S71 Gepard, Gepard class fast attack craft

A Fast Attack Craft (FAC) (German: Schnellboot) is a small (150 to 400 tonnes), fast (up to ca. 40 knots) ship for offensive tasks, mainly equipped with surface-to-surface missiles and/or anti-ship torpedoes. A tonne, sometimes known as metric ton in American English, (symbol t) is a unit of mass. ... Some knots: 1. ... A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) is a guided projectile launched from a hand-held, vehicle mounted, trailer mounted or fixed installation or from a ship. ... A modern torpedo, historically called a self-propelled torpedo, is a self-propelled guided projectile that (after being launched above or below the water surface) operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ...

Because of their relatively small size, FACs are generally limited to coastal areas and relatively calm sea states. For example, navies operating in the Mediterranean and South East Asia use them, but in the North Sea and the oceans they are seen far less often. The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... The worlds oceans as seen from the South Pacific Ocean (from Okeanos, Greek for river, the ancient Greeks noticed that a strong current flowed off Gibraltar, and assumed it was a great river; Greek ωκεανός) covers almost three quarters (71%) of the surface of the Earth...

History

Small offensive ships were already in use during the American Civil War. These were still wooden boats with an explosive charge mounted on a long pole at the bow of the boat and thus not very effective. The American Civil War (1861–1865) was fought in North America within the United States of America, between twenty-three mostly northern states of the Union and the Confederate States of America, a coalition of eleven southern states that declared their independence and claimed the right of secession from the...

As a result of the invention of the self-propelled torpedo at the end of the 19th century, the much more useful and dangerous torpedo boat came into existence. More developed versions were later used in both world wars. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to launch torpedoes at larger surface ships. ...

After World War II, the use of this kind of craft steadily declined, although the Soviet Union still had large numbers of Motor Gun Boats and Motor Torpedo Boats in service. With the rise in the use of surface-to-surface missiles in the 1960s, interest in the use of FACs was renewed - first in the Soviet Union and in the west especially in France and Germany. France also built large numbers of this type of craft for export. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ... The 1960s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ...

The First Gulf War in 1991 brought an important fault in the FAC design philosophy to light after a group of Iraqi FACs were destroyed by British Lynx helicopters armed with Sea Skua missiles - FACs had almost no air defence systems and, even if they were equipped with an air defence radar, the small size of the ship meant that it could not be mounted high enough to be of much use. See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The AgustaWestland Lynx is a helicopter designed by AgustaWestland (formerly Westland Aircraft) and jointly produced with Aérospatiale, first flying on 21 March 1971 as the Westland WG.13. ... The Sea Skua is a short range ASM (Air to Surface) missile designed for an anti shipping role. ...

In recent years FACs have been increasingly equipped with surface-to-air missiles and they have become bigger - up to ca. 800 tonnes - thus approaching corvettes in size. The biggest FACs are even capable of carrying a helicopter. A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ... French steam corvette Dupleix (1856-1887) Canadian corvettes on antisubmarine convoy escort duty during World War II. A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, smaller than a frigate. ... The Bell 206 of Canadian Helicopters Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors (propellers). ...