La Argentina (ship, 1937)
La Argentina in 1939 with a walrus flying boat
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The light cruiser La Argentina was the cadet training ship of the Argentine Navy from 1939 to 1972. During this time it is regularly referred to with the prefix ARA . The ship, which was ordered from Vickers-Armstrongs in Great Britain , was built from 1936 to 1939 and was a special development by the shipyard that contained elements of the British cruisers of the Arethusa and Town classes . Decommissioned in 1973, the cruiser La Argentina was subsequently canceled.
Building history
In 1934 the construction of a light cruiser was approved, which should also take over the tasks of a cadet training ship from the frigate Presidente Sarmiento . The British firm Vickers-Armstrongs won the tender. The draft of La Argentina submitted by the British company was based on the British cruisers that were built around the same time. The ship, priced at £ 1174,630, was an enlarged version of the British Arethusa class with tripple turrets and the ability to take on board and train 60 cadets. The school facility was small compared to other school cruisers built at the same time.
The cruiser's main weapons also diverged from the weapons of the Argentine fleet. The semi-automatic 6-inch / L50 (15.2 cm) rapid-fire guns of the Mark W type built into the triple turrets of La Argentina were custom-made by Vickers-Armstrongs, as were the four 4-inch / L50 (10.2 cm) Mark P anti-aircraft guns . The cruiser's two main weapons were variations of the standard British weapons manufacturer.
On January 11, 1936, the keel of the cruiser was stretched, which was launched on March 16, 1937 as La Argentina in Barrow-in-Furness , England. The final equipment dragged on until January 31, 1939. The slow final equipment of the cruiser was a result of the British rearmament program that was starting at the same time.
Mission history
The cruiser La Argentina left the UK in February 1939 and arrived in Buenos Aires on March 2, 1939, and entered service on April 12, 1939. Three days later, the cruiser left for its first training voyage , which led via New York to Europe to Hamburg and back via Cádiz to Puerto Belgrano (arrival August 14th at 18,733 meters), the port of operation for the Argentine fleet. During the Second World War, the cruiser made a second training voyage from March 30, 1940, which led to Japan via Bahia, the Panama Canal and Honolulu . On the return journey via Manila and Hawaii, the cruiser ran down from Callao on the South American west coast and then through the Strait of Magellan to its home port (arrival October 26, 1940 at 33439 m). Thereafter, La Argentina was taken over in Argentina's active squadron to protect neutrality. Only after the Second World War did further training trips follow from 1946 to 1951.
In 1946 the La Argentina made her first training voyage in peace along the American coast to Montreal and back. The next year's voyage led first to the Pacific side of South America and then through the Panama Canal via New York to Europe, where u. a. London and Malta were visited. The voyage in 1948 first went back to the Pacific and then Shanghai , which is still nationally Chinese . The journey continued via the British bases Singapore , Colombo and Aden into the Mediterranean, where u. a. Barcelona was visited. For the first time a trip by the cruiser led to a circumnavigation of the world. The following journey began again with the change to the Pacific side of South America, through the Panama Canal then to New Orleans and on to Europe, where u. a. London and Naples were visited. The following school trip in 1950 led directly to Europe and Copenhagen was visited; the return journey then led via New York.
Since the end of the war, small modifications have been made to the cruiser on a regular basis, as the neutral Argentina was supplied again. The ship received its first radar device as early as 1946. The modernization that followed should turn the cruiser into a modern combat ship. In addition to new fire control systems, all anti-aircraft weapons were also replaced. 40-mm Bofors guns were newly installed, with twin guns replacing the previous 4-inch guns. There were also six 4 cm individual guns. The aircraft on board were dismissed. From 1951 to 1960 the cruiser remained in fleet service and only made a major international voyage in the autumn of 1960 to take part in a large fleet parade in honor of the 500th anniversary of the death of Heinrich the Navigator off Sagres , in which 29 ships from 14 nations participated, including the German school frigate Hipper and the Destroyer 6 . In addition to the La Argentina , the Brazilian cruiser Almirante Barroso was also involved from South America .
From 1961 the La Argentina was used again for training purposes. The ship's long training voyage was his second circumnavigation of the world after 1948. La Argentina called Cape Town , Colombo, Manila, Sydney , Wellington , Papeete , Talcahuano and Punta Arenas , among others , before returning to Buenos Aires on December 3rd after 139 days. The cruiser's ninth major training voyage the following year suffered from fiscal constraints. A planned visit to Alaska and Japan did not take place, but the La Argentina ran on the west coast to Vancouver and from there via Hawaii back to the Mexican coast. Then through the Panama Canal we went to the Caribbean, where we visited Puerto Rico . The cadet training was transferred to the new sailing training ship Libertad in 1962 . The cruiser continued to make training trips with various courses along the Argentine coast
In 1971 , 32 years after its commissioning, La Argentina made a 10th major training trip with the 100th Argentine cadet course. The cruiser left Buenos Aires on August 2nd and visited Montevideo, Dakar, Casablanca, Naples, Barcelona, Le Havre and London. On the way back, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, La Guaira and Bahia were called before the ship returned to the Argentine capital on November 28th.
In 1973 the cruiser made a friendship visit to Valparaíso , Chile, where it was viewed by the Chilean President, Salvador Allende . After that, La Argentina was decommissioned, dismantled and scrapped.
Reusing the name
In 1983, the destroyer La Argentina (ID: D-11) of the Almirante Brown class of the MEKO 360H2 type built by Blohm + Voss was again a ship of the same name in the service of the Argentine Navy.
literature
- MJ Whitley: Cruisers of World War Two ,
Arms and Armor Press (1995), ISBN 1-86019-874-0 - Ricardo Burzaco: Acorazados y Cruceros De La Armada Argentina ,
Eugenio B, Buenos Aires (1997), ISBN 987-96764-0-8 (span.)