Design and description
The Bouchard-class minesweepers were the first large warships built in Argentina. They were intended to complement and eventually replace the Argentine Bathurst-class ships purchased from Germany after World War I. [1]
The Bouchard class was based on the Bathurst-class design, with diesel engines instead of steam engines and larger calibre main armament. However, these ships had poor stability, which eventually led to the loss of Fournier in 1949. [1]
The minesweepers were 59.00 m (193 ft 7 in) long overall and 49.99 m (164 ft 0 in) between perpendiculars with a beam of 7.30 m (23 ft 11 in) and a draught of 2.27 m (7 ft 5 in). The Bouchard class had a standard displacement of 450 long tons (457 t) and 520 long tons (528 t) at full load. They were powered by 2-cycle MAN diesel engines turning two shafts rated at 2,000 brake horsepower (1,500 kW). They had a capacity for 50 long tons (51 t) of fuel oil, a maximum speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), and had a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). [2] [3] [n 1]
The ships were armed with two single-mounted 99 mm (3.9 in)/47 calibre guns. [n 2] For anti-aircraft defence, the minesweepers were equipped with one twin 40 mm (1.6 in) mount. They also carried two 7.65 mm (0.301 in) machine guns and were initially equipped with two depth charges. [2] [4] The Bouchard class had a complement of 62. [3]
HMS Mariner was a reciprocating engine-powered Algerine-class minesweeper during the Second World War. Laid down as HMCS Kincardine for the Royal Canadian Navy she was transferred on completion to the Royal Navy as HMS Mariner. She survived the war and was sold to Myanmar in 1958 as Yang Myo Aung.
HSwMS Sjölejonet was the lead ship of a class of nine naval submarines in the service of the Swedish Navy from just before World War II into the early Cold War. The submarines were ordered in response to the rising German threat to the south in the interwar period. Sjölejonet remained in service until 1959 and was sold for scrap in 1962.
HMS Bodenham was one of 93 ships of the Ham-class of inshore minesweepers. Completed in 1953 for use in the British Royal Navy, she served as a tender to HMS Vernon between 1954 and 1955 before being placed in reserve. In 1967 she was transferred to the newly-independent country of South Yemen renamed Al Saqr. She was renamed Jihla in 1975 and discarded in 1984.
The British Royal Navy operated large numbers of small Motor Minesweepers (MMS) during the Second World War, in two major classes: the first with 105 ft (32 m) hulls and the second with 126 ft (38 m) hulls. Intended to counter magnetic influence mines in coastal waters, they had wooden hulls.
The Hurja-class motor torpedo boats or H class was an Italian-designed class of Finnish motor torpedo boats, seeing service with the Finnish Navy during World War II. The five boats of the H class were built by Cantieri Baglietto in Genoa, Italy. The ships were converted into patrol boats in 1949, in accordance with the Paris peace treaty and their torpedo armament, forbidden by the treaty, was removed. The H class were stricken from the naval vessel register in 1963.
The Jymy-class motor torpedo boats or J class was an Italian-designed and built class of motor torpedo boats, seeing service during World War II with the Royal Italian Navy and later with the Finnish Navy. The four boats of the J class were built by Cantieri Baglietto in Genoa, Italy and purchased by the Finns on 5 June 1943. Following World War II, the vessels were rearmed according to the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947, losing their torpedo capabilities and given more guns. They were removed from service in 1961.
The Taisto-class motor torpedo boats or T class was a series of motor torpedo boats, which saw service with the Finnish Navy during World War II. Following the war, the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947 prohibited the Finnish Navy from employing torpedo-carrying vessels of any kind and the Taisto class were converted into motor gunboats. By 1964, all vessels of the class had been removed from service.
The Ahven-class minesweepers were a series of six minesweepers of the Finnish Navy. The ships were constructed in 1936–1937 at the Turun Veneveistämö Shipyard in Finland and saw service during World War II. The Ahven class was stricken in 1961.
HMCyS Vijaya, named in honor of Vijaya, the first king of Sri Lanka, was an Algerine-class minesweeper of the Royal Ceylon Navy, the first warship of that navy. Vijaya had been built as HMS Flying Fish (J370) for the Royal Navy during World War II, but was given to Ceylon by the United Kingdom upon the 1951 formation of Ceylon's navy.
The Mendoza class were a series of three destroyers built in the United Kingdom for the Argentine Navy in the 1920s. They were the first part of the Argentine re-armament programme of the 1920s. Construction began in 1927 and all three were commissioned in 1929. All three destroyers were converted to anti-aircraft escorts in 1958 and remained in service until 1962 when they were discarded.
NRP Gonçalo Velho was a second class Gonçalo Velho-class sloop of the Portuguese Navy. She was designed to operate in the overseas territories of Portugal. The ship entered service in 1933 and was among the core of the fleet until the late 1940s. Following World War II, new ships were acquired and Gonçalo Velho was broken up for scrap in 1961.
The Antioquia class of destroyers consisted of two ships, ARC Antioquia and ARC Caldas, used by the navy of Colombia, the Armada Nacional República de Colombia, between 1934 and 1961. Initially constructed at the Lisbon Naval Arsenal as part of the Portuguese Navy's Douro class, they were acquired by Colombia before completion in response to the Peruvian purchase of two destroyers during the war with Peru. They arrived too late to see service in the conflict and saw little action during their service lives. They underwent a major refit in the mid-1950s which saw their armament completely redone. Following their removal from service in 1961, they were broken up for scrap.
HMCyS Parakrama, was a turbine-powered Algerine-class minesweeper of the Royal Ceylon Navy, originally built as HMS Pickle (J293) for the Royal Navy during World War II, and transferred to Ceylon by the United Kingdom in 1958. She was scrapped in 1964.
HMCS Goderich was a Bangor-class minesweeper constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1941, Goderich spent the entire war as a local convoy escort based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The vessel was decommissioned in 1945 and placed in reserve. Reacquired during the Korean War, the vessel was modernized but never re-entered service and was sold for scrap and broken up in 1959.
HMCS Westmount was a Bangor-class minesweeper that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Entering service in 1942, the minesweeper spent the entire war on the Atlantic Canada coast. Following the war, the ship was laid up in reserve until reacquired in 1952 during the Korean War. Never re-entering service with the Royal Canadian Navy, the vessel was sold to the Turkish Navy in 1958. Renamed Bornova, the minesweeper was discarded in 1972.
The Bouchard-class minesweepers were a class of nine minesweepers, designed and built in Argentina, in service with the Argentine Navy from 1937 to the late 1960s. One of the class was lost after running aground in the Straits of Magellan and the remaining eight were discarded. Three were transferred to the Paraguayan Navy and remained in service as of late 1990s. In Paraguayan service, they were used for river patrol work. One of the class was docked in Asunción in 2009 with the intention of converting the vessel to a museum ship
The Audaz class was a class of nine destroyers built for the Spanish Navy after the Second World War. Construction was slow, with only four completed to the original design from 1953–1956. The remaining five ships completed as anti-submarine escorts with a new armament and sensor fit from 1960 to 1965, while the original four ships were also modified to this standard. Built at Ferrol, they completed in 1946–1950 and were rated as gunboats, and were redesignated as frigates in 1959. The last of the class, Intrepido, was stricken in 1982.
The Pizzaro class was a class of eight escort vessels built for the Spanish Navy in the 1940s. Built at Ferrol, they were completed in 1946–1950 rated as gunboats, and were redesignated as frigates in 1959. They started to be withdrawn from use in 1968, with the last of the class, Vincente Yañez Pinzon, stricken in 1982.
Audaz was a Spanish destroyer of the class of the same name that was built after the Second World War. Audaz was launched in 1951 and completed in 1953. The ship was modified to an anti-submarine escort in the 1960s, and was stricken in 1974.
Ariete was a Spanish Audaz-class destroyer. Ariete was launched in 1955 and completed in 1961. The ship was lost when she ran aground on 25 February 1966.
Argentina
