Archerfish Patrol Boat

**Key Features** | »» Quad Browning .50 caliber AA guns»» Cache of naval mines (hidden)»» Optical fiber nets (stowed in rear)»» Former Coast Guard members (x2)»» Outboard diesel motor

*"Born on the bayou."*

- Patrol Boat captain
## Tactical Analysis

* **Come on down, the water's warm:** A light anti-air rapid response platform, the Patrol Boat is rather speedy and can easily chase down slower aircraft, though its machine gun struggles to deal with faster or more heavily armoured aircraft.

* **Waterway denial:** With its speed, the Patrol Boat was also considered a suitable platform for the deployment of naval mines. These mines can be laid down to serve as a rather effective deterrent to enemy ships.

* **Hardly a battleship:** The Patrol Boat does have many mortal enemies that it should learn to stay away from. Its machine gun cannot be turned seaward, hence enemy surface ships, especially lighter ones, can chase down the Patrol Boat and send it to Davy Jone's locker.

* **I am a \*cough\* civilian:** Elite Patrol Boat crews have mastered the art of acting like random civilian fishing boats in the presence of enemies, rendering them essentially invisible to the enemy commander's eyes, until of course, the Patrol Boat chooses to fire. Enemy scouts are not fooled by the act and will detect the telltale smell of gunpowder, however.

## History

During World War II, several Allied Frigates were sunk by Soviet submarine forces during the beginning of the war, bringing the Allies' seaborne anti-air capabilities down and threatening Allied air superiority over the Western Baltic and North Seas. All active shipyards throughout Europe and the Americas worked on replacing the lost ships, but the construction was in many cases hindered by technical malfunctions caused by Soviet infiltrators and, in some cases, bad luck (including an infamous case of a half-eaten apple dropped in the cannon during production, with hilarious consequences upon firing). The Allies ordered the coast guards of several nations, most notably the United States, to send out their Coast Guard patrol boats to help patrol the northern coasts of Northern Europe.

While their firepower was limited, the *Archerfish*-class patrol boats of the US Coast Guard were surprisingly effective at ambushing helicopter flights due to it being unremarkable and easy to hide--and it was cheap to produce to boot. Still, it wasn't very cost effective due to the high casualties and the remaining patrol boats were continuously retired as new Frigates left their docks. After the war, the Coast Guards took the boats back for domestic usage until later designs, such as the Hydrofoil, made them obsolete. Most are stored away as reserves, if they are still even usable.

A notable incident in June 1969 was the looting of Coast Guard Storage 21 in Louisiana by alleged Continental supporters, where several hundreds of Patrol Boats were stolen. Investigators have branded it an inside job, and the Coast Guard has also seen several defections to the rebel navy. Other storages around the Gulf coast have followed, leading to rebel-controlled Patrol Boats being a common sight in the swamps of Florida and Louisiana where they patrol the rivers when not catching food for the day. Their speed and unassuming appearance has also made them the ideal platform to deploy stolen caches of naval mines, much to the annoyance of Allied naval forces.