Kim Qui

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Rank VI USA | Premium | Golden Eagles
A-10A Thunderbolt (Early)
us_pgm_59_class.png
GarageImage Kim Qui.jpg
Kim Qui
Research:48 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:180 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
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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 Sl icon.png
RB2 134 → 2 682 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications45 400 Rp icon.png
97 400 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost1 300 Ge icon.png
Crew training52 000 Sl icon.png
Experts180 000 Sl icon.png
Aces700 Ge icon.png
Research Aces390 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
100 / 150 / 100 % Sl icon.png
154 / 154 / 154 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Seakeeping Unsinkability Firepower
Mods new ship hull.png
Dry-Docking
Research:
1 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 900 Sl icon.png
125 Ge icon.png
Mods new ship rudder.png
Rudder Replacement
Research:
1 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 600 Sl icon.png
120 Ge icon.png
Mods new ship screw.png
Propeller Replacement
Research:
3 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 100 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png
Mods new ship engine.png
Engine Maintenance
Research:
7 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
16 000 Sl icon.png
520 Ge icon.png
Mods ship damage control crew.png
Damage Control Division
Research:
1 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 900 Sl icon.png
125 Ge icon.png
Mods ship fire control crew.png
Fire Division
Research:
1 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 600 Sl icon.png
120 Ge icon.png
Mods engine smoke screen system.png
Smokescreen
Research:
1 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 600 Sl icon.png
120 Ge icon.png
Mods new ship pumps.png
New Pumps
Research:
7 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
16 000 Sl icon.png
520 Ge icon.png
Mods new aa caliber turrets.png
Anti-Air Armament Targeting
Research:
1 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 900 Sl icon.png
125 Ge icon.png
Mods ammo.png
20 mm HE magazines
Research:
1 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 900 Sl icon.png
125 Ge icon.png
Mods ammo.png
40 mm HE clips
Research:
1 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 900 Sl icon.png
125 Ge icon.png
Mods new aux caliber turrets.png
Auxiliary Armament Targeting
Research:
1 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 600 Sl icon.png
120 Ge icon.png
Mods ammo.png
20 mm AP magazines
Research:
1 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 600 Sl icon.png
120 Ge icon.png
Mods ammo.png
40 mm AP clips
Research:
1 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 600 Sl icon.png
120 Ge icon.png
Mods new main caliber turrets.png
Primary Armament Targeting
Research:
3 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 100 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png
Mods ship rangefinder.png
Improved Rangefinder
Research:
3 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 100 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png

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
Main article: AN-M2 (12.7 mm)

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.[1]

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

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

USA boats
Motor torpedo boats  PT-3 · PT-6 · PT-20 · PT-71 · PT-103 · PT-109 · PT-174
  PT-200 · PT-314 · Thunderbolt (PT-556) · PT-565 · PT-658 · PT-810 · PT-811 · PT-812
Motor gun boats  Kim Qui · LCS(L)(3) · PT-59 · PTF-7 · USS Candid · USS Asheville · USS Douglas · USS Tucumcari · USS Cyclone
Armoured gun boats  LCM(6) Zippo