- Yes
- No
History
After the sinking of the Destroyer escort Taiping the Republic of China went on a vengeance frenzy and raised funds for the creation of new war vessels. Two torpedo speedboats were ordered from Mitsubishi shipbuilding company and the first of the boats “Revenge” was launched on November 11 1956 and “Avenge” launched on May 31 1957. The two boats officially entered service in the ROC Navy in 1958 becoming part of the navy’s torpedo speedboat team.
They used Japanese torpedos leftover in Taiwan, mainly type 91 aviation torpedos. However, even though these torpedos have good speed they don’t have good range. So the navy sent torpedos and a team to Japan to study how to modify and maintain them so they can have longer range at a cost of lower speed.
The two boats were decommissioned in the 1980’s when the “Seagull” class of missile speedboats replaced them. However before decommissioning the “Revenge” was used as a test platform for the “Hsiung Feng” 1 missile in 1977.
Specifications
Displacement: 42 tons
Crew: ~12
Length: 68.9 ft
Width: 2.6 ft
Waterline: 2.6 ft
Powerplant: 3 modified P-51 engines (V-1650 Merlin) 3 shafts
Max speed: 40 knots
“Revenge” with 44 year type torpedos
Armaments
1 x 40mm (w/ no torpedos)
Or
2 x dual 20 mm (w/ torpedos)
2 x 18 inch torpedoes:
44 year type torpedo
91 type torpedo
N-91 type torpedo
Hsiung Feng 1 anti ship missile (experimental)
Type 91 torpedos received in Taiwan:
Sources