USS Cyclone (PC-1) was the first of the Navy's Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships. As the lead ship of her class, Cyclone served as the test bed for this series of 14 vessels.
Cyclone was laid down at Bollinger Shipyards, in Lockport, Louisiana, on 22 June 1991; and sponsored by Ms. Betty LeMoyne, wife of Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Staff, U.S. Special Operations Command, Rear Admiral Irve C. LeMoyne.[2]
Originally scheduled to be commissioned on 1 May 1993, Cyclone incurred damage in collision with the steamship Robert E. Lee on 12 March, that required a ten-week yard period and delayed the ship's commissioning into the summer. Consequently, Cyclone was commissioned at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on 7 August 1993, Lieutenant Commander Randall L. Johnson in command.[2]
The primary mission of Cyclone was to serve as a platform for maritime special operations, including interdiction, escort, non-combatant evacuation, reconnaissance, operational deception, intelligence collection, and tactical swimmer operations. Her small size, stealthy construction, and high speed were tailored to performing long-range Special Operations Forces (SOF) insertion and extraction and other SOF support duties.
The ship's operational capabilities were designed to meet the unique requirements of its Special Warfare missions. Cyclone was capable of accelerating from stop to 35 knots (65 km/h) in under three minutes, then move from full ahead to 15 knots (28 km/h) astern in 60 seconds. In high-speed, hard-over turns, the ship barely heeled as the automatic stabilizers engaged.
Cyclone was originally armed with two Mk38 25 mm chain guns fore and aft, several pintle mounts for attaching .50 caliber machine guns or Mk 19 grenade launchers, and a position for launching Stinger shoulder-fired SAMs. She and others of her class were upgraded by replacing the after Mk38 mount with the new Mk96 platform which combines a 25 mm chain gun and a 40 mm grenade launcher on a single stabilized platform.
Cyclone had barely gone into service in the mid-1990s when the Special Operations Command rejected them as too big for commando missions, and the regular surface Navy dismissed them as too small for any of its missions. The Navy began looking for ways to phase out Cyclone and her sister ships, so on 28 February 2000, Cyclone was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list.
She was then transferred to the United States Coast Guard the next day, being re-commissioned as the USCGC Cyclone (WPC 1). The Coast Guard lacked an effective vessel sized between its 110' patrol cutter and the 210' Medium Endurance Cutter, so there was considerable interest in Cyclone at first. However, her high operating costs were prohibitive and thus she sat largely inactive.
Jones, Daniel A. (7 July 2015). "Cyclone (PC-1)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 30 October 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.
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USS Cyclone PC 1 was the first of the Navy s Cyclone class coastal patrol ships As the lead ship of her class Cyclone served as the test bed for this series of 14 vessels USS Cyclone underway History United States NameCyclone NamesakeCyclone Ordered1 August 1990 BuilderBollinger Shipyards Lockport Louisiana Cost 25 69 million Laid down22 June 1991 Launched1 February 1992 Sponsored byBetty LeMoyne Commissioned7 August 1993 Decommissioned28 February 2000 Stricken28 February 2000 IdentificationHull symbol PC 1 Call sign NYOE FateTransferred to the United States Coast Guard 29 February 2000 Badge United States NameCyclone Acquired29 February 2000 Commissioned29 February 2000 Decommissioned2004 IdentificationHull symbol WPC 1 FateTransferred to the Philippine Navy 8 March 2004 Philippines NameGeneral Mariano Alvarez NamesakeMariano Alvarez Acquired8 March 2004 IdentificationHull symbol PS 38 Statusin active service General characteristics 1 Class and typeCyclone class patrol ship Displacement328 5 long tons 333 8 t light load 331 long tons 336 t full load Length170 ft 52 m 179 ft 55 m refit Beam25 ft 7 6 m Draft7 5 ft 2 3 m Installed power13 400 shp 10 000 kW Propulsion4 Paxman marine Diesel engines 4 shafts Speed35 kn 65 km h 40 mph Complement4 officers 24 enlisted 8 special forces Sensors and processing systemsSperry Vision 2100M integrated navigation combat system Electronic warfare amp decoys1 MK 52 chaff launcher Armament2 25 mm 0 98 in MK 38 Bushmaster chain gun Aft mount removed in refit 2 40 mm 1 6 in MK 19 grenade launchers 2 50 in 12 7 mm caliber machine guns 6 FIM 92 Stinger SAMs 1 Mk96 25 mm cannon 40mm grenade launcher Refit Contents 1 Construction 2 History 3 Decommissioning and transfer 4 Transferred 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksConstruction editCyclone was laid down at Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport Louisiana on 22 June 1991 and sponsored by Ms Betty LeMoyne wife of Deputy Commander in Chief and Chief of Staff U S Special Operations Command Rear Admiral Irve C LeMoyne 2 Originally scheduled to be commissioned on 1 May 1993 Cyclone incurred damage in collision with the steamship Robert E Lee on 12 March that required a ten week yard period and delayed the ship s commissioning into the summer Consequently Cyclone was commissioned at the U S Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland on 7 August 1993 Lieutenant Commander Randall L Johnson in command 2 History editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed October 2018 Learn how and when to remove this message The primary mission of Cyclone was to serve as a platform for maritime special operations including interdiction escort non combatant evacuation reconnaissance operational deception intelligence collection and tactical swimmer operations Her small size stealthy construction and high speed were tailored to performing long range Special Operations Forces SOF insertion and extraction and other SOF support duties The ship s operational capabilities were designed to meet the unique requirements of its Special Warfare missions Cyclone was capable of accelerating from stop to 35 knots 65 km h in under three minutes then move from full ahead to 15 knots 28 km h astern in 60 seconds In high speed hard over turns the ship barely heeled as the automatic stabilizers engaged Cyclone was originally armed with two Mk38 25 mm chain guns fore and aft several pintle mounts for attaching 50 caliber machine guns or Mk 19 grenade launchers and a position for launching Stinger shoulder fired SAMs She and others of her class were upgraded by replacing the after Mk38 mount with the new Mk96 platform which combines a 25 mm chain gun and a 40 mm grenade launcher on a single stabilized platform Decommissioning and transfer editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed July 2010 Learn how and when to remove this message Cyclone had barely gone into service in the mid 1990s when the Special Operations Command rejected them as too big for commando missions and the regular surface Navy dismissed them as too small for any of its missions The Navy began looking for ways to phase out Cyclone and her sister ships so on 28 February 2000 Cyclone was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy list She was then transferred to the United States Coast Guard the next day being re commissioned as the USCGC Cyclone WPC 1 The Coast Guard lacked an effective vessel sized between its 110 patrol cutter and the 210 Medium Endurance Cutter so there was considerable interest in Cyclone at first However her high operating costs were prohibitive and thus she sat largely inactive Transferred editCyclone was eventually sold under the Foreign Military Sales Program to the Philippine Navy on 8 March 2004 as part of a US military aid package to the Philippines in an effort to bolster interdiction and counterterrorism capabilities She was rechristened BRP Mariano Alvarez PS 38 in honor of a revolutionary general in the Philippine war of independence against Spain References edit Navsource a b Jones 2015 Bibliography editJones Daniel A 7 July 2015 Cyclone PC 1 Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Naval History and Heritage Command Retrieved 30 October 2018 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain USCGC Cyclone WPC 1 ex USS Cyclone PC 1 NavSource Online Retrieved 30 October 2018 External links editThis article includes information collected from theNaval Vessel Register which as a U S government publication is in the public domain The entry can be found here FAS Globalsecurity ww2pcsa org Navsource org military com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title USS Cyclone amp oldid 1201785767, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
