Azopardo-class frigate
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![]() ARA Azopardo, date unknown
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Class overview | |
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Name | Azopardo class frigate |
Builders | AFNE Rio Santiago, Argentina |
Operators | ![]() |
Built | 1950-1958 |
In service | 1956-1972 |
In commission | 1956–1972 |
Planned | 2 |
Completed | 2 |
Retired | 2 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Azopardo class frigate |
Displacement | 1220 (standard) to 1400 (full load) tons |
Length | 92.72 m (304.2 ft) |
Beam | 9.6 m (31.5 ft) |
Draft | 4 m (13 ft) |
Propulsion | 2-shaft, 2 × Parsons Steam turbines, 2 x Water-tube boilers, 5,000 ihp (3,700 kW), 340 tons oil |
Speed | 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) |
Range | 2300 nautical miles @ ?kn |
Complement | 170 |
Armament |
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Armour | none |
Notes | Specifications from “Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995” and “Histarmar” website. |
The Azopardo-class frigates were a class of two post-World War II warships, designed and built in Argentina in 1940-1959, originally as part of a class of four large minelayers (see Murature-class ships). They were in service with the Argentine Navy from the mid-1950s to 1972. The class was named after Juan Bautista Azopardo, an Argentine naval officer in the Independence and Cisplatine wars.[citation needed]
Design
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Piedra_Buena_%28P-36%29.jpg/220px-Piedra_Buena_%28P-36%29.jpg)
The class was as part of a program to build four mine warfare ships during the Second World War, of which two (Murature and King) were completed as patrol ships in the 1940s and the others (Piedrabuena and Azopardo) as antisubmarine frigates in the 1950s.[1]
The Azopardo class frigates had a metal hull with a single mast and funnel. They were powered by two Parsons steam turbines fed by two water-tube boilers, driving two propellers.[2][1]
The main battery was composed of four 105-millimetre (4 in) Bofors DP guns, with a secondary battery of four 40-millimetre (2 in) Bofors Anti-Aircraft guns in single mountings. It also carried four anti-submarine mortars.[2][1]
Service history
[edit]The Azopardo class was designed in the early 1940s; however due to shortages during World War II the ships were laid down in the early 1950s and completed in 1956-58. They were commissioned by the Argentine Navy in 1956-59 and remained in service until the early 1970s.[2][1]
Azopardo and Piedra Buena were incorporated in the High Seas Fleet ((in Spanish) Flota de Mar), and frequently used to patrol the Argentine Sea and in training exercises, including the multinational “UNITAS”.[2][1]
Both ships were sold for scrap after being decommissioned in 1972,[2][1] and were broken up in the 1970s.[citation needed].
Ships in class
[edit]Ship Name | Pennant Number | Other names | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Service entry | Decommissioning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ARA Azopardo | P-35 | none | AFNE Rio Santiago | 1940 | 1953 | 1956 | 1972[n 1] |
ARA Piedra Buena | P-36 | none | AFNE Rio Santiago | 1954 | 1958 | 1972[n 2] |
See also
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Fragata "Piedra Buena" (36)" [Frigate “Piedra Buena”]. Histarmar - Historia y Arqueología Marítima (in Spanish). Argentina: Fundación Histarmar. Retrieved 2016-12-25.
- ^ a b c d e "Fragata "Azopardo" P-35" [Frigate “Azopardo”]. Histarmar - Historia y Arqueología Marítima (in Spanish). Argentina: Fundación Histarmar. Retrieved 2016-12-25.
Bibliography
[edit]- Gardiner, Robert (1996). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. p. 675. ISBN 978-155-75013-25.
- Arguindeguy, Pablo (1972). Apuntes sobre los buques de la Armada Argentina (1810-1970) (in Spanish). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Comando en Jefe de la Armada.
Further reading
[edit]- Burzio, Humberto (1960). Armada Nacional (in Spanish). Secretaria de Estado de Marina.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)