USS Aquila (PHM-4)
1981 Pegasus-class hydrofoil
The second USS Aquila (PHM-4) was the fourth ship of her class of hydrofoils operated by the United States Navy. Pegasus-class vessels were designed for high speed and mobility, and carried a powerful (for their size) armament.
Named for the constellation, Aquila ("Eagle") was laid down on 10 July 1979 at Seattle, Washington, by Boeing Marine Systems; launched on 16 September 1981; sponsored by Mrs. John D. Bulkeley, the wife of Rear Admiral John D. Bulkeley, World War II, PT-boat hero; and commissioned at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 26 June 1982.
Service history
After completing her fitting out, Aquila got underway from Bremerton, Washington, on 15 July 1982 in company with Taurus (PHM-3) and Frederick (LST-1184) and shaped a course for her home port, Key West, Florida. Frederick escorted the two guided-missile hydrofoil gunboats as far as Rodman in the Canal Zone where El Paso (LKA-117) took over. Aquila and her traveling companions transited the Panama Canal on 8 August and arrived in Key West three days later. The warship spent the remainder of 1982 conducting shakedown and other training out of her base at the Trumbo Point Annex, Naval Air Station, Key West, Florida. During the first quarter of 1983, post-shakedown repairs occupied her time. That spring, Aquila embarked upon a schedule of normal training duties out of Key West that occupied her time through the summer and into all of 1983.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “USS Aquila (PHM-4)” as 1981 Pegasus-class hydrofoil. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as 1981 Pegasus-class hydrofoil. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7867357. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1184.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “USS Aquila (PHM-4)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow USS Aquila (PHM-4) primary sources, USS Aquila (PHM-4) archive and Aquila research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “USS Aquila (PHM-4)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “USS Aquila (PHM-4)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.