BRP Magat Salamat (PS-20)

The BRP Magat Salamat (PS-20) is one of several Miguel Malvar class of Patrol Corvettes in service with the Philippine Navy. She was originally built as the USS Gayety (AM-239), an Admirable class minesweeper with a similar hull to the PCE-842-class patrol craft produced during World War II. Along with other ex-World War II veteran ships of the Philippine Navy, she is considered as one of the oldest active fighting ships in the world today.

US Navy
Commissioned in the US Navy as the USS Gayety (AM-239) in 1945, she was assigned in the Pacific theatre of operations, specifically around the Japanese home islands providing minefield sweeping and anti-submarine warfare patrols in the Ryukyus and off Okinawa. She suffered a near-miss from a 500-pound bomb and was damaged, although she was quickly put back to fighting shape. After the war she was decommissioned on June 1946 and placed under the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

Gayety was recommissioned on 11 May 1951 as a training ship, and was again decommissioned on 1 March 1954, and re-entered Atlantic Reserve Fleet. As part of the reserves, she was reclassified as MSF-239 on 7 February 1955.

Republic of Vietnam Navy
She was then transferred to the Republic of Vietnam on 17 April 1962. She served the Vietnamese Navy as RVN Chi Lang II (HQ-08) up until her escape to the Philippines in 1975, together with other South Vietnamese Navy ships and their respective crew.

Philippine Navy
She was formally acquired by the Philippine Navy on 5 April 1976, and was commissioned into the Philippine Navy on 7 February 1977 and was renamed RPS Magat Salamat (PS-20). She was renamed to BRP Magat Salamat (PS-20) in June 1980 using a new localized prefix.

Between 1996 and 1997 the Magat Salamat underwent major overhaul, weapons and radar systems refit, and upgrade of communications gear.

She is currently assigned with the Patrol Force of the Philippine Fleet, under the jurisdiction of Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao.

Notable Deployments / Exercises
On February 2011, the Magat Salamat, together with BRP Felix Apolinario (PG-395), BRP Teotimo Figuracion (PG-389), and other Philippine Navy ships and units participated in Exercise PAGSISIKAP 2011 held in Davao Gulf.

The Magat Salamat will be one of the participating ships in the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2012 - Philippines exercises from 2 July to 10 July 2012.

Technical details
There are slight difference between the BRP Magat Salamat as compared to some of her sister ships in the Philippine Navy, since her previous configuration was as a as compared to some of her sister ships in the Philippine Navy, since her previous configuration was as a minesweepers (Admirable class) while the others are configured as rescue patrol craft escort (PCER) and patrol craft escort (PCE) ships.

Armaments
Originally the ship was armed with one 3"/50 caliber dual purpose gun, one twin Bofors 40 mm guns, six single 20 mm gun mounts, one Hedgehog depth charge projector, four depth charge projectiles (K-guns) and two depth charge tracks. Changes were made during its transfer to the South Vietnamese Navy, as it appears in photos show the removal of her anti-submarine weapons, removal of two Oerlikon 20 mm guns, and addition of single Bofors 40 mm guns. This made the ship lighter and ideal for surface patrols, but losing her limited anti-submarine warfare capability. The same configuration applies when she was transferred to the Philippine Navy in 1975 up until around 1996-1997.

During its overhaul and refit between 1996 to 1997, the Philippine Navy made some changes in the armament set-up. Some sources claim the loss of its Bofors 40mm cannons during the 1990-1991 overhaul and refit period, but photos at of 2011 show the Bofors guns still present. Final armaments fitted to the ship are one Mk.26 3"/50-caliber gun (fore), three single Bofors 40 mm cannons (aft), four Mk.10 Oerlikon 20 mm cannons (2 each on bridge wings), and four M2 Browning 12.7 mm/50 caliber machine guns (2 besides main bridge, 2 aft near the lower Bofors gun tub).

Electronics
Also during the refit the ship's Sperry SPS-53A surface search radar and RCA SPN-18 navigation radar was replaced by a Raytheon AN/SPS-64(V)11 surface search and navigation radar system. Later modifications included the installation of an additional Furuno navigation radar, long range and satellite communications system, and GPS system standard to all Philippine Navy ships.

Machinery
The ship is originally powered by two Cooper Bessemer GSB-8 diesel engines, but was replaced by two GM 12-567ATL diesel engines, then later by two GM 12-278A diesel engines, with a combined rating of around 2200 bhp driving two propellers. The main engines can propel the 914 tons (full load) ship to a maximum speed of around 16 kn.