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Espora-class corvette ARA Rosales (P-42) | |
History | |
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Argentina | |
Name | Rosales |
Namesake | Leonardo Rosales |
Owner | Argentine Navy |
Builder | Río Santiago Shipyard |
Laid down | 1 April 1981 |
Acquired | 14 November 1986 |
Commissioned | 24 March 1987 |
Homeport | Puerto Belgrano |
Status | Active; refitted and returned to service in 2022 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | MEKO 140A16 Espora-class corvette |
Displacement | 1,560 tons (1,790 tons full load) [1] |
Length | 91.2 m (299 ft 3 in) [1] |
Beam | 11.0 m (36 ft 1 in) [1] |
Draught | 3.33 m (10 ft 11 in) [1] (hull) |
Installed power | 22,600 bhp (16.9 MW) [1] |
Propulsion | 2 × SEMT Pielstick 16 PC 2-5 V400 diesels, 2 × 5-blade props [1] |
Speed | 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) [1] |
Range | 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) [1] |
Complement | 11 officers, 46 petty officers, 36 enlisted [1] |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Electronic warfare & decoys |
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Armament |
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Aviation facilities | Helideck for Eurocopter Fennec |
ARA Rosales (P-42) is the second ship of the MEKO 140A16 Esporaclass of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the fourth ship to bear the name of Colonel (Navy) Leonardo Rosales, who fought in the Argentine Navy during Argentina's war of independence and the Cisplatine War.
The Argentine Navy struggles to meet maintenance and training requirements because of financial problems and import restrictions. The availability of spare parts was a problem as of 2012 [2] and by 2019 she was reported in reserve and to be scrapped. [3] However, in 2021 she underwent repair work at the Tandanor shipyard and returned to service in 2022. [4] [5] [6]
Rosales and her sister ships were part of the 1974 Naval Constructions National Plan, an initiative by the Argentine Navy to replace old World War II-vintage ships with more advanced warships. The original plan called for six MEKO 360H2 destroyers, four of them to be built in Argentina, but the plan was later modified to include four MEKO destroyers and six corvettes for anti-surface warfare and patrol operations.
Rosales was constructed at the Río Santiago Shipyard of the Astilleros y Fábricas Navales del Estado (State Shipyards and Naval Factories) state corporation. Her keel was laid on 1 April 1981 and was launched on 4 March 1983. The ship was officially delivered to the Navy on 14 November 1986 and formally commissioned on 24 March 1987. First captain was Capitan de Navio Manuel Augusto Iricibar. [7]
In February 1991, as part of Task Group 88.1 Rosales along with ARA Bahía San Blas participated as part of the Coalition of the Gulf War in the United Nations-mandated blockade of Iraq following its invasion of Kuwait. She participated in patrol and escort missions as part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, returning to Argentina on July 1991 [8]
Rosales participated in several naval exercises and conducted fishery patrol duties in the Argentine exclusive economic zone, capturing two illegal fishing ships in 1992.
She is homeported at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base and is part of the 2nd Corvette Division with her five sister ships. In 2019, it was announced by the Argentine Navy that the vessel would be scrapped. [3] However, one year later training activities were still being conducted on her. [9] In 2021 it was reported that she was being repaired for a return to service. [4] [5] The maintenance work was completed at the Tandanor Shipyard and she was returned to service. [10]
In 2022, she participated in an exercise off the coast of Mar del Plata with the destroyer Sarandí, her sister ships Robinson and Espora and the transport ship Canal Beagle. [11]
The Argentine Navy is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force.
ARA Sarandí is the fourth and last ship of the MEKO 360H2 series of destroyers built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is also the fourth ship in the Argentine Navy to bear that name. Sarandí is the name of a victory of the Argentine army during the Cisplatine War.
ARA Espora (P-41) is the lead ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. Commissioned in 1985, she is used for fishery patrol. She is homeported at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base and is part of the Navy's 2nd Corvette Division with her five sister ships. The ship is the sixth ship to bear the name of Colonel (Navy) Tomás Espora, who fought in the Argentine Navy during the Cisplatine War. Generator failure left her stranded in South Africa for 73 days in late 2012.
ARA Spiro (P-43) is the third ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the second ship to bear the name of the Greek-born Captain Samuel Spiro, who fought during the Argentine War of Independence and blew himself up with his ship rather than surrender to the Spanish forces following the battle of Arroyo de la China, in 1814.
ARA Parker (P-44) is the fourth ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the second ship to bear the name of Captain Enrique Guillermo Parker, who fought in the Argentine Navy as its second-in-command during the Cisplatine War.
ARA Robinson (P-45) is the fifth ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the second ship to bear the name of British Captain Carlos Robinson, who fought in the Argentine Navy during the Cisplatine War and died commanding a squadron of gunboats during the Battle of La Colonia.
ARA Gómez Roca (P-46) is the sixth and last ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built in Germany for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the first ship to bear the name of Lieutenant Commander Sergio Gómez Roca, who commanded the Argentine patrol ship ARA Alferez Sobral during the Falklands War and died in action when the ship was attacked by Royal Navy helicopters. Originally the ship was to have been named Seaver after Captain Benjamin Seaver, a US-born naval hero of the Argentine War of Independence.
The MEKO 140 is a frigate/corvette design by the German Blohm + Voss shipyard as part of the MEKO family of vessels. The MEKO 140 is a development of the Portuguese Navy's João Coutinho-class corvettes designed by the Portuguese naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira in the late 1960s – three ships of which were built Blohm + Voss in 1970, as an outsourcing.
The Espora-class corvettes are six warships of the Argentine Navy built in Argentina to the German MEKO 140A16 design, this in turn being based on the Portuguese João Coutinho-class project. The first entered service in 1985 but accidents and lack of funds meant the last was not completed until 2004. The ships currently form the 2nd Corvette Division of the Argentine Navy and their home port is the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base. Although considered by its designers to be frigates, the Espora-class vessels have been classed in Argentina as corvettes.
The Drummond class are three corvettes designed and built in France based on the A69 D'Estienne d'Orves-class avisos. The ships were commissioned in the Argentine Navy between 1978 and 1982.
ARA Ciudad de Rosario (Q-62) is a multi-purpose auxiliary ship of the Argentine Navy based at Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires. It was formerly USCGC Red Wood (WLM-685).
The Rio Santiago Shipyard is a shipyard located in the city of Ensenada, Buenos Aires Province at the shores of the Santiago River. Currently owned by the Government of Buenos Aires Province, it has been one of the major active and important shipyards in Latin America. Founded in 1953, it has realized diverse functions in the naval, industrial and railroad sectors. In its golden age the shipyard reached 8,000 workers on double shift. In 2008 relies on 2,700 workers.
The Intrépida class is a class of fast attack craft that was built by Lürssen for the Argentine Navy in the early 1970s. The ships are based on Lürssen's TNC 45 design.
ARA Granville (P-33) is a Drummond-class corvette of the Argentine Navy named after Guillermo Enrique Granville, who fought in the Battle of Juncal against Brazil.
ARA Canal Beagle (B-3) is a cargo ship in service with the Argentine Navy since 1978, capable of transporting bulk cargo, live cattle, and containers. She is the second ship in the Argentine Navy to bear the name of the Beagle Channel in the south of Tierra del Fuego.
ARA Ingeniero Julio Krause (B-13) was an oil tanker ship in service with the Argentine Navy from 1993 to 2015, and with YPF from to 1981 to 1993. She was the first ship in the Argentine Navy to bear the name of Argentine engineer Julio Krause, who discovered oil in Comodoro Rivadavia in 1907.
The Sea Fleet Command is one of the commands in the Argentine Navy, headquartered at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base (BNPB).
ARA Intrépida (P-85) is the lead ship of the Intrépida-class fast attack craft of the Argentine Navy. It is the lead ship of its class and has a twin sister ship ARA Indómita (P-86). It is the second ship of the Argentina Navy to bear the name Intrépida.