USS Asheville

USS Asheville

USS Asheville

Description

The Asheville-class, USS Asheville (PGM-84) is a rank American motor gun boat with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X" as part of the fleet closed beta test.

General info

Survivability and armour

Talk about the vehicle's armour. Note the most well-defended and most vulnerable zones, e.g. the ammo magazine. Evaluate the composition of components and assemblies responsible for movement and manoeuvrability. Evaluate the survivability of the primary and secondary armaments separately. Don't forget to mention the size of the crew, which plays an important role in fleet mechanics. Save tips on preserving survivability for the "Usage in battles" section. If necessary, use a graphical template to show the most well-protected or most vulnerable points in the armour.

Mobility

Write about the ship's mobility. Evaluate its power and manoeuvrability, rudder rerouting speed, stopping speed at full tilt, with its maximum forward and reverse speed.

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

Armament

Primary armament

The main armament is the 76 mm Mk.34 gun located on the bow. It has an excellent rate of fire and elevation angles. It has access to HE, APHE and HE-VT rounds. At its battle rating, HE rounds inflict great damage to smaller boats and the gun accuracy allows to use this round with success against bigger targets and destroyers at closer ranges. APHE shells are of great use versus more armoured gun boats allowing you to deal with them way faster. HE-VT rounds combined with excellent gun elevation angles and radar allow you to deal with planes from a safe distance, compensating for the lacking dedicated anti-air armament. It should be noted that switching ammo type can take around 10 seconds. The gun also overheats quickly and it can take some time to bring it back online, which should be taken into account when engaging bigger or more numerous targets.

Secondary armament

The Asheville has a single 40 mm L/60 Mark 3 Bofors cannon located on the stern. While it might not seem extremely useful in combat, in practice it helps mitigate weaknesses of the primary armament. It provides a fast way to deal with threats directly behind the ship where the main gun can't cover or it can even be used to replace the main cannon during repairs. Its good damage output combined with a very short reload time allows you to shred any lighter enemy vessels. Overall, it's a great secondary to have for close quarters situations the main battery won't be able to handle.

Anti-aircraft armament

An important part of the ship's armament responsible for air defence. Anti-aircraft armament is defined by the weapon chosen with the control Select anti-aircraft weapons. Talk about the ship's anti-air cannons and machine guns, the number of guns and their positions, their effective range, and about their overall effectiveness – including against surface targets. If there are no anti-aircraft armaments, remove this section.

Usage in battles

Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".

Pros:

Cons:

History

USS Asheville (PGM-84) was the lead ship of the Asheville class, a series of seventeen patrol gunboats built for the US Navy. Completed in 1967, she saw service in the Vietnam War as a blockade ship and patrol vessel. Following the end of hostilities in Vietnam, Asheville returned to the United States as a training vessel; she would eventually serve as a training ship in the Great Lakes, and was transferred in 1977 to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Design and construction

The Asheville was designed as a small gunboat, and thus displaced 240 tons. She carried an armament of a single 3-inch (76 mm) gun at the bow, a 40 mm Bofors gun at the rear and two 12.7 mm heavy machine guns. Being a patrol boat, she had a small crew complement of just 37. Equipped with a CODOG (combined gas and diesel propulsion) system, she could make a top speed of 40 knots (74 km/h). Asheville was laid down on April 15th 1964 by the Tacoma boat-building company. She was launched on May 1st 1965, and commissioned on April 1st 1967.

Operational History

USS Asheville underway in 1966.

Following her commissioning and shakedown cruise, the Asheville was homeported at San Diego, California. She departed the port in April and sailed to Hawaii, then Guam, then her final destination of South Vietnam to serve in the Vietnam War. She saw eight years of service in the Asian and Pacific theatre, though large parts were spent in port due to a shortage of men and engine parts to service her rather unreliable propulsion system. She frequently conducted blockade missions off of the Vietnamese coast, in an effort to prevent the flow of arms and supplies to the communist rebels in South Vietnam.

In December of 1972, the United States stopped its military involvement in Vietnam; this halted Asheville's combat activities. She remained in the Western Pacific for an additional two years, visiting a variety of Pacific ports. She then sailed for Chicago via the Panama canal, and arrived at her final destination in December of 1974. She served as a training vessel on the Great lakes between 1974 and 1977; she was decommissioned on January 31st 1977 and simultaneously stricken from the navy list. She was then given to the Maine Maritime academy as a training vessel; her name is now taken by USS Asheville (SSN-758), a Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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

Works Cited

• Ashe, W., & Holland, R. (2006). Asheville, USS. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://ncpedia.org/asheville-uss
• Priolo, G. (1996). NavSource Online:Motor Gunboat/Patrol Gunboat Photo Archive. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/11084.htm

Tacoma Boatbuilding Co.
Motor Gunboats (PGM)
Asheville-class	USS Asheville · USS Douglas