Patrol boat

A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties. There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, or police force, and may be intended for marine (blue water) and/or estuarine or river ("brown water") environments. They are commonly found engaged in various border protection roles, including anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, fisheries patrols, and immigration law enforcement. They are also often called upon to participate in rescue operations. Vessels of this type include the original yacht (from Dutch/Low German jacht meaning hunting or hunt), a light, fast-sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into shallow waters.

Classification

They may be broadly classified as inshore patrol vessels (IPVs) and offshore patrol vessels (OPVs). They are warships typically smaller in size than a corvette and can include fast attack craft, torpedo boats and missile boats, although some are as large as a frigate. The offshore patrol vessels are usually the smallest ship in a navy's fleet that are large and seaworthy enough to patrol off-shore in the open ocean. In larger militaries, such as in the United States military, offshore patrol vessels usually serve in the coast guard, but many smaller nations navies operate these type of ships.

Super Dvora Mk II-class patrol boat

The Super Dvora Mark II-class patrol boats is a high-speed class of patrol boats meant for a variety of naval missions from typical off-shore coastal patrol mission profiles to high-speed, high-maneuver littoral warfare. Built by Israel Aerospace Industries for the Israeli Sea Corps, the Super Dvora Mark II is the successor to the Dvora-class fast patrol boats. The Super Dvora Mark IIs have been employed by the Sri Lanka Navy to counter LTTE operations at sea.

Design and construction

25.4 metres (83 ft) in length, the Super Dvora II has a marine aluminum alloy planing hull in order to maintaining high standards of sea-keeping, maneuverability and static/dynamic intact/damaged stability in adverse environments.

Armament

Originally the main armament of the Super Dvora Mark II design was the Oerlikon 20 mm cannon which were manually operated. At present all Super Dvora Mark II types have been modified to allow for the installation of Typhoon 25-30 mm stabilized cannon which can be slaved to state-of the art mast-mounted, day/night, long-range electro-optic systems. In addition to its main armament, Super Dvora Mark IIs carry heavy or light machine guns, depending on the operational requirements.

Patrol Craft Fast

Patrol Craft Fast (PCF), also known as Swift Boats, were all-aluminum, 50-foot (15 m) long, shallow-draft vessels operated by the United States Navy, initially to patrol the coastal areas and later for work in the interior waterways as part of the brown-water navy to interdict Vietcong movement of arms and munitions, transport Vietnamese forces and insert SEAL teams for counterinsurgency (COIN) operations during the Vietnam War.

Development

Conception

The Swift Boat was conceived in a Naval Advisory Group, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (NAVADGRP MACV) staff study titled "Naval Craft Requirements in a Counter Insurgency Environment," published 1 February 1965. It noted that "COIN water operations are difficult, demanding, and unique. A prevalent belief has been that COIN craft can readily be obtained from existing commercial and naval sources when needed. Unfortunately, no concerted effort has been made to develop COIN craft specifically suited to perform the many missions needed to combat insurgent activities."

Patrol

A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers or military personnel, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.

This is also often referred to as a beat.

Military

In military tactics, a patrol is a sub-subunit or small tactical formation, sent out from a military organization by land, sea or air for the purpose of combat, reconnaissance, or a combination of both. The basic task of a patrol is to follow a known route at which sent to investigate some feature of interest, or to fighting patrols (US combat patrol), sent to find and engage the enemy. A patrol can also mean a small cavalry or armoured unit, subordinate to a troop or platoon. A patrol usually comprises a section or squad of mounted troopers, or two AFVs (often tanks).

Law enforcement

In non-military law enforcement, patrol officers are law enforcement officers assigned to monitor specified geographic areas—that is, to move through their areas at regular intervals looking out for any signs of problems of any kind. They are the officers most commonly encountered by the public, as their duties include responding to calls for service, making arrests, resolving disputes, taking crime reports, and conducting traffic enforcement, and other crime prevention measures. A patrol officer is often the first to arrive on the scene of any incident; what such an officer does or fails to do at the scene can greatly influence the outcome of any subsequent investigation. The patrol officer, as the person who is in the field daily, is often closest to potential crime and may have developed contacts who can provide information.

A Man

A Man (1979) (Italian: Un Uomo) (Greek: Ένας Άνδρας, transliteration: Enas Andras) is a novel written by Oriana Fallaci chronicling her relationship with the attempted assassin of Greek dictator George Papadopoulos.

Plot summary

The book is a pseudo-biography about Alexandros Panagoulis written in the form of a novel. Fallaci had an intense romantic relationship with Panagoulis. She uses the novel to put forth her view that Panagoulis was assassinated by a vast conspiracy, a view widely shared by many Greeks.

The work has had mixed reviews. Some will find the harsh polemic repetitive and disturbing. Fallaci is said to have been angry at Ms Magazine for not reviewing the work and this enhanced her reputation as an anti-feminist.

Quotes

"Don't help me then, hand me over to the police, what's the use anyway--"
"Of suffering, fighting? It allows us to live, my boy. A man who gives in doesn't live, he survives."

Footnotes

References