Kim Qui

Kim Qui

USS Coolbaugh

USS Cyclone

Kim Qui

USS Coolbaugh

USS Cyclone

USA

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.3	3.3	3.3

Class:

Motor gun boat

Heavy boat

Boat

Research:48 000

Purchase:180 000

Description

The USS PGM-59, commissioned in the RVNN (Republic of Vietnam Navy; HQVNCH) as the HQ-605 Kim Qui (Vietnamese Chu Nom: 金龜(or 龟); Golden Turtle) was a variant of the PGM-39-class gunboat built in the US, some of which were supplied to allied countries during the Cold War. The ship was built in Tacoma, WA in 1963 and was then transferred to RVNN; due to the lack of records both in Vietnam and the USN, the ship is currently lost in history.

The Kim Qui was introduced in Update "Wind of Change". Although classified as a gunboat and only having just over 100 tons of displacement, the armaments onboard pack enough punch at its tier in broadsides thanks to the powerful 40 mm Bofors and twin 20 mm cannons. However, the ship itself is very prone to be devastated by the main cannons of enemy gunboats with higher calibre HE shells. Additionally, Kim Qui's turtle-like speed will hinder its combat manoeuvrability and flexibility to retreat from a heated battlefield.

Note: Not to be confused to a later Vietnamese Navy armed transport vessel HQ-605 which was sunk as the aftermath of Johnson South Reef Skirmish

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull8 mm (steel)

Superstructure4 mm (steel)

Number of section4

Displacement118 t

Crew17 people

As a small motor gun boat, the Kim Qui does not have significant armour protection. Its hull is constructed of 8 mm steel, while the superstructure is made of 4 mm steel. This level of protection offers little resistance to incoming fire and the vessel's survivability is therefore largely dependent on its speed and manoeuvrability.

The Kim Qui is divided into four sections, including the bow, midsection, engine room, and stern. Each section has its own health pool and can be individually damaged or destroyed. The vessel has a total displacement of 118 tons and is crewed by 17 sailors.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB42 / 20 km/h

RB32 / 15 km/h

Powered by 2 Mercedes Benz MB820 engines, the Kim Qui can travel up to 32 km/h; not only does this fits its name "golden turtle", it also means the ship will neither be the first to reach capture zones nor heated combat zones. Any operations in open waters are likely to be extremely lethal.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	42	20
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	32	15

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB1 661 → 2 087

RB2 134 → 2 682

Total cost of modifications45 400

97 400

Talisman cost1 300

Crew training52 000

Experts180 000

Aces700

Research Aces390 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

100 / 150 / 100 %

154 / 154 / 154 %

Modifications

Seakeeping	Unsinkability	Firepower
Dry-Docking Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 900 125 Rudder Replacement Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 600 120 Propeller Replacement Research: 3 800 Cost: 8 100 270 Engine Maintenance Research: 7 400 Cost: 16 000 520	Damage Control Division Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 900 125 Fire Division Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 600 120 Smokescreen Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 600 120 New Pumps Research: 7 400 Cost: 16 000 520	Anti-Air Armament Targeting Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 900 125 20 mm HE magazines Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 900 125 40 mm HE clips Research: 1 800 Cost: 3 900 125 Auxiliary Armament Targeting Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 600 120 20 mm AP magazines Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 600 120 40 mm AP clips Research: 1 700 Cost: 3 600 120 Primary Armament Targeting Research: 3 800 Cost: 8 100 270 Improved Rangefinder Research: 3 800 Cost: 8 100 270

Armament

Primary armament

Turret40 mm Bofors L/60 Mark 3 gun

Ammunition2000 rounds

Belt capacity4 rounds

Fire rate160 shots/min

Vertical guidance-6° / 70°

The Kim Qui's is a 40 mm Bofors L/56 on Mark 3 mount located on the front deck. The 40 mm Bofors is well known to players due to its reliable, sustained volley of fire and its devastating firepower against light targets. Thanks to its high penetration AP shells, sometimes even larger ships might fall victim to the gun or at least having many components disabled. But do remember that this is the only main weapon on the ship, keep the turret operable and its crew alive at all costs - the remaining Oerlikon 20 mm cannons and AN/M2 are nowhere near as effective as the 40 mm gun.

• Universal: AP-T · HEFI-T
• 40 mm AP clips: AP-T · AP-T · AP-T · HEFI-T
• 40 mm HE clips: HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HEFI-T · AP-T

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HEFI-T	3	3	3	3	3	3
AP-T	81	78	68	58	49	41

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HEFI-T	874	0.9	0	0.1	67.13	79°	80°	81°
AP-T	874	0.89	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°

Secondary armament

2 х Turret2 x 20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II autocannon

Ammunition3600 rounds

Belt capacity60 rounds

Fire rate450 shots/min

Aside from the Bofors, the Kim Qui is also equipped with 2 pairs of 20 mm/70 Oerlikon autocannons, which can be used against oncoming aircraft or to attack boats at rear deck and superstructure. While the reload time is short enough and having generous ammo pool, the gun crew is exposed and prone to both gunfire and shrapnel from HE shells.

• Universal: HEF-T · HEF-I · AP-T
• 20 mm HE: HEF-T · HEF-I · AP-T · HEF-I
• 20 mm AP: AP-T · AP-T · AP-T · HEF-I

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HEF-T	2	2	2	2	2	2
AP-T	34	32	24	17	12	8
HEF-I	2	2	2	2	2	2

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HEF-T	830	0.12	0	0.1	6.57	79°	80°	81°
AP-T	830	0.12	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
HEF-I	830	0.12	0	0.1	11.17	79°	80°	81°

Anti-aircraft armament

2 х Turret12.7 mm Browning AN-M2 machine gun

Ammunition2000 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Fire rate577 shots/min

Although it might already have sufficient dual-purpose guns on the boat, Kim Qui also has 2 AN/M2 .50 cal machine gun at its disposal on the sides of the superstructure. They can serve as supplementary firepower to the Oerlikons, but just like the autocannons, be extremely careful to gunfire and shrapnel.

Usage in battles

Do not be fooled by the translation of the name Kim Qui- golden turtle, the name might sound like something durable to enemy gunfire; but at only 8 mm of steel for the hull and 4 mm for superstructure, it might have better durability than wooden hull boats as there are few boats at its rank to have full-steel protection, but do not expect it to handle boats with extensive autocannon mounts or those with higher calibre cannons like 76 mm/3" guns; there are already gun boats at its rank to have equipped with T-34/85 turret or even Flak 38 88 mm cannon, let alone destroyer escorts even more artillery fire. To make matters worse, the overall speed is rather low as well at mere 27 km/h stock; other boats at the rank can travel up to twice to its speed and they are very likely equipped with autocannons with high rate of fire, a very bad news for the 17 crews onboard as well as these can tear down the ship in seconds.

The ship itself could be very challenging to handle, but at least there are Bofors and a few twin Oerlikon 20 mm at disposal; it might sound nowhere close to boats with quad mount autocannons or more advanced Cold-War autocannons, Kim Qui would still have the chance to taking out attack boats with the armaments onboard, the rate of fire will make sure they would at least have a very bad day. With AP belts selected, chances are it would face escort ships at coastal waters and this give it some firepower to harass enemies; do make sure to find covers from time to time. Another suggested way to increase its survivability is using only the Bofors at the frontal arc and have covers ready, it is better to launch a sudden strike upon enemies that sailing out straight way and face the waves of gunfire from different angle- Kim Qui would be preyed by predators as soon as it enters open waters.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Has a powerful forward-facing 40 mm gun
• Has two mounts for dual 20 mm guns

Cons:

• Blind spot directly forward for 40 mm gun, angling vessel is necessary to fire at short range
• Shallow draft makes it impossible to consistently hit targets in rough seas
• Top speed of 32 km/h in RB, will struggle to cross large maps
• Low crew count of 17 crew members
• Will face destroyers which the ship itself could very unlikely to retaliate

History

PGM-59 was ordered by the US Navy as military aid supplies to US-allied countries and the ship was designated for the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). The ship was built in J.M Martinac at Tacoma, WA and was delivered on March 20, 1963 to US Navy; it was then delivered to RVNN and renamed to HQ-605 Kim Qui.

Due to sparse documents and records of the whereabouts of the ship, after the ship was last seen by USN photographers and having its only 2 known images taken during the 1960s, the ship was very likely been lost in history and the fate of the ship remained unknown.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Kim Qui from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the ship;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp.
Patrol Gunboat, Motor (PGM)
PGM-59-class	Kim Qui*
	*PGM-59 built for South Vietnam