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|Ship image= File:Launch5Hudson1.JPG
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|Ship caption= Launch 5 patrols the Hudson River
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|Ship country= United States
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|Ship name= Patrolman Walburger
|Ship namesake= Patrolman Henry Walburger
|Ship owner= Launch 5
|Ship operator= Launch 5; previously [[Organization of the New York City Police Department#Harbor Unit and Scuba Team|New York City Police Department Harbor Unit]]
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|Ship route= [[Jamaica Bay]]
|Ship ordered= 1966
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|Ship builder= Turecamo Tug
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|Ship laid down= 1966
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|Ship christened= November 18, 1966
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|Ship refit= 2002
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|Ship type= Patrol launch; United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
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|Ship displacement= 25 tons
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|Ship length= 52 feet
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|Ship propulsion= Twin Caterpillar diesel engines
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'''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 [[Organization of the New York City Police Department#Harbor Unit and Scuba Team|NYPD Harbor Unit]] patrol launches are given a numbered designation welded to the outside of the wheelhouse. ''Patrolman Walburger'' was assigned N<sup>o</sup> 5. She is {{convert|52|ft}} in length, powered by twin diesel engines and weighs 25 tons.

==History==
===Slaying of Officer Henry Walburger===
At 6:45&nbsp;a.m. on July 27, 1964, Patrolman Henry Walburger and his partner were dispatched to an apartment building in the 9th pct. of Manhattan for a possible burglary in progress. When they arrived, Walburger ascended the fire escape to discover a white male holding two black females hostage. The white male shot Patrolman Walburger through the window and he died.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://launch5.com/History/Shooting.htm |title=Walburger Shooting Report |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003116/http://launch5.com/History/Shooting.htm |archivedate=September 28, 2007 }}</ref>

===Construction and commissioning of Launch N<sup>o</sup> 5===
[[File:L5DedicationCruise.jpg|thumb|right|120px|Launch 5 on Dedication Day]]
During the summer of 1966 the first four of a fleet of new steel patrol launches were being built to replace the aging wooden fleet. They were being built by Turecamo Tug in the Matton Shipyard on the western bank of the Hudson River on [[Van Schaick Island]], Cohoes NY. One of them was to bear the number "N<sup>o</sup> 5". Years later, photos of her construction surfaced through a chance meeting with a retired shipbuilder who worked in the yard at the time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Built/index.php |title=Archived copy |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003203/http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Built/index.php |archivedate=September 28, 2007 }}</ref>

On November 18, 1966, Launch 5 was christened the ''Patrolman Walburger'' in a dedication ceremony attended by department brass, Henry's widow and children. After a ceremonial ride with the family, Launch N<sup>o</sup> 5 began an approximate 30-year career as a very active patrol launch in the [[Jamaica Bay]] area of New York City - saving lives, property and enforcing the law.

===Demise of Launch N<sup>o</sup> 5===
Sometime in the early nineties, as a new fleet of aluminum launches were being put into service in the New York City Police Department Harbor Unit, Launch N<sup>o</sup> 5 was sold as surplus to a private party who eventually let it sink in the [[Passaic River]]. She lay on the bottom of that river, sinking deeper and deeper into the mud, for about a year.

===Raising of Launch N<sup>o</sup> 5===
In 1998, Greg Porteus, a retired [[New York State Police|New York State Trooper]] whose father served aboard Launch 5 as a member of the NYPD Harbor Unit in the sixties and seventies, learned about Launch 5 lying on the bottom of the river and decided to embark on the project of raising and restoring the vessel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Restoration/index.php |title=Archived copy |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003216/http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Restoration/index.php |archivedate=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> The project turned into a journey of its own taking in excess of four years and many thousands of dollars to accomplish. But many friendships and loyalties were built along the way. Launch 5 had her hull below the waterline completely replaced, was repowered with brand new Caterpillar diesels. She continues to be improved with new navigation systems, generator, etc.

===Resurrection of Patrolman Walburger's spirit===
In the summer of 2002, the restoration was completed and she was rededicated to Patrolman Henry Walburger. The original dedication and name plaques were donated and affixed to the wheelhouse where they remain today. Patrolman Walburger's son Henry Jr., a retired NYPD detective, became an active crewmember and member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary along with Greg and the rest of the Launch 5 Crew.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://launch5.com/Crew/index.htm |title=Launch 5 Crew |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904053645/http://launch5.com/Crew/index.htm |archivedate=September 4, 2006 }}</ref>

==Launch N<sup>o</sup> 5 today==
Since her rededication in 2002, Launch 5 has been very busy again as a volunteer vessel - saving lives, providing security and public safety and helping to keep the Hudson River clean. But counted among her most proud achievements are the dozens of people who have been brought together through her restoration, service and her role as a floating memorial to the slain patrolman. In fact, she has come to symbolize the memories of ''all'' officers slain in the line of duty - and she carries those spirits with her on every active mission.

===Missions===
As a volunteer facility for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Launch N<sup>o</sup> 5 has participated in hundreds of "routine" safety and homeland security patrols. But she has also been called upon for more distinguished missions such as:
* Security for the Queen Mary 2 on her maiden voyage out of New York Harbor <ref>{{cite web|url=http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/QM2/index.php |title=Archived copy |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515132714/http://www.launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/QM2/index.php |archivedate=May 15, 2007 }}</ref>
* NY Harbor tour for 10 wounded Army soldiers from the Iraq war<ref>{{cite web|url=http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/USArmyVIP/index.htm |title=U.S. Army VIP Tour |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003109/http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/USArmyVIP/index.htm |archivedate=September 28, 2007 }}</ref>
* USCG Admiral transport for the Republican National Convention in 2004 and a change of command in 2006<ref>{{cite web|url=http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/Pekoske/index.htm |title=Launch 5 Transports RDML Pekoske |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003102/http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/Pekoske/index.htm |archivedate=September 28, 2007 }}</ref>
* Tour of the Hudson River to West Point with Congresswoman Sue Kelly<ref>{{cite web|url=http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/19OCT03/index.php |title=Archived copy |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070525021717/http://www.launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/19OCT03/index.php |archivedate=May 25, 2007 }}</ref>
* Homeland Security Science Mission - mapping Loran in NT Harbor <ref>{{cite web|url=http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/Loran/index.htm |title=NY Harbor Loran Measurement Mission |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418000351/http://www.launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/Loran/index.htm |archivedate=April 18, 2007 }}</ref>
* A multi agency rescue drill <ref>{{cite web|url=http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/Drill09JUL2005/index.htm |title=Multi-agency Rescue Drill - July 9, 2005 |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003359/http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/Drill09JUL2005/index.htm |archivedate=September 28, 2007 }}</ref>
* Helicopter Rescue Demonstration <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.force67.com/Missions/Helo20030503/Photo/index.php |title=Archived copy |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929214115/http://www.force67.com/Missions/Helo20030503/Photo/index.php |archivedate=September 29, 2007 }}</ref>
* As a platform for the filming of a U.S. Navy documentary during Fleet Week <ref>{{cite web|url=http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/FleetWeek2003/index.php |title=Archived copy |accessdate=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003352/http://launch5.com/PhotoGallery/Missions/FleetWeek2003/index.php |archivedate=September 28, 2007 }}</ref>
* As safety boat for the Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.exploreny400.com/Home.aspx |title=Explore New York 400- Hudson Fulton Champlain |accessdate=June 15, 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427014653/http://www.exploreny400.com/Home.aspx |archivedate=April 27, 2009 }}</ref>

===Media===
Launch 5's activities have drawn some media attention as well. Numerous newspaper articles have been written about her and her crew. Two impressive international magazine articles have been written as well. One of them was a seven-page tribute which was published in ''Passagemaker'' magazine. The other one was a centerfold photo spread in ''Professional Mariner'' magazine. She has appeared in numerous TV News spots and was featured in the opening scene of and episode of the ''Law & Order'' TV series. In January 2006, Launch 5 and her crew were filmed for a pivotal scene in [[Steven Soderbergh|Steven Soderbergh's]] movie ''Guerilla'' - a film about [[Che Guevara]] - which was released in 2008.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official|http://launch5.com}}

{{New York City Police Department}}

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[[Category:New York City Police Department]]
[[Category:United States Coast Guard]]