We Americans love to compete and make the best of everything! Cars are the prime example of this phenomenon, where we take a car and modify it so it can be the fastest one on the road! This also applies for ships. Leave it to the US Navy to make the fastest ship! Thus, the Pegasus class hydrofoils were born.
These boats were fast patrol boats used by the US Navy several decades ago. They were easily distinguished by their unique designation “PHM“, which stood for “Patrol, Hydrofoil, Missile“. They are no longer in use though, as they were used for only 16 years, getting decommissioned in 1993. This did not stop the class from getting dubbed as the fastest! They were intended for NATO operations, and proved highly effective when used for patrolling the coasts. Overall, these ships were really, really good in the water.
The basis for the technology used for these boats was the USS Tucumcari, a Boeing built hydrofoil. Like its successors, the USS Tucumcari was known as the fastest ship at the time it was in service. It could reach speeds of over 40 knots, or 46 miles per hour! Given the fact that this ship was launched in 1967, that is quite an impressive feat! But that was not enough for our Navy, as they launched the Pegasus class hydrofoils in 1973, and they were even better than its predecessor!
A total of 6 ships were made, and they all bore names from the zodiac and mythology. These ships were capable of reaching speeds up to 48 knots when foilborne! That is a speed of 55 miles per hour, in water! Anyway, this was just a brief intro to the fastest ship in the US Navy! Watch it right here and be entertained!
At last, click here to witness the side launching of 7 GIANT ships!
