Fast attack craft

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Short description|Naval surface vessel capable of high speed designed to attack other watercraft}} {{Refimprove|date=July 2019}} [[Image:Teniente Orella LM37.jpg|thumb|A fast attack craft of the Chilean Navy]] A '''fast attack craft''' ('''FAC'''), sometimes referred to as a Patrol Torpedo Gunboat (PTG) or a Patrol Craft (PCG),<ref name=":0" /> is a small, fast, agile, offensive, often affordable warship armed with anti-ship missiles, gun or torpedoes. FACs are usually operated in close proximity to land as they lack both the seakeeping and all-round defensive capabilities to survive in blue water. The size of the vessel also limits the fuel, stores and water supplies. Their displacements are usually under 700 tons, and they can reach speeds of 25+ knots or 46+ kph.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=AMI International - Definitions of Vessel Types [ ] |url=http://www.amiinter.com/pagex.php?pg=vesseltypes#fast_attack |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180503180527/http://www.amiinter.com/pagex.php?pg=vesseltypes#fast_attack |archive-date=2018-05-03 |access-date=11 March 2015 |publisher=Amiinter.com}}</ref> [[File:X3K Trimaran.jpg|thumb|A Klewang-class vessel of the Indonesian Navy]] A FAC's main advantage over other warship types is its affordability. Many FACs can be deployed at a relatively low cost, allowing a navy which is at a disadvantage to effectively defend itself against a larger adversary.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 March 2015 |title=Taiwan must rethink naval strategy: expert |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2012/09/09/2003542316 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230921084154/https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2012/09/09/2003542316 |archive-date=2023-09-21 |access-date=11 March 2015 |publisher=Taipei Times}}</ref> A small boat, when equipped with the same weapons as its larger counterpart, can pose a serious threat to even the largest of capital ships. Their major disadvantages are poor seagoing qualities, cramped quarters and poor defence against aerial threats.

==History== ===19th century=== As early as the mid-19th century, the Jeune École's ''poussiere navale'' theory called for a great number of small, agile vessels to break up invading fleets of larger vessels. The idea was first put into action in the 1870s with the steam-powered torpedo boats, which were produced in large numbers by both the Royal Navy and the French Navy. These new vessels proved especially susceptible to rough seas and to have limited utility in scouting due to their short endurance and low bridges. The potential threat was countered with the introduction of the Torpedo Boat Destroyer (TBD) in 1893, a larger vessel which evolved into the modern destroyer. It could mount guns capable of destroying the torpedo boat before it was within range to use its own weapons.

thumb|US Navy {{cvt|80|ft|m}} Elco PT boats, led by PT-105, at high speed in 1942

===20th century=== The idea was revived shortly before World War I with the craft using new gasoline engines. Italy and Great Britain were at the forefront of this design, with the Coastal Motor Boat (CMB) and the ''Motobarca Armata Silurante (MAS)'' (Italian: "torpedo armed motorboat"). The outstanding achievement of the class was the sinking of the Austro-Hungarian battleship {{SMS|Szent István}} by ''MAS. 15'' on 10 June 1918. The equivalent achievement for the CMBs was a lesser success; during the Russian Civil War CMBs attacked the Red Fleet at anchor at Kronstadt on 18 June 1919, sinking the cruiser {{ship|Russian cruiser|Pamiat Azova||2}} for the loss of four craft.

The design matured in the mid-1930s as the motor torpedo boats (MTBs) and motor gunboat (MGBs) of the Royal Navy, the PT boats of the US Navy, and the E-boats (''Schnellboote'') of the ''Kriegsmarine''. All types saw extensive use during World War II but were limited in effectiveness due to the increasing threat of aircraft; however, some successes were achieved in favourable conditions, as showcased by the crippling of the cruiser {{HMS|Manchester|15|6}} (later scuttled), in the night of 13 August 1942, by Italian MS boats.

====Post-World War II==== thumb|German fast attack craft S57 Weihe (P6157), 1985 After World War II, the use of this kind of craft steadily declined in the United States and Britain, despite the introduction of safer diesel engines to replace the highly flammable gasoline ones, although the Soviet Union still had large numbers of MGBs and MTBs in service.

[[File:183R.JPG|thumb|left|A {{sclass2|Komar|missile boat|2}} launching a Styx missile]] [[File:HMS Ystad R142.JPG|thumb|left|The Swedish ''Norrköping''-class missile boat HSwMS ''Ystad'']]

With the development of the anti-ship missile, FACs were reborn in the Soviet Union as "missile boats" or "missile cutters". The first few missile boats were originally torpedo boats, with the torpedo tubes replaced by missile launchers. Again, small fast craft could attack and destroy a major warship. The idea was first tested by the Soviet Union which, in August 1957, produced the {{sclass2|Komar|missile boat|4}} which mounted two P-15 Termit missiles on a {{convert|25|m|ft|sing=on}} hull with a top speed of around {{convert|40|kn|lk=in}}. Endurance was limited to {{convert|1000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}} and the vessels had supplies for only five days at sea. 110 Komar-class vessels were produced, while over 400 examples were built of the following {{sclass2|Osa|missile boat|4}} with a significant portion of the total being sold to pro-Soviet nations.

The first combat use of missile boats was an attack by two Egyptian Soviet-built Komar-class boats on the Israeli destroyer ''Eilat'' on 20 October 1967, several months after the Six-Day War. The two boats launched a total of four P-15 missiles, three of which struck the ''Eilat'' and sank her with the loss of 47 crew dead or missing and over 90 wounded.<ref>{{cite web|author=John Pike |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/israel/k40-eilat.htm |title=Eilat Destroyer |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |date=21 October 1967 |access-date=11 March 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Schnellboot Gepard-Klasse Typ 143 A.jpg|thumb|A {{sclass|Gepard|fast attack craft|0}} vessel of the German Navy, 2010]] The Soviet FACs prompted a NATO response, which became more intense after the sinking of ''Eilat''. The Germans and French worked together to produce a new FAC, resulting in the {{sclass2|La Combattante|fast attack craft|5}} type, first commissioned in 1968. Built on a {{convert|47|or|49|m|ft|sing=on}} hull with four MM-38 Exocet missiles, a 76 mm gun forward and 40 mm twin guns aft, these vessels have a top speed of {{convert|36|kn}}. Built until 1974, a total of 68 La Combattante IIs were launched. The design was immediately followed by the La Combattante III, and a great many other shipyards produced their own versions of the La Combattante type, including the Israeli Sa'ar/''Reshef'' variants.

Size has also increased, some designs reaching up to corvette size, 800 tonnes including a helicopter, giving them extended modes of operation. While the Israeli {{sclass2|Sa'ar 4|missile boat|1}}s, for example, had a 58 metre hull and 415-ton displacement, the {{sclass2|Sa'ar 5|corvette|5}} is 85 metres in length and displaces 1,065 tons, and is officially rated as a corvette.

Iran and North Korea have some of the largest numbers of FACs in operation today. North Korea alone operates more than 300,<ref>Hy Sang Lee: ''North Korea: A Strange Socialist Fortress'', p. 85</ref> while Iran has been seen developing "swarm boats" to be used as harassing vessels in the heavily contested littoral waters of the Persian Gulf. To counter the threat, the US Navy has been developing an ASUW Littoral Defensive Anti Surface Warfare doctrine, along with vessels such as the littoral combat ship.

==Current operators== * {{navy|Algeria}} operates eight ''Osa''-class. * {{navy|Angola}} operates six ''Osa''-class * {{navy|Argentina}} operates two ''Intrépida''-class. * {{navy|Azerbaijan}} operates three ''Osa''-class * {{navy|Bangladesh}} operates four ''Huangfeng''-class. * {{navy|Brunei}} operates two ''Fearless''-class, 1 ''Waspada''-class, and 1 ''Mustaed''-class. * {{navy|Chile}} operates three ''Sa'ar 4''-class. * {{navy|China}} operates 60 ''Houbei''-class, 18 ''Houxin''-class, and 5 ''Houjian''-class. * {{navy|Croatia}} operates 2 ''Helsinki''-class, 2 ''Kralj''-class, and 1 ''Končar''-class. * {{navy|Cuba}} operates six ''Osa''-class. * {{navy|Ecuador}} operates three ''Seawolf''-class. * {{navy|Egypt}} operates 4 ''Ezzat''-class, 6 ''October''-class, 8 ''Osa''-class, 6 ''Ramadan''-class, 5 ''Tiger''-class, and 4 ''Shanghai''-class. * {{navy|Eritrea}} operates five ''Osa''-class, all captured from Ethiopia. * {{navy|Equatorial Guinea}} operates two ''Sa'ar 4''-class. * {{navy|Finland}} operates four ''Hamina''-class and four ''Rauma''-class. * {{navy|Gabon}} operates the ''President El Hadj Omar Bongo''. * {{navy|Ghana}} operates two ''Albatros''-class and two ''Gepard''-class, all purchased from Germany. * {{navy|Greece}} operates 7 ''Roussen''-class, 9 ''La Combattante III''-class, and 3 ''La Combattante II''-class. * {{Navy|India}} operates 13 ''{{sclass|Car Nicobar|fast attack craft|4}}'', 4 ''{{sclass|Bangaram|fast attack craft|4}}'', 2 ''{{sclass|Trinkat|fast attack craft|1}}''. * {{navy|Indonesia}} operates 8 ''Clurit''-class, 6 ''Sampari''-class, 3 ''Mandau''-class, 1 ''Klewang''-class, and 2 ''Waspada''-class. * {{navy|Iran}} operates 10 ''La Combattante II''-class and 5 ''Sina''-class. * {{flagicon|Iran}} Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy operates 10 ''Tondar''-class, 5 ''C 14''-class, 25 ''Peykaap II''-class, 6 ''Peykaap III''-class and Shahid Rouhi fast attack craft, whilst the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy operates Kaman and Sina classes of fast attack crafts. * {{navy|Israel}} operates eight ''Sa'ar 4.5''-class. * {{navy|Japan}} operates six ''Hayabusa''-classes. * {{navy|Kazakhstan}} operates four ''Kazakhstan''-class and a single ''Mangistau''-class. * {{navy|Kenya}} operates two ''Nyayo''-class, and one ''Madaraka''-class. * {{navy|North Korea}} operates 7 ''Nongo''-class, 10 ''Osa''-class, 6 ''Komar''-class, and 4 ''Huangfeng''-class. * {{navy|South Korea}} operates 30 ''Yoon Youngha''-class. * {{navy|Kuwait}} operates 8 ''Um Al Maradim''-class, a single ''Istiqlal''-class, and a single ''Al Sanbouk''-class. * {{navy|Libya}} operates a single ''La Combattante II''-class. * {{navy|Mexico}} operates two ''Sa'ar 4.5''-class. * {{navy|Montenegro}} operates two ''Končar''-class. * {{navy|Morocco}} operates four ''Lazaga''-class. * {{navy|Myanmar}} operates 2 ''49m''-class, 20 ''5 Series''-class, and 6 ''Houxin''-class. * {{navy|Nigeria}} operates three ''La Combattante III''-class and three ''Luerssen FPB57''-class. * {{navy|Pakistan}} operates 4 Azmat-class, two ''Jalalat''-class and two ''Jurrat''-class. * {{navy|Philippines}} operates 8 ''Acero''-class Fast Attack Interdiction Craft (FAIC) and 12 Multipurpose Assault Craft (MPAC) * {{navy|Poland}} operates three ''Orkan''-class. * {{Coast guard|Seychelles}} operates two ''{{sclass|Trinkat|fast attack craft|1}}''. * {{navy|South Africa}} operates a single ''Warrior''-class. * {{navy|Sri Lanka}} operates four ''Dvora''-class and two ''Sa'ar 4''-class. * {{navy|Qatar}} operates 3 ''La Combattante III''-class and 4 ''Barzan''-class * {{navy|Romania}} operates three ''Osa''-class. * {{navy|Syria}} operates 16 ''Osa''-class. * {{navy|Taiwan}} operates 31 ''Kuang Hua VI''-class. * {{navy|Tunisia}} operates 6 ''Albatros''-class, 3 ''La Combattante III''-class, 3 ''Bizerte''-class, and 5 ''Shanghai''-class. * {{navy|Turkey}} operates 9 ''Kılıç''-class, 2 ''Yildiz''-class, 3 ''Doğan''-class, and 4 ''Rüzgar''-class. * {{navy|Turkmenistan}} operates six ''FAC 33''-class. * {{navy|Ukraine}} operates a single ''Matka''-class. * {{navy|United Arab Emirates}} operates six ''Ban-Yas''-class and two ''Mubarraz''-class. * {{navy|Venezuela}} operates six ''Constitución''-class. * {{navy|Vietnam}} operates eight ''Osa''-class and a single ''BPS-500''-class.

==References== {{Commons category|Fast Attack Craft}} {{Reflist|30em}}

Category:Ship types Category:Gunboat classes Category:Missile boat classes Category:Fast attack craft