ARM Guanajuato (C-07)

The ARM Guanajuato (C-07), also known as Cañonero Guanajuato, was a gunboat that served for the Mexican Navy until 2001.[1] It has been located at the shore of the Jamapa River, in the municipality of Boca del Río, Veracruz, as a museum ship.

Cañonero Guanajuato in Boca del Río, 2021
History
Mexico
NameGuanajuato
BuilderSociedad Española de Construcción Naval del Ferrol
Laid downMay 1934
Launched1936
Out of service2001
StatusMuseum in Boca del Río, closed due to maintenance
NotesThe museum is currently named Museo Naval Interactivo Cañonero Guanajuato C-07
General characteristics
TypeGunboat
Displacement1,300 t (1,300 long tons)
Length80.5 m (264 ft)
Beam11.5 m (38 ft)
Draft4 m (13 ft)
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Armament
  • 3 × 101.6 mm Vickers artillery guns
  • 6 × 20 mm Oerlikon machine guns

History

The ship was commissioned by the Mexican government between 1931 and 1933 from the Spanish shipyard Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval del Ferrol (also known as Astillero El Ferrol),[2] along with the transport ship Durango, gunboats Querétaro and Potosí and ten coastguards.[3] The Guanajuato was laid down in May 1934 and delivered into service in 1936. Although it was initially planned as a warship, during the Second World War the Guanajuato served as a convoy escort in Central America.[4]

During 1966 and 1967, the gunboat was used as sail training for the Heroica Escuela Naval Militar.[4][5] Along the two years, the ship travelled to Mexico, Brasil, Argentina, Chile and Peru.[5] The Guanajuato's last navigation with the Navy was in 1997,[2] being retired from service in 2001.[4]

Present day

In 2007, the Guanajuato was opened to the public as the Museo Naval Interactivo Cañonero Guanajuato C-07 (Naval Interactive Museum Cañonero Guanajuato C-07), the first floating museum of Veracruz and Latin America.[4] The museum included 16 different exhibits, presenting how the ship looked and worked during the 1920s and 1930s.[1]

Lack of maintenance and a possible sinking of the Guanajuato led to the closing of the museum and the beginning of a maintenance project of the gunboat.[6] Among the proposed repairs were the installation of concrete base that would settle the Guanajuato in the river, rather than floating in the shore. The maintenance came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

According to some reports, the ship, in worsening condition, was scrapped in December 2022.[8]

References
  1. "Museo Buque Cañonero C-07 Guanajuato". Veracruz Turismo (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  2. "MUSEO CAÑONERO GUANAJUATO - MEXICO". www.histarmar.com.ar. Archived from the original on 2008-04-14. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  3. Armada de México, Secretaría de Marina (2018). Logros y Transformaciones de la Secretaría de Marina-Armada de México 1821-2018 (PDF). p. 82. ISBN 978-607-8148-27-1.
  4. "Museo Naval Interactivo Cañonero Guanajuato C-07". Secretaría de Cultura/Sistema de Información Cultural (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  5. "Buques Escuela de la Secretaría de Marina" (PDF). Armada de México. 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-07-01.
  6. Xalapa, Diario de. "Se hunde el buque Guanajuato; cerraron su acceso al público". Diario de Xalapa | Noticias Locales, Policiacas, sobre México, Veracruz, y el Mundo. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  7. "Un enorme reto, el rescate del buque Guanajuato". INFO7 (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  8. jwh1975 (2022-12-11). "Mexico's cañoneros after WWII". wwiiafterwwii.

19.10045°N 96.10423°W / 19.10045; -96.10423

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