The Drummond class were 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 Granville (P-33) in 2005
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Drummond class |
| Builders | Arsenal de Lorient |
| Operators |  Argentine Navy |
| In service | 1978 |
| Completed | 3 |
| Retired | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Corvette |
| Displacement | 1,170 tons (1,320 tons full load)[1] |
| Length | 80 m (260 ft)[1] |
| Beam | 10.3 m (34 ft)[1] |
| Draught | 3.55 m (11.6 ft)[1] |
| Installed power | 12,000 shp (8.9 MW)[1] |
| Propulsion | 2 × SEMT Pielstick 12 PC 2.2 V400 diesels, 2 × controllable pitch propellers[1] |
| Speed | 23.3 knots (43 km/h)[1] |
| Range | 4,500 nautical miles (8,330 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)[1] |
| Endurance | 15 days[1] |
| Complement | 5 officers, 79 enlisted, 95 berths[1] |
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys | |
| Armament |
|
| Aviation facilities | small pad for VERTREP |
The ships, when operational, served in the "Atlantic Area of Operations" of the Argentine Navy, based on Mar del Plata Naval Base, province of Buenos Aires. Their mission was to patrol Argentina's exclusive economic zone and to enforce fishing regulations,[2][3] but according to reports in November 2012 they "hardly sail[ed] because of lack of resources for operational expenses".[4] As of 2020 only Granville, which had been refitted in mid-2019, was reported operational, with the other ships of the class in reserve.[5] In 2024, Granville was retired while the other two vessels of the class were put up for auction.[6]
Design
editAlthough its designers considered the A69 D'Estienne d'Orves class to be avisos, Argentina classified the ships as corvettes.
The Drummond-class ships were equipped mostly with German and Dutch electronic systems (instead of French)[7] for better compatibility with the two MEKO classes in Argentine service, and integrated with the indigenous "Miniaco" combat system.[8]
History
editThe first two ships of the class were built in 1977 in France for the South African Navy. The sale was embargoed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 418 during sea trials and the ships bought by Argentina instead on 25 September 1978.[1] A third ship was ordered and entered service as ARA Granville on 22 June 1981,[1] in time for the Falklands War the following year. There are minor differences in equipment fit compared to her sisters, for instance Granville has French Dagaie decoys rather than the British Corvus chaff launchers.[1]
On 28 March 1982 Granville and Drummond sailed from Argentina and took up station northeast of Port Stanley to cover the main amphibious landings on 2 April.[9] Meanwhile, ARA Guerrico (P-32) covered the assault on South Georgia, sustaining significant damage from the Royal Marines in the process. After repairs she joined her sister ships north of the Falklands as Task Group 79.4, hoping to catch ships detached from the British task force.[10] On 29 April the corvettes were trailed by the submarine HMS Splendid whilst she was looking for the Argentine aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo.[11]
The Drummond class carried pennant numbers P-1 to P-3 until the introduction of the Espora-class corvettes in 1985 when they became P-31 to P-33. In 1994, they participated in Operation Uphold Democracy, the United Nations blockade of Haiti. During this time, they were based at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico.[12]
ARA Granville was reported as active in the South Atlantic following a maintenance period which concluded in 2019.[13] [14] However, in the same year it was also reported that all three Drummond-class vessels could be decommissioned and that consideration was being given to the potential transfer of the ships to the Uruguayan Navy.[15] In 2024 it was reported that both Drummond and Guerrico would be auctioned off[16] while Granville was formally retired at the end of August 2024.[17]
Specification
edit- Displacement: 1,170 tons (empty); 1,320 tons (full load)
- Length: 80 m (260 ft)[1]
- Beam: 10.3 m (34 ft)[1]
- Draught: 3.55 m (11.6 ft)[1]
- Propulsion:
- 2 shafts / propellers
- 2 SEMT Pielstick 12 PC2.2 V 400 diesel engines, 12.000 shp (8.948 kW) tot.
- Max shaft horsepower: n/a shp max
- Speed: 23.3 knots (43 km/h)
- Range: 4,500 nautical miles at 16 knots (30 km/h)
- Armament
- 4 × Aérospatiale MM 38 Exocet SSM (In 2020, work was underway to maintain the missile's operational relevance)[18]
- 1 × 4in/55 (100 mm) Creusot-Loire CADAM turret DP automatic fast-firing gun
- 1 × twin 40 mm 70-cal. OTO Melara (Breda Bofors) AA guns
- 2 × 20 mm L/ 90 Oerlikon automatic guns
- 2 × 12.7 mm machine guns
- 2 × triple 324 mm ILAS-3 ASW torpedo tubes (Whitehead AS-244 torpedoes, quantity n/a)
- Aircraft: None
- Complement: 95
- Radar:
- Sonar: Thomson Sintra Diodon
- Electronic Warfare:
- Decoys: (no details available)
- Datalink: (no details available)
- Weapons Control System: Thomson-CSF System Vega, CSEE Panda MK2 director (optical), NASA director (optronic, for the 40 mm gun).
- Concept/Program: French designed and built general purpose avisos (classified as "corvettes" by the Argentine navy).
- Builder: n/a shipyard, Lorient, France.
- Designer: n/a, France.
Ships in the class
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Wertheim, Eric (2007). The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems (15 ed.). Naval Institute Press. p. 9. ISBN 9781591149552.
- ^ Gallo, Daniel (2 January 2021). "Pesca ilegal. Vigilan los movimientos de una flota extranjera de 250 barcos" [Illegal fishing. Watching the movements of a foreign fleet of 250 ships]. La Nación (Argentina) (in Spanish).
- ^ "La depredación del Mar Argentino" [Pillage of the Argentine seas]. La Nación (Argentina) (in Spanish). 10 March 2006.
- ^ "Argentine navy short on spares and resources for training and maintenance". MercoPress. 22 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-28.
- ^ Bettolli, Carlos Borda (3 August 2020). "Informe a diputados – Medios insuficientes para las Patrullas de Control de Mar". Zona Militar (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ Germán Videla Solá, Mariano (2024-09-01). "La Armada Argentina retiró del servicio a la ARA Granville, la última de sus corbetas A-69". Zona Militar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ "Official Argentine Navy site". Archived from the original on 2019-03-24. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- ^ "OPV-90 L'Adroit de la clase Gowind, como están posicionados los buques que incorporaría la Armada Argentina a nivel regional". Intereses Estratégicos Argentinos (in European Spanish). 2018-04-16. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
- ^ Freedman, Lawrence (2005). The Official History of the Falklands Campaign: The 1982 Falklands War and Its Aftermath. Vol. 2. Routledge. p. 7. ISBN 9780714652078.
- ^ Freedman (2005), p. 272
- ^ Freedman (2005), p. 279
- ^ "con el propósito de asegurar el cumplimiento del embargo comercial, dispuesto por el Consejo de Seguridad, por medio de las corbetas ARA Grandville, ARA Guerrico y ARA Drummond". .tau.ac.il. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ "La ARA Granville parte hacia el Atlántico Sur tras el mantenimiento realizado por SPI". infodefensa.com. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ "Tripulantes del ARA Granville rindieron honores a los héroes del ARA San Juan". ushuaia24.com.ar (in Spanish). 11 September 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ Bonilla, Javier (30 May 2019). "Contactos preliminares entre les Armadas de Uruguay y Argentina por las veteranas corbetas Drummond". defensa.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 August 2020.
- ^ Solá, Mariano Germán Videla (2024-09-04). "La Armada Argentina subasta cuatro buques en desuso, incluidos el aviso 'Alférez Sobral' y la corbeta 'Guerrico', veteranos de Malvinas". Zona Militar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-09-05.
- ^ Germán Videla Solá, Mariano (2024-09-01). "La Armada Argentina retiró del servicio a la ARA Granville, la última de sus corbetas A-69". Zona Militar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ Díaz, José Javier (13 October 2020). "Proyectos de Investigación y Desarrollo en la Armada Argentina". Zona Militar (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
Further reading
edit- Amendolara Bourdette, Ignacio (2005). Guia de los buques de la Armada Argentina 2005-2006 (in Spanish and English). Buenos Aires, Argentina. ISBN 987-43-9400-5. Archived from the original on 2014-09-13. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
External links
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