In 1961, the Royal Malaysian Navy announced the purchase of 96-ton patrol boats from Vosper Ltd, Portsmouth, England. These vessels were armed with two 40/60 mm Bofors guns and two 12.7 mm machine guns. Power was provided by two Bristol Siddeley diesel engines developing a combined 3,500 hp, enabling a speed of 27 knots. Construction featured an all-welded steel hull with an aluminium superstructure.
The first boat, KD Sri Kedah was launched in 1962, and a total of 20 boats were completed between 1962 and 1968. These patrol craft served as the workhorses of the RMN for many years. During the Confrontation period several of the patrol craft spent up to 280 days each away from their main base each year, and they also patrolled off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia during the Vietnam War to prevent infiltration of Vietnamese refugees into Malaysian territories.
KD Sri Terengganu was laid down in 1961, launched on 12 December 1962, and Commissioned on 16 December 1963 following her delivery voyage. She decommissioned in 1994, having sailed for 68,926 nautical miles under 24 different Commanding Officers during her 31 years of RMN service. In 1996 she was donated to the State government of Melaka and became a museum ship at the Royal Malaysian Navy Museum.
Write-up and image courtesy of David Chessum