BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81)

BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81) is a De Zeven Provinciën-class cruiser that served in the Dutch and Peruvian navies. Completed for the Dutch in 1953 as HNLMS De Ruyter (C801), she was acquired by Peru in 1973 and served as fleet flagship. Almirante Grau underwent a major modernization program between 1985 and 1988 during which she was fitted with new weapons and electronics. She was the last gun cruiser in service in any navy before being decommissioned on 26 September 2017. In 2019, it was to be said that she would be preserved as a museum ship. However, it was later announced on 14 February 2022 that the ship would put up for sale with an asking price of 4,180,000 soles (1,112,520 USD).

For other ships with the same name, see BAP Almirante Grau and HNLMS De Ruyter.
The modernised De Ruyter
History
Netherlands
NameDe Ruyter
NamesakeMichiel de Ruyter
BuilderWilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam
Laid down5 September 1939
Launched24 December 1944
Commissioned18 November 1953
Decommissioned16 October 1972
FateSold to Peruvian Navy in March 1973
Peru
NameAlmirante Grau
NamesakeAdmiral Miguel Grau Seminario
Acquired7 March 1973
Commissioned23 May 1973
Decommissioned26 September 2017
HomeportCallao
MottoPoder y Gloria (Power and Glory)
FateSold for scrapping, July 2022
General characteristics
Class and typeDe Zeven Provinciën-class cruiser
Displacement
  • 9,681 tons standard
  • 12,165 tons full load
Length187.32 m (614.6 ft)
Beam17.25 m (56.6 ft)
Draught6.72 m (22.0 ft)
Propulsion
  • 4 Werkspoor-Yarrow three-drum boilers
  • 2 De Schelde Parsons geared steam turbines
  • 2 shafts; 85,000 shp (63,000 kW)
Speed32 kn (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range6,900 nmi (12,800 km; 7,900 mi) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement47 officers, 606 enlisted
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Armor
  • 50-76 mm belt
  • 50-125 mm turrets
  • 50-125 mm conning tower

Construction
HNLMS De Ruyter in her original post-war configuration.

De Ruyter was laid down by the Royal Netherlands Navy on 5 September 1939 as the cruiser HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën at the Wilton-Fijenoord shipyard at Schiedam.[1][2] She and her sister-ship, later De Zeven Provinciën, were intended to replace the two Java-class cruisers in the Dutch East Indies.[2] At the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940 little had been constructed. The Kriegsmarine intended to complete her as the training cruiser KH 1 but construction was slow and she was not launched until 24 December 1944, with the intent by then to use her as a blockship in the Nieuwe Waterweg, the approaches to Rotterdam.[1][2]

After the liberation of the Netherlands, the Navy completed De Zeven Provinciën with modifications, and she was commissioned as HNLMS De Ruyter (C801) on 18 November 1953.[1]

Royal Netherlands Navy service
De Ruytens seen here in September 1971, just before she was decommissioned.

In Dutch service both ships participated in several NATO exercises, and were frequently used as flagships for different naval task forces. Between 1962 and 1964, De Zeven Provinciën underwent a refit which included the removal of the two aft turrets and the installation of a RIM-2 Terrier SAM system, but lack of funds precluded the same modifications from being carried out in De Ruyter. After two decades in service, she was decommissioned on 16 October 1972.[2]

Peruvian Navy service
BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81) leaves the harbor of Curaçao, June 1973.

The Peruvian Navy bought De Ruyter on 7 March 1973[1] as a counter to the acquisition of the Swedish cruiser Göta Lejon by the Chilean Navy. Commissioned on 23 May 1973 as Almirante Grau, in honor of the Peruvian Admiral Miguel Grau, the ship arrived at her new homeport of Callao on 11 July 1973. She was designated fleet flagship in succession to another cruiser of the same name (the former HMS Newfoundland), which was renamed Capitán Quiñones.

Modernization

From 1985 until 1988, she underwent a major modernization program by Amsterdam Naval Services (ANS) at its shipyard in Amsterdam, during which she was denominated Proyecto de Modernización 01 (Modernization Project 01) or PM-01. Her role as flagship was assumed by her sistership Aguirre as Almirante Grau. Both ships regained their former names when the former De Ruyter returned to Callao on 15 February 1988.

The upgrade program carried out in the Netherlands included the following:

Further work was carried out by SIMA dockyards in Callao as follows:

The LW-08 radar was later replaced by an AN/SPS-6, the former being installed in the frigate BAP Carvajal (FM-51) in 2003.[3]

Decommissioning

Almirante Grau was decommissioned on 26 September 2017. She was the last gun cruiser in service in any navy,[4] although its main armament was supplemented with Otomat anti-ship missiles.[4] She was replaced by the BAP Montero, now known as BAP Almirante Grau.

On 9 August 2019, the Peruvian Navy announced that she would be preserved as a museum ship in Lima,[5] though in February 2022, the ship was placed on sale.[6] In July 2022 it was reported[7] that she was to be scrapped.

  • HNLMS De Ruyter 1962
    HNLMS De Ruyter 1962
  • Almirante Grau firing her guns
    Almirante Grau firing her guns
  • A stern view of BAP Almirante Grau from USS Pearl Harbor
    A stern view of BAP Almirante Grau from USS Pearl Harbor
  • BAP Almirante Grau 1993
    BAP Almirante Grau 1993
  • De Ruyter at sea with guns elevated.
    De Ruyter at sea with guns elevated.
  • De Ruyter; view from the stern.
    De Ruyter; view from the stern.

References
  1. Moore, John, ed. (1980). Jane's Fighting Ships. 1980-1981. London: Jane's Pub. Co. p. 362. ISBN 978-0710607034.
  2. Visser, Jan. "Eendracht-class cruisers". Royal Netherlands Navy Warships of World War II. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  3. Saunders, Stephen, ed. (2011). Jane's fighting ships 2011-2012. Coulsdon: IHS Jane's. ISBN 978-0710629593.
  4. Sanchez, Alejandro (26 September 2017). "Peruvian Navy designates new flagship". Jane's 360. IHS. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  5. "Perú convertirá en museo de sitio al crucero ligero BAP Almirante Grau – Máquina de Combate".
  6. Infodefensa.com, Revista Defensa. "La Marina del Perú pone a la venta el ex crucero ligero BAP Almirante Grau". Infodefensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  7. "Onverwachts einde: oude kruiser De Ruyter op weg naar sloop". MarineSchepen.nl (in Spanish). 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2022-07-30.

Sources
  • Baker III, Arthur D., The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 2002-2003. Naval Institute Press, 2002.
  • Rodríguez Asti, John, Cruceros. Buques de la Marina de Guerra del Perú desde 1884. Dirección de Intereses Marítimos, 2000. (in Spanish)
  • van Dijk, A. (1988). "Re: The Dutch Shipbuilding Program of 1939". Warship International. XXV (3): 225. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • van Dijk, Anthonie (1989). "Re: The Dutch Shipbuilding Program of 1939". Warship International. XXVI (2): 107. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Jane's Fighting Ships 2011-2012.
  • Unexpected end: old cruiser De Ruyter on its way to scrap from MarineSchepen
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