Bouchard-class minesweeper
 ARA Bouchard (M-7), circa late 1930s | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Bouchard class minesweeper |
| Builders: | AFNE Rio Santiago & other shipyards, Argentina |
| Operators: |
 Argentine Navy;  Paraguayan Navy |
| In commission: | 1930s – 1960s |
| Completed: | 9 |
| Active: | 0 (Argentina), 3 (Paraguay) |
| Retired: | 9 (Argentina); 0 (Paraguay) |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Bouchard class minesweeper |
| Displacement: | 450 (standard) to 520 (full load) tons |
| Length: | 59.35 m (194.7 ft) |
| Beam: | 7.3 m (24.0 ft) |
| Draft: | 2.6 m (8.5 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft, 2 × MAN Diesel engines, 2,000 ihp (1,500 kW), 50 tons fuel |
| Speed: | 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h) |
| Range: | 3000 nautical miles |
| Complement: | 62 |
| Armament: |
|
| Notes: | Specifications and information from “Histarmar”. |
The Bouchard-class minesweepers were a class of World War II warships, designed and built in Argentina as minesweepers, in service with the Argentine Navy from 1937 to the late 1960s. Three were transferred to the Paraguayan Navy and remained in service as of late 1990s. The class is named after Hippolyte Bouchard, an Argentine privateer who fought in the Independence War against Spain.
Design
The Bouchard class minesweepers were the first relatively large warships built in Argentina. They were intended to complement and eventually replace the Bathurst class ships purchased from Germany after World War I. They were designed in the early 1930s and laid down in 1935-1937.[1]
The Bouchard class was based on the Bathurst class design, with diesel instead of steam engines and larger calibre (102mm Bethlehem-Vickers) main armament.[n 1] However these ships had poor stability, which eventually led to the loss of the Fournier in 1949.[1]
The following warship class designed and constructed in Argentina was part of a program to build another four larger mine warfare ships during the Second World War, combining the roles of minelayer and minesweeper; however two of them (Murature and King) were completed as patrol ships and the others (Piedrabuena and Azopardo) as antisubmarine frigates.[1]
Service history
The Bouchard class was designed in the early 1930s and the ships were laid down in 1935-1937 in three shipyards: Río Santiago, Hansen & Puccini, Sánchez & Cía. They were commissioned by the Argentine Navy in the late 1930s and remained in service until the late 1960s.[1]
The ships in the class were used in exercises with the high seas fleet, and very frequently assigned to the Patagonian seas where sea conditions are very rough. The stability problem of this design was worsened in those seas, which eventually led to the loss of the Fournier with all hands during a storm, in September 1949.[1]
Three ships were transferred to the Paraguayan Navy after being decommissioned by Argentina, and remained in service as of the late 1990s..
Ships in class
| Ship Name | Pennant Number | Other names | Service entry | Decommissioning |
| ARA Bouchard | M-7 | Nanawa (Paraguayan Navy) | 1937 | 1964[n 2] |
| ARA Drummond | M-2 | none | 1937 | 1964 |
| ARA Granville | M-4 | none | 1937 | 1967 |
| ARA Parker | M-11 | none | 1937 | 1963 |
| ARA Spiro | M-13 | none | 1938 | 1962[n 3] |
| ARA Robinson | M-3 | none | 1939 | 1967 |
| ARA Seaver | M-12 | Capitán Meza (Paraguayan Navy) | 1939 | 1968[n 4] |
| ARA Py | M-10 | Teniente Fariña (Paraguayan Navy) | 1939 | 1968[n 5] |
| ARA Fournier | M-5 | none | 1940 | 1949[n 6] |
Footnotes
- ↑ This was the same gun as installed in the German-built destroyers of "La Plata" and "Catamarca" classes.
- ↑ Sold to Paraguay, renamed Nanawa.
- ↑ Transferred to the Argentine Coast Guard.
- ↑ Sold to Paraguay, renamed Capitán Meza.
- ↑ Sold to Paraguay, renamed Teniente Fariña.
- ↑ Sunk in the surroundings of Cono Point (Tierra del Fuego) with all hands.
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Arguindeguy, Pablo (1972). Apuntes sobre los buques de la Armada Argentina (1810-1970) (in Spanish). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Comando en Jefe de la Armada.
See also
Further reading
- Burzio, Humberto (1960). Armada Nacional (in Spanish). Secretaria de Estado de Marina.
- Piccirilli, Ricardo; Gianello, Leoncio (1963). Biografías navales (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Secretaría de Estado de Marina..
External links
- Minesweeper ARA “Bouchard” - Histarmar website (Historia y Arqueología Marítima – Patrullero ARA “Bouchard” M-7) (accessed 2016-12-03)
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