Launch 5 is a restored NYPD patrol launch presently in use as a United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Facility as well as for volunteer non-profit environmental, public safety and educational work. Launch 5 enjoys a rich history beginning with her construction and dedication in 1966 and continuing to this day including valuable missions and enjoying substantial media exposure. Her crew is a group of volunteers who donate time and money to keep her afloat and to take her to public service.
In addition to being a working vessel, Launch 5 serves as a floating memorial to the officer she was named after, Patrolman Henry Walburger, who was killed in the line of duty in 1964. The vessel goes by both names - Patrolman Walburger and Launch 5. All NYPD Harbor Unit patrol launches are given a numbered designation welded to the outside of the wheelhouse. Patrolman Walburger was assigned No 5. She is fifty two feet in length, powered by twin diesel engines and weighs 25 tons.
Read more about Launch 5: History, Launch No 5 Today
Famous quotes containing the word launch:
“Now launch the small ship, now as the body dies
and life departs, launch out, the fragile soul
in the fragile ship of courage, the ark of faith
with its store of food and little cooking pans
and change of clothes,”
—D.H. (David Herbert)