BRP Andres Bonifacio ( PF - 7 ) BRP " Andres Bonifacio " ( PF - 7 ) was a Philippine Navy frigate in commission from 1976 to 1985 . She was one of six ex - United States Navy " Barnegat " - class small seaplane tender s / ex - United States Coast Guard " Casco " - class high endurance cutter s received from the United States after the Vietnam War , two of which were acquired to supply spare parts for the other four . " Andres Bonifacio " was considered the lead ship of her class in the Philippine Navy , and she and her three commissioned sister ships were the largest Philippine Navy combat ships of their time . History . Construction and United States Navy service 1943 - 1946 . " Andres Bonifacio " was built in the United States by Lake Washington Shipyard at Houghton , Washington , as the United States Navy " Barnegat " - class seaplane tender USS " Chincoteague " ( AVP - 24 ) . Commissioned in April 1943 , she operated in support of the New Guinea campaign and in the Central Pacific during World War II and operated at Okinawa and in China after the war . She was decommissioned in December 1946 and placed in reserve . United States Coast Guard service 1949 - 1972 . In 1949 the U . S . Navy loaned " Chincoteague " to the United States Coast Guard , in which she was commissioned as the " Casco " - class Coast Guard cutter USCGC " Chincoteague " ( WAVP - 375 ) . She was reclassified as a high endurance cutter , redesignated WHEC - 375 , and transferred permanently from the Navy to the Coast Guard in 1966 . Her primary duty was to patrol ocean stations in the North Atlantic Ocean , providing weather data and engaging in search - and - rescue and law - enforcement operations . The Coast Guard decommissioned her in June 1972 . Republic of Vietnam Navy service 1972 - 1975 . Due to the Vietnamization Program of the United States Government , " Chincoteague " was transferred to South Vietnam in June 1972 and was commissioned into the Republic of Vietnam Navy as patrol vessel RVNS " Ly Thuong Kiet " ( HQ - 16 ) . She participated in the Battle of the Paracel Islands against ships of the People ' s Republic of China on 19 January 1974 . When South Vietnam collapsed at the end of the Vietnam War in late April 1975 , " Ly Thuong Kiet " fled to Subic Bay in the Philippines , packed with South Vietnamese refugees . On 22 May 1975 and 23 May 1975 , a U . S . Coast Guard team inspected " Ly Thuong Kiet " and five of her sister ships , which also had fled to the Philippines in April 1975 . One of the inspectors noted : " These vessels brought in several hundred refugees and are generally rat - infested . They are in a filthy , deplorable condition . Below decks generally would compare with a garbage scow . " After " Ly Thuong Kiet " had been cleaned and repaired , the United States formally transferred her to the Republic of the Philippines on 5 April 1976 . Philippine Navy service . Active service 1976 - 1993 . The former " Ly Thuong Kiet " was commissioned into the Philippine Navy as frigate RPS " Andres Bonifacio " ( PF - 7 ) . On June 1980 her prefix was changed from " RPS " to " BRP " , and was renamed BRP " Andres Bonifacio " ( PF - 7 ) . She was reportedly decommissioned in June 1985 , although she was still listed as " active " as of July 1993 . Andres Bonifacio became well known as the ship in which renegade Colonel Gregorio " Gringo " Honasan , leader of a nearly successful " coup " against the Corazon Aquino government , was detained after his capture in December 1987 . Together with his 13 - man guard escort , he escaped on 2 April 1988 . The Philippine Navy made plans to reactivate " Andres Bonifacio " as an auxiliary fleet flagship in 1995 , but this never took place due to a lack of funds . Disposal . " Andres Bonifacio " eventually sank at her berthing area in Fort San Felipe , part of the Sangley Point Naval Base at Cavite City on Luzon . She was refloated and ultimately sold for scrapping in 2003 . Her hulk ' s sale helped the Philippine Navy to finance an upgrade program for its three " Jacinto " class corvette s . Technical details . There were changes made to the " Andres Bonifacio " class as compared to their original design during its service with the US Navy , US Coast Guard and the Republic of Vietnam Navy . The ships were passed to the Philippine Navy with fewer weapons on - board and old surface search radars , and these were addressed later on by the Philippine Navy through modernization programs , including the addition of a helicopter landing pad in 1979 . The single Mk . 12 5 - inch / 38 - caliber ( 127 mm ) gun was " Andres Bonifacio " s primary weapon . It was mounted in a Mark 30 Mod 0 enclosed base ring and had a range of up to yards . The gun was a dual - purpose type , capable of both antisurface and antiair warfare . She also carried a two twin Mk . 1 Bofors 40mm L / 60 anti - aircraft guns and two single Bofors 40mm L / 60 anti - aircraft guns , four twin 20mm Oerlikon cannons , four M2 Browning . 50 - caliber ( 12 . 7 - mm ) general - purpose machine gun s , and two 81mm mortars . Radar system installed include the Sperry AN / SPS - 53 Surface Search & Navigation Radar replacing the previously installed AN / SPS - 23 , while retaining both the AN / SPS - 29D Air Search Radar and Mk . 26 Mod . 1 Fire Control Radar System . Hatch and Kirk , Inc , added a helicopter deck aft in 1979 . Although the ship had no permanently assigned aircraft and could provide no servicing for visiting helicopters , the helicopter deck could accommodate a visiting MBB Bo 105 C helicopter , used by the Philippine Navy for utility , scout , and maritime patrol purposes . The ship was powered by two Fairbanks - Morse 38D diesel engines with a combined power of around 6 , 200 brake horsepower ( 4 . 63 megawatts ) driving two propellers . The main engines could propel the 1 , 766 - ton displacement ( standard load ) ship at a maximum speed of around . The ship had a maximum range of at an economical speed of . The Philippine Navy made plans were made to upgrade the entire ship class with new radar systems and the BGM - 84 Harpoon long - range anti - ship cruise missile , but this did not materialize due to the worsening political and economic crisis in the Republic of the Philippines in the mid - 1980s .