USSFirebolt, laden with 89 survivors rescued from theGulf of Aden after their small vessel capsized 29 April 2005.
History
United States
Name	Firebolt
Ordered	19 July 1991
Builder	Bollinger Shipyards
Laid down	17 September 1993
Launched	10 June 1994
Commissioned	10 June 1995
Decommissioned	23 February 2022[1]
Homeport	Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek
Motto	"Charge Hard Strike Fast"
Status	Decommissioned
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Cyclone-classpatrol ship
Displacement	331 long tons (336 t)
Length	174 ft (53 m)
Beam	25 ft (7.6 m)
Draft	7 ft 6 in (2.3 m)
Propulsion	4 ×Paxmandiesel engines 4 ×propellers
Speed	35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Complement	5 officers 23 enlisted[2]
Armament	2 ×Mk38 chain guns 2 ×Mk19 grenade launchers 2 ×.50 in (12.7 mm)machine guns 6 ×Stinger missiles

USSFirebolt (PC-10) is the 10th member of theCyclone class of coastalpatrol boats of theUnited States Navy. She is a 174 ft (53 m) vessel with a crew of approximately 30 sailors, normally homeported atNaval Amphibious Base Little Creek,Norfolk, Virginia. Her armament includes twoMk38 chain guns, twoMk19 automatic grenade launchers, and two.50 in (12.7 mm)machine guns, as well as sixStinger missiles.^[3] She was laid down byBollinger Shipyards on 17 September 1993, launched on 10 June 1994, commissioned into the Navy on 10 June 1995,^[2] and she was decommissioned on 23 February 2022.^[1]

In February 2003,Firebolt deployed toBahrain to operate in thePersian Gulf in support ofOperation Enduring Freedom andOperation Iraqi Freedom. While there, she rotated crews so that she could remain on station without returning home for leave. In February 2004,Firebolt collided with a navigational buoy off the coast ofIraq. The subsequent inquiry board into the incident led to the removal ofLieutenant Commander Michael T. Sullivan from command.^[4]

On 24 April 2004,Firebolt'srigid-hulled inflatable boat attempted a boarding operation on adhow that was approaching theKhawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal in Iraq. As the boarding team of seven pulled alongside, the dhow exploded in an apparentsuicide bombing. Two sailors and onecoast guardsman^[5] were killed when the explosion flipped the boat over, dumping her crew into the water. The coast guardsman was a member of the embarkedLaw Enforcement Detachment and was the first coast guardsman to die in action since theVietnam War. The survivors were picked up by anS-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter from the Australian frigateHMAS Stuart.^[6]

On 26 April 2021,Firebolt, in formation withUSCGCBaranof, fired warning shots at several Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) fast inshore attack craft (FIAC) after the smaller boats closed to within 68 yards despite warnings via radio and loud-hailer. The U.S. ships were performing routine maritime security patrols in the international waters of the North Persian Gulf.^[7]

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  USSFirebolt at Yorktown Naval Weapons Station

•  This article includes information collected from theNaval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in thepublic domain. The entry can be foundhere.

• Cyclone-class patrol ships
• Patrol vessels of the United States
• Ships built in Lockport, Louisiana
• Maritime incidents in 2004
• Ship bombings
• 1994 ships

• CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from January 2022
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Naval Vessel Register