- Yes
- No
- 1970: 6 x 12.7mm
- 1971: 2 x 20mm, 4 x 12.7mm
- I said ‘No’ in the first question.
Hello everyone! In this post I’m going to suggest a fun little patrol boat of the Israeli navy.
This is the Dabur-class patrol boat, INS 852.
Source: File:Dabur1970.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
History
Spoiler
Source: דבורThe Israeli navy was in need for more patrol vessels after the Six Day War so that the navy could more properly protect the long maritime borders of Israel. There was a fear that tarrorists might try to infiltrate the country by sea, so these patrol vessels only had to be fast and be equiped with weapons good enough to stop these terrorist attacks.
Because of an embargo imposed on France which blocked the supply of arms to Israel, other options had to be looked at to obtain these new patrol boats. And so the navy turned towards the United States. The US navy offered a Swift 50ft patrol boat that was used in the Vietnam War. Someone was send out to check the state of this boat, but in the end decided to test a civilian ship that was also being made by the Swiftships company. After some time a new design was approved and the first ships were being ordered from the Shiftships dockyard.
And so the Dabur-class patrol boat was born.
The first two ships to be delivered in 1970 were the INS 852 and INS 871 (I have not been able to find actual names for these ships, only identification numbers). These first two boats differed from the rest of the ships we would see in the class. The biggest difference being the armaments. The two ships were fitted with three twin 12.7mm M2 machine guns turrets, with one on either side of the bridge, and one on the stern. However this was quickly changed a bit in the first year of service with the removal of the rear turret, and the addition of a 20mm Oerlikon to the bow and stern of the boats.
One source says that the twin 12.7mm machine gun turrets to the sides of the bridge were replaced with single 12.7mm mounts too, but on the photo shown at the end of this suggestion we can still see these being present together with the 20mm guns. So I do not know how accurate this source is about this.
There is not much to write about for INS 852 specifically. But the Dabur-class as a whole have served the Israeli navy very well, and even continue to do so to this very day! Ofcourse many upgrades have been given to these ships overtime, such as better radar, better performance, etc. INS 852 being one of the first two boats delivered might not be in service anymore. By looking at photos of the Dabur-class nowadays I cannot spot any boat that still has the twin 12.7mm turrets on the sides. So either she’s been taken out of service, or she’s been upgraded and changed in such a way that she is identical to the others now.
Specifications
Spoiler
Displacement: 39 tons
Length: 65 feet (19,8 meters)
Breadth: 19 feet (5,8 meters)
Draught: Unknown
Machinery: 2 x General Motors 12-piston V16 engines
Max speed: 30 knots (55,6 km/h)
Complement: 8
Armament:
1970
3 x 2 12.7 mm M21971
2 x 1 20 mm Oerlikon Flak 29
2 x 2 12.7 mm M2
Excellent video of two of the early Dabur-class patrol boats
Well that is all for this little boat. Many more suggestions like these to come in the future!
See you on the battlefield!
Source: File:DaburimBatYam1974.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Sources