Descubierta-class corvette

The Descubierta-class corvettes were a series of corvettes built for the Spanish Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These ships were also sold to the Egyptian Navy and the Moroccan Navy. The ships were designed in cooperation with the German company Blohm & Voss, based on the João Coutinho-class corvettes which were designed in the late 1960s for the Portuguese Navy, by the Portuguese naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira. A larger version was proposed for a second batch but the Spanish Navy chose to build the American Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates under licence instead.

Infanta Elena (P-76), in 2008
Class overview
NameDescubierta class corvette
BuildersBazan, Ferrol & Cartagena
Operators
Built1975-1984
Completed9
Active3
Retired6
General characteristics
TypeCorvette
Displacement1,233 tons standard, 1,482 tons full load
Length88.8 m (291 ft)
Beam10.4 m (34 ft)
Draught3.8 m (12 ft)
Propulsion2 shaft, 4 MTU-Bazán 16V 956 TB91 diesel engines, 16,000 hp (12,000 kW)
Speed25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement118
Armament

Ships

Spanish Navy
Ship Pennant number Builder Commissioned Current Status
Descubierta F31 Cartagena 18 November 1978 Transformed to patrol craft P-75 (2000). Decommissioned 30 June 2009[1]
Diana F32 Cartagena 30 June 1979 Transformed to MCM support ship M-11 (2000). Decommissioned 27 May 2015[2]
Infanta Elena F33 Cartagena 12 April 1980 Transformed to patrol craft P-76 (2000). Decommissioned 17 March 2023[3]
Infanta Cristina F34 Cartagena 24 November 1980 Transformed to patrol craft P-77 (2000). Decommissioned September 2023[4]
Cazadora F35 Ferrol 2 July 1981 Transformed to patrol craft P-78 (2000). Decommissioned 26 April 2018[5]
Vencedora F36 Ferrol 27 March 1982 Transformed to patrol craft P-79 (2000). Decommissioned 1 January 2017[6]

Egyptian Navy
Ship Pennant number Builder Commissioned Current Status
El Suez F946 Bazan, Ferrol 21 August 1984 In service
Abo Qir F941 Bazan, Ferrol 27 October 1984 In service

Royal Moroccan Navy

The Moroccan vessel is equipped with Exocet missiles instead of Harpoon missiles.

Ship Pennant number Builder Commissioned Current Status
Lieutenant Colonel Errhamani 501 Bazan, Ferrol 28 March 1983 In service
  • Infanta Elena (P-76), ex-F33, in 2008
    Infanta Elena (P-76), ex-F33, in 2008
  • Moroccan Lieutenant Colonel Errhamani (F 501).
    Moroccan Lieutenant Colonel Errhamani (F 501).
  • Descubierta (P-75), ex-F31
    Descubierta (P-75), ex-F31
  • Diana (M-11), ex-F32
    Diana (M-11), ex-F32
  • Infanta Cristina (P-77), Ex-F34
    Infanta Cristina (P-77), Ex-F34
  • Cazadora (P-78), Ex-F35
    Cazadora (P-78), Ex-F35
  • Vencedora (P-79), ex-F36
    Vencedora (P-79), ex-F36

See also

References
Citations
  1. "La Armada da de baja al patrullero 'Descubierta' tras 31 años de servicio" (in Spanish). La Verdad. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  2. "La Armada española da de baja oficialmente el buque de mando de MCM "Diana"" (in Spanish). Defensa.com. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  3. "ESPS Infanta Elena Decommissioned". SeaWaves Magazine. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  4. "De Alicante a Cartagena, la última travesía del Infanta Cristina". Informacion. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  5. "La Armada retira en Cartagena su patrullera de altura 'Cazadora' tras 36 años de servicio" (in Spanish). La Verdad. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  6. "Last deployment of the offshore patrol vessel 'Vencedora (P-79)". Spanish Armada. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
References
  • Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Naval Institute Press. 1996. ISBN 1557501327.
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