Espora-class corvette ARA Parker
History
Argentina
NameParker
NamesakeEnrique Guillermo Parker
BuilderRío Santiago Shipyard
Launched30 March 1984
Acquired2 April 1990
Commissioned17 April 1990
HomeportPuerto Belgrano
IdentificationPennant number: P-44
StatusActive; converting to offshore patrol role
General characteristics
Class and typeMEKO 140A16 Espora-class corvette
Displacement1,560 tons (1,790 tons full load)[1]
Length91.2 m (299 ft 3 in)[1]
Beam11.0 m (36 ft 1 in)[1]
Draught3.33 m (10 ft 11 in)[1] (hull)
Installed power22,600 bhp (16.9 MW)[1]
Propulsion2 × SEMT Pielstick 16 PC 2-5 V400 diesels, 2 × 5-blade props[1]
Speed27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)[1]
Range4,000 nautical miles (7,410 km; 4,600 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)[1]
Crew11 officers, 46 petty officers, 36 enlisted[1]
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Thales DA-05/2 air/surface search
  • Thales WM-28, LIROD fire control
  • Decca TM 1226 navigation
  • Atlas AQS-1 hull MF sonar[1]
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • Decca RDC-2ABC
  • Decca RCM-2 jammer
  • 2 × Matra Dagaie decoys[1]
Armament
Aircraft carried1 × Eurocopter Fennec
Aviation facilitiesHelideck and telescoping hangar

ARA Parker (P-44) is the fourth ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora class of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the second ship to bear the name of Captain Enrique Guillermo Parker, who fought in the Argentine Navy as its second-in-command during the Cisplatine War.

The Argentine Navy struggles to meet maintenance and training requirements because of financial problems and import restrictions. The status of Parker was not clear, as of November 2012 she was waiting for spares.[4] As of 2021, Parker was scheduled for repair work, and conversion to the offshore patrol role, at the Tandanor state-owned shipyard in Buenos Aires.[5] The work to convert the ship to her new role was expected to last through 2023.

Origin

Parker and her sister ships were part of the 1974 Naval Constructions National Plan, an initiative by the Argentine Navy to replace old World War II-vintage ships with more advanced warships. The original plan called for six MEKO 360H2 destroyers, four of them to be built in Argentina, but the plan was later modified to include four MEKO destroyers and six corvettes for anti-surface warfare and patrol operations.

Construction

Espora was constructed at the Río Santiago Shipyard of the Astilleros y Fábricas Navales del Estado (State Shipyards and Naval Factories) state corporation. She was launched on 30 March 1984, but flooding on 2 October 1986 delayed completion.[1] In 1988 her pennant number was changed from P-13 to P-44 in line with the rest of the class.[1] She was officially delivered to the Navy on 2 April 1990 and commissioned on 17 April of that year.

Parker is the first ship of the class' second batch, and incorporated a telescopic hangar, allowing the ship to carry a helicopter. The first three ships of the class were fitted with a landing pad but did not have a hangar.

Service history

Between 1990 and 2000, Parker was effectively the last ship of her class, as budgetary cuts delayed and almost cancelled the construction of the final two ships, Robinson and Gómez Roca. Following her commissioning Parker participated in several naval exercises and conducted fishery patrol duties in the Argentine exclusive economic zone.

In 1995 she represented the Argentine Navy in the Naval Parade conducted in Cape Town as part of the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the South African Navy.

She is homeported at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base and is part of the 2nd Corvette Division with her five sister ships.

Parker is being converted to the offshore patrol role at the Tandanor shipyard.[3] For that role, a hydraulic crane was installed to permit the deployment of 5.5-metre (18 ft) semi-rigid fast boats while space, previously used for the storage of MM38 Exocet missiles, was converted into extra personnel accommodation space. The work is scheduled for completion by the end of 2023.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 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. ↑ "El astillero Tandanor reequipará la corbeta ARA Parker para especializarla en patrullaje "anti-pesca" ilegal" [The Tandanor shipyard will re-equip the corvette ARA Parker to specialize it in illegal "anti-fishing" patrol]. Agendar (in Spanish). 3 January 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  3. 1 2 Solá, Mariano Germán Videla (6 October 2022). "De corbetas a patrulleros: un recurso que sigue vigente" [From corvettes to patrol boats: a resource that is still valid]. Zona Militar (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 December 2022 – via Google Translate.
  4. ↑ "Argentine navy short on spares and resources for training and maintenance". MercoPress. 22 November 2012. Archived from the original on 28 December 2012.
  5. ↑ Fernández Mainardi, Patricia (7 August 2021). "Astillero Tandanor: cómo funciona uno de los motores de la industria naval argentina". Infobae (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2021-08-07. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Avanzan las gestiones para convertir dos corbetas MEKO 140 en OPV" [Negotiations are advancing to convert two MEKO 140 corvettes into OPV]. Zona Militar (in Spanish). 15 July 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2022 – via Google Translate.

Bibliography

  • Guia de los buques de la Armada Argentina 2005-2006. Ignacio Amendolara Bourdette, ISBN 987-43-9400-5, Editor n/a. (Spanish/English text)


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