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USS Firebolt

USS Firebolt, laden with 89 survivors rescued from the Gulf of Aden after their small vessel capsized 29 April 2005.
History
United States
Name	Firebolt
Ordered	19 July 1991
Builder	Bollinger Shipyards
Laid down	17 September 1993
Launched	10 June 1994
Commissioned	10 June 1995
Decommissioned	23 February 2022[1]
Homeport	Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek
Motto	"Charge Hard Strike Fast"
Status	Decommissioned
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Cyclone-class patrol ship
Displacement	331 long tons (336 t)
Length	174 ft (53 m)
Beam	25 ft (7.6 m)
Draft	7 ft 6 in (2.3 m)
Propulsion	4 × Paxman diesel engines 4 × propellers
Speed	35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Complement	5 officers 23 enlisted[2]
Armament	2 × Mk38 chain guns 2 × Mk19 grenade launchers 2 × .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns 6 × Stinger missiles

USS Firebolt (PC-10) is the 10th member of the Cyclone class of coastal patrol boats of the United States Navy. She is a 174 ft (53 m) vessel with a crew of approximately 30 sailors, normally homeported at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Norfolk, Virginia. Her armament includes two Mk38 chain guns, two Mk19 automatic grenade launchers, and two .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, as well as six Stinger missiles.^[3] She was laid down by Bollinger Shipyards on 17 September 1993, launched on 10 June 1994, commissioned into the Navy on 10 June 1995,^[2] and she was decommissioned on 23 February 2022.^[1]

Persian Gulf service[edit]

In February 2003, Firebolt deployed to Bahrain to operate in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. While there, she rotated crews so that she could remain on station without returning home for leave. In February 2004, Firebolt collided with a navigational buoy off the coast of Iraq. The subsequent inquiry board into the incident led to the removal of Lieutenant Commander Michael T. Sullivan from command.^[4]

On 24 April 2004, Firebolt'srigid-hulled inflatable boat attempted a boarding operation on a dhow that was approaching the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal in Iraq. As the boarding team of seven pulled alongside, the dhow exploded in an apparent suicide bombing. Two sailors and one coast guardsman^[5] were killed when the explosion flipped the boat over, dumping her crew into the water. The coast guardsman was a member of the embarked Law Enforcement Detachment and was the first coast guardsman to die in action since the Vietnam War. The survivors were picked up by an S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter from the Australian frigate HMAS Stuart.^[6]

On 26 April 2021, Firebolt, in formation with USCGC Baranof, fired warning shots at several Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) fast inshore attack craft (FIAC) after the smaller boats closed to within 68 yards despite warnings via radio and loud-hailer. The U.S. ships were performing routine maritime security patrols in the international waters of the North Persian Gulf.^[7]

Photos[edit]

• 
  USS Firebolt at Yorktown Naval Weapons Station

References[edit]

External links[edit]

•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.