ARA Hércules (B-52)
![]() ARA Hércules after her conversion
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History | |
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Name: | Hércules |
Namesake: | After a frigate commanded by Admiral Guillermo Brown in 1814 |
Ordered: | 18 May 1970 |
Builder: | Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering |
Laid down: | 16 June 1971 |
Launched: | 24 October 1972 |
Acquired: | 10 May 1976 |
Commissioned: | 12 July 1976 |
Reclassified: | 1999 |
Homeport: | Puerto Belgrano Naval Base |
Identification: | B-52 |
Status: | in active service, as of 2024[update] |
General characteristics | |
Class & type: | Type 42 destroyer |
Displacement: | 4,100 tons (4,170 t) |
Length: | 125 m (410 ft) |
Beam: | 14.6 m (48 ft) |
Draught: | 5.2 m (17 ft) |
Propulsion: |
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Speed: | 28 knots (52 km/h) |
Complement: |
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Armament: |
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Aircraft carried: |
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ARA Hércules is a former Type 42 destroyer of the Argentine Navy (Spanish: Armada de la República Argentina), which was transformed into a multi-purpose transport ship with the pennant number B-52 (previously D-1) and assigned to the amphibious force in 1999.
History
The ship was ordered on 18 May 1970 and completed on 10 May 1976 at the Vickers Shipbuilding yard in Barrow-in-Furness, United Kingdom. During construction, an explosion on HMS Sheffield caused damage in the hull.[1] The hull of Hércules replaced a section of the ship, as both were identical in build.[2] She was delivered to Argentina and entered service on 19 September 1977. As built, Hércules was identical to the initial Type 42 units being commissioned by the Royal Navy. The Argentine Navy upgraded the warship by enhancing her offensive capabilities with MM-38 Exocet anti-ship missiles. The original boat decks by the funnel were modified in order to mount the launchers.[3][4]
In 1982, along with her newly built sister ship, Santísima Trinidad, Hércules was part of the escort of the aircraft carrier Veinticinco de Mayo during the Falklands War.[5]
The ship had a major conversion at astilleros ASMAR in Talcahuano, Chile in 2000 to allow the embarkment of a complement of 238 marine infantry troops, the flight deck and hangar were also enlarged to allow her to operate two Sea King helicopters. Each helicopter can also carry two AM-39 Exocet anti-ship missiles.[6]
References
Notes
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Differing little from their British sisters, they did however mount Exocet." Haws, Duncan:Elders & Fyffes and Geest. TCL Publications, 1997. Item notes: v.32 1997. ISBN 0-946378-31-2
- ↑ Tecnología militar, Volume 26. Grupo Editorial Mönch, 2004, page 103 (Spanish)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Transporte Multiproposito B52 ARA Hercules official site (Spanish) Archived October 13, 2006 at the Wayback Machine
Bibliography
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See also
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- Articles with Spanish-language external links
- Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2024
- Articles with invalid date parameter in template
- Articles using small message boxes
- Pages with broken file links
- Type 42 destroyers of the Argentine Navy
- Barrow-built ships
- 1976 ships
- Falklands War naval ships of Argentina