Class: PCF, Patrol Craft Fast
Launched: 1968
At: Sewart Seacraft Ltd., Berwick, LA
Length: 50 feet, 1.5 inches
Beam: 13 feet, 1 inch
Draft: 3 feet, 6 inches
Displacement: 19 tons, 22.5 full load
Speed: 32 knots
Complement: 6 (1 officer)
Armament: Three .50 caliber machine guns (two twinned, one single); one 81mm mortar
Address:
Maritime Museum of San Diego
1306 N. Harbor Drive
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 234-9153
Fax: (619) 234-8345
Email: info@sdmaritime.org
http://www.sdmaritime.org/
Latitude: 32.7208353487, Longitude: -117.174918802
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The Patrol Craft Fast (PCF), or “Swift Boat” as it was known began service in 1965. Adapted from offshore oil service vessels, they were used to patrol the coastline and inland waterways of Vietnam from 1968-1975. PCF training was based at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado on San Diego bay.
In 1971, PCF-816 she was donated by the US Navy to the Republic of Malta and renamed P24. She was used for coast guard duty, interdicting smugglers, harbor security, and search & rescue. She served for 40 years and finally decommissioned in 2011. She was one of the last two PCF’s to be in service.
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