Fast attack craft

As early as the mid-19th century, the Jeune École's poussiere navale theory called for a great number of small, agile vessels to break up invading fleets of larger vessels. The idea was first put into action in the 1870s with the steam-powered torpedo boats, which were produced in large numbers by both the Royal Navy and the French Navy. These new vessels proved especially susceptible to rough seas and to have limited utility in scouting due to their short endurance and low bridges. The potential threat was entirely extinguished with the introduction of the Torpedo Boat Destroyer (TBD) in 1893, a larger vessel which evolved into the modern destroyer. It could mount guns capable of destroying the torpedo boat before it was within range to use its own weapons.

File:USS PT-105.jpg

The idea was revived shortly before World War I with the craft using new gasoline engines. Italy and Great Britain were at the forefront of this design, with the Coastal Motor Boat (CMB) and the Motobarca Armata Silurante (MAS) (Italian: "torpedo armed motorboat"). The outstanding achievement of the class was the sinking of the Austro-Hungarian battleship {{SMS|Szent István}} by MAS. 15 on 10 June 1918. The equivalent achievement for the CMBs was a lesser success; during the Russian Civil War CMBs attacked the Red Fleet at anchor at Kronstadt on 18 June 1919, sinking the cruiser {{ship|Russian cruiser|Pamiat Azova||2}} for the loss of four craft.

The design matured in the mid-1930s as the motor torpedo boats (MTBs) and motor gunboat (MGBs) of the Royal Navy, the PT boats of the US Navy, and the E-boats (Schnellboote) of the Kriegsmarine. All types saw extensive use during World War II but were limited in effectiveness due to the increasing threat of aircraft; however, some successes were achieved in favourable conditions, as showcased by the crippling of the cruiser {{HMS|Manchester|15|6}} (later scuttled), in the night of 13 August 1942, by Italian MS boats.

File:German fast attack craft S57 Weihe (P6157) in the Baltic Sea on 28 August 1985.jpg

After World War II, the use of this kind of craft steadily declined in the United States and Britain, despite the introduction of safer diesel engines to replace the highly flammable gasoline ones, although the Soviet Union still had large numbers of MGBs and MTBs in service.

File:183R.JPG]]

File:HMS Ystad R142.JPG HSwMS Ystad]]

With the development of the anti-ship missile, FACs were reborn in the Soviet Union as "missile boats" or "missile cutters". The first few missile boats were originally torpedo boats, with the torpedo tubes replaced by missile launchers. Again, small fast craft could attack and destroy a major warship. The idea was first tested by the Soviet Union which, in August 1957, produced the {{sclass2|Komar|missile boat|4}} which mounted two P-15 Termit missiles on a {{convert|25|m|ft|sing=on}} hull with a top speed of around {{convert|40|kn|lk=in}}. Endurance was limited to {{convert|1000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|12|kn}} and the vessels had supplies for only five days at sea. 110 Komar-class vessels were produced, while over 400 examples were built of the following {{sclass2|Osa|missile boat|4}} with a significant portion of the total being sold to pro-Soviet nations.

The first combat use of missile boats was an attack by two Egyptian Soviet-built Komar-class boats on the Israeli destroyer Eilat on 20 October 1967, several months after the Six-Day War. The two boats launched a total of four P-15 missiles, three of which struck the Eilat and sank her with the loss of 47 crew dead or missing and over 90 wounded.{{cite web|author=John Pike |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/israel/k40-eilat.htm |title=Eilat Destroyer |publisher=Globalsecurity.org |date=21 October 1967 |access-date=11 March 2015}}

File:Schnellboot Gepard-Klasse Typ 143 A.jpg, 2010]]

The Soviet FACs prompted a NATO response, which became more intense after the sinking of Eilat. The Germans and French worked together to produce a new FAC, resulting in the {{sclass2|La Combattante|fast attack craft|5}} type, first commissioned in 1968. Built on a {{convert|47|or|49|m|ft|sing=on}} hull with four MM-38 Exocet missiles, a 76 mm gun forward and 40 mm twin guns aft, these vessels have a top speed of {{convert|36|kn}}. Built until 1974, a total of 68 La Combattante IIs were launched. The design was immediately followed by the La Combattante III, and a great many other shipyards produced their own versions of the La Combattante type, including the Israeli Sa'ar/Reshef variants.

Size has also increased, some designs reaching up to corvette size, 800 tonnes including a helicopter, giving them extended modes of operation. While the Israeli {{sclass2|Sa'ar 4|missile boat|1}}s, for example, had a 58 metre hull and 415-ton displacement, the {{sclass2|Sa'ar 5|corvette|5}} is 85 metres in length and displaces 1,065 tons, and is officially rated as a corvette.

Iran and North Korea have some of the largest numbers of FACs in operation today. North Korea alone operates more than 300,Hy Sang Lee: North Korea: A Strange Socialist Fortress, p. 85 while Iran has been seen developing "swarm boats" to be used as harassing vessels in the heavily contested littoral waters of the Persian Gulf. To counter the threat, the US Navy has been developing an ASUW Littoral Defensive Anti Surface Warfare doctrine, along with vessels such as the littoral combat ship.

The [[Sea Baby unmanned surface vehicle poster released on 16 August 2023|thumb|right]]

• {{navy|Algeria}} operates eight Osa-class.
• {{navy|Angola}} operates six Osa-class
• {{navy|Argentina}} operates two Intrépida-class.
• {{navy|Azerbaijan}} operates three Osa-class
• {{navy|Bangladesh}} operates four Huangfeng-class.
• {{navy|Brunei}} operates two Fearless-class, 1 Waspada-class, and 1 Mustaed-class.
• {{navy|Chile}} operates three Sa'ar 4-class.
• {{navy|China}} operates 60 Houbei-class, 18 Houxin-class, and 5 Houjian-class.
• {{navy|Croatia}} operates 2 Helsinki-class, 2 Kralj-class, and 1 Končar-class.
• {{navy|Cuba}} operates six Osa-class.
• {{navy|Ecuador}} operates three Seawolf-class.
• {{navy|Egypt}} operates 4 Ezzat-class, 6 October-class, 8 Osa-class, 6 Ramadan-class, 5 Tiger-class, and 4 Shanghai-class.
• {{navy|Eritrea}} operates five Osa-class, all captured from Ethiopia.
• {{navy|Equatorial Guinea}} operates two Sa'ar 4-class.
• {{navy|Finland}} operates four Hamina-class and four Rauma-class.
• {{navy|Gabon}} operates the President El Hadj Omar Bongo.
• {{navy|Ghana}} operates two Albatros-class and two Gepard-class, all purchased from Germany.
• {{navy|Greece}} operates 7 Roussen-class, 9 La Combattante III-class, and 3 La Combattante II-class.
• {{Navy|India}} operates 13 Car Nicobar-class patrol vessel, 4 Bangaram-class patrol vessel, 2 Trinkat-class patrol vessel.
• {{navy|Indonesia}} operates 8 Clurit-class, 6 Sampari-class, 3 Mandau-class, 1 Klewang-class, and 2 Waspada-class.
• {{navy|Iran}} operates 10 La Combattante II-class and 5 Sina-class.
• {{flagicon|Iran}} Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy operates 10 Tondar-class, 5 C 14-class, 25 Peykaap II-class, and 6 Peykaap III-class
• {{navy|Israel}} operates eight Sa'ar 4.5-class.
• {{navy|Japan}} operates six Hayabusa-classes.
• {{navy|Kazakhstan}} operates four Kazakhstan-class and a single Mangistau-class.
• {{navy|Kenya}} operates two Nyayo-class, and one Madaraka-class.
• {{navy|North Korea}} operates 7 Nongo-class, 10 Osa-class, 6 Komar-class, and 4 Huangfeng-class.
• {{navy|South Korea}} operates 30 Yoon Youngha-class.
• {{navy|Kuwait}} operates 8 Um Al Maradim-class, a single Istiqlal-class, and a single Al Sanbouk-class.
• {{navy|Libya}} operates a single La Combattante II-class.
• {{navy|Mexico}} operates two Sa'ar 4.5-class.
• {{navy|Montenegro}} operates two Končar-class.
• {{navy|Morocco}} operates four Lazaga-class.
• {{navy|Myanmar}} operates 2 49m-class, 20 5 Series-class, and 6 Houxin-class.
• {{navy|Nigeria}} operates three La Combattante III-class and three Luerssen FPB57-class.
• {{navy|Oman}} operates four Province-class.
• {{navy|Pakistan}} operates two Jalalat-class and two Jurrat-class.
• {{navy|Philippines}} operates 8 Acero-class Fast Attack Interdiction Craft (FAIC) and 12 Multipurpose Assault Craft (MPAC)
• {{navy|Poland}} operates three Orkan-class.
• {{navy|South Africa}} operates a single Warrior-class.
• {{navy|Sri Lanka}} operates four Dvora-class and two Sa'ar 4-class.
• {{navy|Qatar}} operates 3 La Combattante III-class and 4 Barzan-class
• {{navy|Romania}} operates three Osa-class.
• {{navy|Syria}} operates 16 Osa-class.
• {{navy|Taiwan}} operates 31 Kuang Hua VI-class.
• {{navy|Tunisia}} operates 6 Albatros-class, 3 La Combattante III-class, 3 Bizerte-class, and 5 Shanghai-class.
• {{navy|Turkey}} operates 9 Kılıç-class, 2 Yildiz-class, 3 Doğan-class, and 4 Rüzgar-class.
• {{navy|Turkmenistan}} operates six FAC 33-class.
• {{navy|Ukraine}} operates a single Matka-class.
• {{navy|United Arab Emirates}} operates six Ban-Yas-class and two Mubarraz-class.
• {{navy|Venezuela}} operates six Constitución-class.
• {{navy|Vietnam}} operates eight Osa-class and a single BPS-500-class.

• Gunboat
• Motor gunboat
• Torpedo boat
• Motor torpedo boat
• Missile boat
• Patrol boat
• Unmanned surface vehicle

{{Commons category|Fast Attack Craft}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries}}

Category:Ship types

Category:Gunboat classes

Category:Missile boat classes