Drummond-class corvette

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 Granville (P-33) in 2005
Class overview
Name: Drummond class
Builders: Arsenal de Lorient
Operators:  Argentine Navy
In service: 1978
Completed: 3
Active: 1
Laid up: 2 in reserve
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 × CP 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:
  • Thales DRBV 51A air/surface search
  • Thales DRBC-32E fire control
  • Consilium Selesmar NavBat
  • Thales Diodon hull MF sonar[1]
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
  • Thales DR 2000 S3
  • Thales Alligator 51 jammer
  • 2 × 18 Corvus decoys (P31/2)
  • 2 × Matra Dagaie decoys (P33)[1]
Armament:
Aviation facilities: small pad for VERTREP

The ships currently serve in the "Atlantic Area of Operations" of the Argentine Navy, based on Mar del Plata Naval Base, province of Buenos Aires. Their mission is to patrol Argentina's exclusive economic zone and to enforce fishing regulations, but according to reports in November 2012 they “hardly sail because of lack of resources for operational expenses”.[2] As of 2020, only Granville was reported operational (having undergone a refit in mid-2019) with the other ships of the class in reserve.[3]

Design
Main article: D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso

Although its designers consider the A69 D'Estienne d'Orves class to be avisos, Argentina classifies the ships as corvettes.

The Drummond-class ships are equipped mostly with German and Dutch electronic systems (instead of French)[4] for better compatibility with the two MEKO classes in Argentine service, and integrated with the indigenous "Miniaco" combat system.[5]

History

The 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.[6] Meanwhile, Guerrico 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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

ARA Granville was reported as active in the South Atlantic following a maintenance period which concluded in 2019.[10] [11] 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.[12]

Specification
  • 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
  • Aircraft: None
  • Complement: 95
  • Radar:
    • Air/Surface Search: Signaal DA08 (equipped with IFF).
    • Surface Search & helicopter control: Signaal ZW06.
    • Fire Control: Signaal STIR
    • Navigation: Decca TM 1226
  • 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

References
  1. 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.
  2. "Argentine navy short on spares and resources for training and maintenance". MercoPress. 22 November 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05.
  3. https://www.zona-militar.com/2020/08/03/pampa-azul-requerimientos-materiales/
  4. Official Argentine Navy site
  5. "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 Spanish). 2018-04-16. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  6. Freedman, Lawrence (2005). The Official History of the Falklands Campaign: The 1982 Falklands War and Its Aftermath. 2. Routledge. p. 7. ISBN 9780714652078.
  7. Freedman (2005), p. 272
  8. Freedman (2005), p. 279
  9. "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.
  10. "La ARA Granville parte hacia el Atlántico Sur tras el mantenimiento realizado por SPI". infodefensa.com. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  11. "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.
  12. 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.
  13. https://www.zona-militar.com/2020/10/13/proyecto-de-id-en-la-armada-argentina/

Further reading
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