Ron van Maanen
The name Brattleboro was not earlier as given in early 1950, until was she known as the 852. Her keel was laid down on 28 October 1943 at the shipyard of Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Company at Chicago, Illinois, launched on 1 March a year later and commissioned on 26 Mat and finally decommissioned on 1 November 1965. Handed over on 11 July to the South Vietnamese navy as the Ngoc Hoi (HQ-12) and purchased officially on 5 April 1976 by the Philippine Navy and renamed as a corvette RPS Miguel Malvar (PS-19) and since June 1980 classified as BRP but still in active service.
PCE=Patrol Craft Escort and as PCER=Patrol Craft Escort Rescue.
The main task of her and her sister ships was to transport wounded soldiers from the battle scene to specialised hospital ships while underway the first medical treatment was supplied. She was fitted out with a sickbay with accommodation for 75 men, and further more an own pharmacy operating room and a dark room. In contrary to a hospital ship was she not designated by a red cross and was she armed with 1-3” gun, 2-4cm guns, 6-2cm anti aircraft guns, hedgehog anti submarine rockets and depth charge launchers.
With a displacement of 914 long tons/929 tons (full load) were her dimensions 184.5 x 33 x 9.75 feet. She had range of 6,600 nautical miles with twin diesels allowing a maximum speed below the 14 knots in American service. Her crew numbered around 100 men in US service. As the Miguel Malvar refitted and rearmed between 1990-1991. With a crew of 85 men she is now armed with 1-7,6cm gun, 2x1-4cm guns, 32-cm guns and 4-12,7mm machine guns. Her maximum speed is nowadays 16 knots with a range of 6,600 nautical miles and a speed of 11 knots.
