ARA Granville (P-33)

ARA Granville (P-33) is a Drummond-class corvette of the Argentine Navy named after Guillermo Enrique Granville, who fought in the 1827 Battle of Juncal against Brazil.

For other ships with the same name, see ARA Granville.
ARA Granville at Mar del Plata naval base in 2005
History
Argentina
NamesakeGuillermo Enrique Granville
Operator Argentine Navy
Laid down1 December 1978[1]
Launched28 June 1980[1]
Commissioned22 June 1981[1]
HomeportMar del Plata
Statusin active service
General characteristics
Class and typeType A69 Drummond-class corvette
Displacement1,170 tons (1,320 tons full load)[1]
Length80 m (260 ft)[1]
Beam10.3 m (34 ft)[1]
Draught3.55 m (11.6 ft)[1]
Installed power12,000 shp (8.9 MW)[1]
Propulsion2× SEMT Pielstick 12 PC 2.2 V400 diesels, 2× CP propellers[1]
Speed23.3 knots (43 km/h)[1]
Range4,500 nautical miles (8,330 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)[1]
Endurance15 days[1]
Complement5 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× Matra Dagaie decoys[1]
Armament
Aviation facilitiessmall pad for VERTREP

As of 2021 she was based at Mar del Plata,[3] and had for many years been conducting fishery patrol duties in the Argentine exclusive economic zone where she captured several trawlers.[4][5]

According to reports in November 2012 the Drummond class "hardly sail because of lack of resources for operational expenses".[6] As of 2020, only Granville was reported to be operational, having undergone a refit in mid-2019, with the other ships of the class in reserve.[7]

Service history

The first two ships of the Drummond 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 were sold to Argentina instead. 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 Degaie decoys rather than the British Corvus chaff launchers.[1]

On 28 March 1982 she sailed with her sister ARA Drummond and took up station northeast of Port Stanley to cover the main amphibious landings on 2 April.[8] After the attack she operated north of the Falklands with her sister ships as Task Group 79.4, hoping to catch ships detached from the British task force.[9] On 29 April the corvettes were trailed by the submarine HMS Splendid while she was looking for the Argentine aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, but they managed to outrun the British submarine.[10]

Granville carried the P-3 pennant number until the introduction of the Espora-class corvettes in 1985, when she became P-33. In 1994, Granville and her sisters participated in Operation Uphold Democracy, the United Nations blockade of Haiti. During this time, she was based at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico.[11]

According to British reports, in 1995 Granville harassed a number of trawlers around the Falklands and confronted and illuminated the British forward repair ship RFA Diligence with her radar.[12]

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. "Proyectos de Investigación y Desarrollo en la Armada Argentina". 13 October 2020.
  3. "ARA Granville Returns to Mal del Plata – SeaWaves Magazine". SeaWaves Magazine. 2 March 2021.
  4. 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).
  5. "La depredación del Mar Argentino" [Pillage of the Argentine seas]. La Nación (Argentina) (in Spanish). 10 March 2006.
  6. "Argentine navy short on spares and resources for training and maintenance". MercoPress. 22 November 2012. Archived from the original on 28 December 2012.
  7. Bettolli, Carlos Borda (2020-08-03). "Informe a diputados - Medios insuficientes para las Patrullas de Control de Mar". Zona Militar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  8. Freedman, Lawrence (2005). The Official History of the Falklands Campaign: The 1982 Falklands War and Its Aftermath. Vol. 2. Routledge. p. 7. ISBN 9780714652078.
  9. Freedman (2005), p. 272
  10. Freedman (2005), p. 274
  11. "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 2012-02-12.
  12. Falkland Islands Information Portal – Time Line, by Jason Lewis. 28 November 2006

Further reading
  • 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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