong Kong Squadron as Peacock class patrol vessels until 1997.

The three vessels have undergone weapons, electronics, propulsion and hull upgrades in Philippine Navy service, increasing their capabilities as compared to the original Peacock class vessels.

History
Launched as a series of five patrol vessels, the Peacock class were originally part of the Hong Kong Squadron of the Royal Navy. The ships were built by Hall Russell in the United Kingdom and were commissioned into Royal Navy service from 1983 to 1984. The class was designed specifically for patrol duties in Hong Kong waters. As well as "flying the flag" and providing a constant British naval presence in the region, they could also undertake a number of different roles including seamanship, navigation and gunnery training. In addition, they performed search-and-rescue duties for which they had facilities to carry divers (including a decompression chamber) and equipment to recover vessels and aircraft. They also worked with the Marine Department of the Hong Kong Police and with Customs & Excise in order to prevent the constant flow of illegal immigrants, narcotics and electronic equipment into the Colony.

Three of these ships - HMS Peacock (P239), HMS Plover (P240), and HMS Starling (P241) - were sold to the Philippines as a sign of goodwill, and were officially turned over to the Philippine Navy on 1 August 1997 when the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China.

Technical details
The ships under this class are characterized by a low freeboard, an Oto Melara 76 mm gun turret located forward, a large single funnel stack amidships, and a crane and two rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIB) aft.

The Oto Melara 76 mm Compact DP (Dual Purpose) gun is the primary weapon and is mounted in a turret forward of the bridge. It has a range of up to 10 nmi and can be used against ships, aircraft or ground targets. It is remotely controlled from within the Combat Information Center by the gunnery officer and has no crew within the turret itself. The gun can fire 80 rounds in 60 seconds from its ready magazine, and the ships can carry a total of 450 rounds.

The secondary weapon (located at the stern) is a M242 Bushmaster 25 mm cannon in an MSI Defense System Seahawk A1 mount. This weapon is integrated with the 76 mm primary weapon via an Ultra Electronics Command and Control System and a Radamec 1500 Series 2500 Electro-Optical Tracking/Fire Control System. This new system was installed as part of Phase 1 of the Philippine Navy JCPV upgrade program. The Radamec 1500 Series 2500 replaced the older GSA7 Sea Archer Mk 1 electro-optical director with a GEC V3800 thermal imager added in 1987.

In addition to the abovementioned guns, these ships also carry two 12.7mm 50 caliber heavy machine guns at the bridgewings, two 20 mm Mark 16 guns on Mk.68 mounts at midships, and two 50 mm rocket flare projectors.

The ships are powered by two APE-Crossley SEMT-Pielstick diesels (14,188 bhp combined) driving two three-bladed propellers. It has a drop down loiter engine with a shrouded prop of 181 bhp used to keep station and save fuel. The main engines can propel the 664 ton (712 tons full load) ship at over 28 kn, with a sustained speed of 25 kn. Its range is 2500 nmi at 17 kn.

These corvettes were specifically designed for Asian service, having air-conditioned crew spaces and have been designed to stay at sea during typhoons and other strong weather anomalies common to Asian seas. The ships were modified soon after entering the Royal Navy service with deeper bilge keels to alleviate a propensity to roll during moderate and heavy seas.

Each ship carries two Avon Searaider 5.4 m, 30 kt, 10-man RHIB.

Upgrades
Aside from the new M242 Bushmaster 25 mm cannon and upgrade of its command & control and fire control systems as part of the ship's Phase 1 upgrade, the Philippine Navy also installed a new Raytheon gyro compass, Sperry Marine Naval BridgeMaster E Series Surface Search Radar, GPS, anemometer, and EM logs. These were integrated with the ship's existing systems. The Phase 1 upgrade was completed in 2005.

Phase 2 is the Marine Engineering Upgrade Program, which includes the repair and remediation of the hull, overhaul and improvement of the main propulsion including control and monitoring systems, electrical plant, auxiliary systems, outfitting and hull furnishings and training the crew in the operation and maintenance of the new plant.

Phase 3 (still in bidding) is a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP).

Apart from the upgrades, additional refits were made to replace the four (4) 7.62mm machine guns with two (2) .50 caliber heavy machine guns and two 20 mm Mk. 16 cannons. There are plans to add anti-ship missiles to the ships, but due to top-weight problems, it would have to be a lightweight system such as Sea Skua, although no missiles have been ordered to date.