by River Gunboats- An Illustrated Encyclopaedia (retail) (epub)
The Colombian Riverine Flotilla began with four steamers, three of which were American-built stern-wheeler riverboats, armed with small guns, and given bulletproof plating.
General Pinzón
Launched:
1881.
Dimensions:
Displ: 740 tons.
Power/Speed:
Stern paddle wheel; steam engine/13 knots.
Guns/Armour:
3 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannon/Bulletproof plating.
Fate:
Stricken 1928.
Operación ‘Celerio 2016’, with a Colombian riverine mothership leading the Brazilian river monitor Parnaíba, followed by a Peruvian Clavero class patrol boat.
Esperanza Class
Launched:
General Nerin 1895, Esperanza 1897, by Perth Amboy, USA.
Dimensions:
Displ: 400 tons; L: 42.4m/139ft 1in (between perpendiculars); B: 5.79m/19ft; D: 0.91m/2ft 11¾in.
Power/Speed:
Stern paddle wheel; steam engine, 430ihp/15 knots.
Guns/Armour:
3 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannon/Bulletproof plating.
Fate:
Both stricken 1935.
Cherchinto
Launched:
1896.
Dimensions:
Displ: 643 tons; L: 56.4m/185ft; B: 9.44m/30ft 11½in; D: 3.66m/12ft.
Power/Speed:
Steam engine 400ihp/12 knots.
Guns/Armour:
? 3 × 37mm Hotchkiss revolver cannon/? Bulletproof plating.
Fate:
Stricken 1935.
Carabobo Class
These three small patrol gunboats were ordered from France in 1925. Boyacá was renamed Junin in 1937.
ARC Carabobo. (Colombian Navy photo)
Launched:
Boyacá 8 July 1925, Carabobo 8 August 1925, Pichincha 5 September 1925, by St Nazaire Penhoët DY, Rouen, France.
Dimensions:
Displ: 120 tons; L: 33m/108ft 3in; B: 6m/19ft 8in; D: 2.5m/8ft 2½in.
Crew:
37.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; VTE steam engine 300ihp/13 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 75mm Model 1915-18; 1 × 37mm L/60 Model 1925 AA; 2 × 8mm Hotchkiss MG. 1942–5 + 1 × 20mm Oerlikon.
Fate:
All three stricken 1961.
Cartagena Class
Ordered from Yarrow in 1927 to modernise the Colombian River Flotilla in view of Peruvian territorial encroachments, Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta crossed the Atlantic at the end of 1931 manned by British crews. As they could only manage 15 knots at full speed, and 8 knots economical cruising speed, their delivery journeys took some twenty-four days, but all three arrived safely.
In 1933 the Colombians sent Barranquilla to escort four transports carrying 700 troops, to the disputed river port of Tarapacá, where the Peruvians had landed 1,000 men. On 14 February Barranquilla bombarded the Peruvian positions, and fought off an attack by Peruvian aircraft. From 26 to 28 March Cartagena and Santa Marta fought the battle of Güepi, landing troops near Peruvian positions and providing covering fire. They were again attacked by Peruvian aircraft but once more suffered no damage. On 16 April the Peruvians loaded a Krupp 75mm gun and troops on board the river steamer San Miguel, and attacked Colombian positions on the Putamayo River. Cartagena engaged the Peruvian steamer and forced her to retreat. A fortnight later a larger Peruvian attack, again supported by aircraft, was repulsed by Cartagena and Santa Marta. Eventually the League of Nations stepped in and negotiated an end to hostilities. After the conflict, in order to provide more modern AA firepower, the gunboats received a single 20mm Oerlikon apiece.
Advertisement for Yarrow in The Engineer, featuring ARC Cartagena, probably on her trials. Note the Barr & Stroud rangefinder mounted above her bridge, to serve the 12-pounder, and her typical ‘heads’ at the stern, similar to those used on traditional British river gunboats.
Cartagena retained as a museum ship, ashore at Naval Base ARC Leguizamo. The breech of her Bofors has been removed.
Santa Marta was stricken in 1962 and cannibalised to keep her sisters operational. Both were re-engined in the mid-1960s, and were rearmed with a Bofors replacing their 12-pounders. Cartagena and Barranquilla were extremely active in the guerrilla war against the various revolutionary groups, and later the narco-traffickers. They often towed loaded troop barges into action, providing fire support to the landings. Barranquilla in turn was stricken and cannibalised to keep Cartagena in action, and finally the latter vessel was laid up ashore as a museum ship in 1986.
Launched:
1931 by Yarrow.
Dimensions:
Displ: 142 tons full load; L: 41.91m/137ft 6in; B: 7.15m/23ft 5½in; D: 0.61m/2ft light draught – 1.22m/4ft at full load.
Crew:
34–39.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × 300bhp Gardner semi-diesel engines; Replaced mid-1960s with Detroit diesel engines/15 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 12-pounder; 4 × Vickers MG. 1939: + 1 × 20mm Oerlikon/Bulletproof plating. 1960: 1 × 40mm Bofors; 4 × 0.30 cal Browning MG. Cartagena by 1980s: 1 × 40mm Bofors; 0.50 cal Browning HMG and 7.62mm M60 MG.
Fate:
Santa Marta stricken 1962; Barranquilla stricken mid-1970s; Cartagena preserved as museum ship 26 July 1986.
Bogotá and Córdoba
These two patrol vessels had a complicated past. Laid down during the First World War as German Navy minesweepers M-139 and M-158 of the ‘M 1916’ class, they were completed after the war as self-propelled barges, being named Helgoland and Grille respectively. Helgoland was sold to Norway for use as a ferry under the name Tonsberg I, and Grille to France as Dinard, later renamed Dixemude. In 1932 both were purchased in France by Colombia, and rearmed. They entered service with the Colombian Navy in February 1933. Bogotá was sunk in a collision in 1946. Her sister had previously been expended as a target in 1937.
Two typical German ‘M 1916’ class minesweepers during the First World War. (Old postcard via Website: http://www.germannavy.de/hochseeflotte/ships/minehunters/m1916/photos.html)
Launched:
Bogotá (ex-M-139) 12 March 1919 by Tecklenborg, Geestemünde, Germany; Córdoba (ex-M-158) 1920 by Nordseerke, Emden, Germany.
Dimensions:
Displ: 508 tons; 630 tons full load; L: 59.6m/195ft 6½in; B: 7.3m/23ft 11½in; D: 2.15m/7ft 0½in.
Crew:
40.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × VTE steam engines, total 1,850ihp/16 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 8.8cm L/45 C/14; 2 × 75mm Model 1915-18; 2 × twin 13.2mm Hotchkiss HMG.
Fate:
Córdoba stricken 1937 and sunk as target 11 June 1937 by destroyers; Bogotá sunk 1946.
Diligente Class
In the early 1950s the Colombians built a series of small patrol launches of the Diligente Class:
121 ARC Diligente.
122 ARC Subteniente Navió Juan Lucio (builder: Desconocido, 1952);
123 ARC Cadete Alfonso Vargas (builder: Base ARC Bolívar, 1951);
124 ARC Capitán de Corbeta Fritz Hagale (builder: Desconocido, 1950);
125 ARC Teniente Alberto Restropo (builder: Base ARC Bolivar, 1952);
126 ARC Teniente de Corbeta Huberto Cortés (1952, builders as for 125?);
127 ARC Calibio;
128 ARC Capitán Carlos Galindo;
129 ARC Valerosa;
130 ARC Luchadora.
They were deactivated during the mid-1980s, and put into storage. Reactivated ten years later, they continue to carry out riverine patrols.
Launched:
ARC 124: 1950 by Desconocido.
Dimensions:
Displ: 35 tons; L: 22.8m/74ft 9½in; B: 3.6m/11ft 9¾in; D: 1.8m/5ft 10¾in.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; diesel engines.
Guns/Armour:
/> 2 × 0.50 cal HMG.
Fate:
In service.
ARC Capitán de Corbeta Fritz Hagale. (Photo Colombian Navy)
ARC 135 Riohacha. Note her high crow’s nest copied from the Cartagena class. (Photo Colombian Navy)
Riohacha Class
Shallow-draught river gunboats intended for service on the Putumayo River. Leticia is now unarmed.
Launched:
1955 by Union Industrial de Barranquilla.
Dimensions:
Displ: 170 tons (184 tons full load); L: 49.8m/163ft 4½in; B: 8.23m/27ft; D: 1m/3ft 3in.
Crew:
43.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × 916bhp Caterpillar diesel engines/13 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 3in/50; 4 × 20mm Oerlikon.
Fate:
Riohacha and Arauca in service; Leticia converted to hospital ship 1970.
PBR Mark II
Between 1989 and 1993 the USA transferred eleven Mark II PBRs to Colombia. Built in the USA in the late 1960s, in Columbian service they were named as follows: Rio Altrato (*), Rio Caqueta, Rio Cauca (*), Rio Guaviare, Rio Magdalena, Rio Orinoco, Rio Orteguaza, Rio Putumayo, Rio San Jorge (*), Rio Sinú (*) and Rio Vichada. The boats marked with an asterisk were ex-USN, the remainder were new construction for Colombia. For details, see UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
PRF Ternerife Class
Nine of these 40ft PRF (Fast Riverine Patrol) boats were supplied from the United States in 1993: ARC PRF-305 Tenerife, PRF-306 Tarapaca, PRF-307 Mompox, PRF-308 Orocue, PRF-309 Calamar, PRF-310 Magangué, PRF-311 Monclart, PRF-312 Caucaya and PRF-313 Mitú.
LPR 187 ARC Monclart. (Photo Colombian Navy).
RIVERINE MOTHERSHIPS
Built in 1986 as a river tug, Inírida was converted to a troop transport in 1994, then rearmed and armoured in 2012. She is capable of carrying an 80-ton load, including up to 9,200 gallons (35,000 litres) of drinking water (L: 17.5m/57ft 5in, B: 4.5m/14ft 9in, D: 1.5m/4ft 11in).
Armed and armoured riverine mothership ARC NF-601 CP. Filigonio Hichamon.
Behind the Arauca-class patrol boat is riverine mothership ARC PF-603 Igaraparana, converted from a former river tug. (Photo via Tumblr.com)
ARC PF-96 Inírida, a former tugboat, armed and modernised in 2012.
PAF I-class river mothership. Note the forward-firing armament of one 0.50 cal on the bridge roof and two rifle-calibre MG on the bridge wings. (Photo from www.unffmm.com via Tumblr).
PAF I Class
These are the first two of an on-going series of designs designated Patrullera de Apoyo Fluvial (PAF) or Riverine Support Patrol Boats. They are named ARC SSCIM Senén Alberto Araujo (PAF-I 607) and ARC CPCIM Guillermo Londoño Vargas (PAF I-608). As troop transports they can carry up to 100 fully-equipped Marines.
Launched:
PAF-1 607 2000 by Bocagrande, Cartagena de Indias; PAF-I 608 2000 by Cotecmar.
Dimensions:
Displ: 260 tons; L: 39m/127ft 11½in; B: 9.5m/31ft 2in; D: 1m/3ft 3in.
Crew:
30.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × diesel engines/10.2 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 40mm Mk 19 grenade launcher 2 × 0.50 cal HMG; 3 × 7.62mm M60 MG; /Bulletproof plating to resist 7.62mm rounds.
Fate:
In service.
PAF II Class TNCIM Mario Alonso Villegas
The PAF II design has a larger bridge and superstructure, with heavier forward-firing armament. The 40mm grenade launcher and the twin 0.50 cal MG are in remote-controlled turrets situated on the bridge roof and the rear superstructure respectively. The 7.62mm MG are behind shields at the stern. She can carry up to seventy-six Marines. She has a similar hull form to the PAF I design, but bulwarks have been added to her bows. During one operation the bridge of NF-610 was hit by an RPG, killing her captain and three crewmen. This incident led to the provision of additional armour on the succeeding PAF III and IV classes.
In the background behind the LPR (Lancha Patrullera Rapida or Fast Patrol Boat) is PAF II Class NF-610 ARC TNCIM Mario Alonso Villegas.
Launched:
2001 by Cotecmar.
Dimensions:
Displ: 260 tons; L: 39m/127ft 11½in; B: 9.5m/31ft 2in; D: 1m/3ft 3in.
Crew:
30.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × diesel engines, total 950bhp/10.2 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 40mm Mk 19 grenade launcher; 1 × twin 0.50 cal HMG; 2 × 7.62mm MG/Bulletproof plating to resist 7.62mm rounds.
Fate:
In service.
PAF III Class
The third development was the PAF III, with stealth characteristics from the use of inclined surfaces and a silenced drive. She is armoured to resist mortar rounds and RPGs, and has survived hits by RPG-7s. Her remote-controlled armament has been increased to three twin MG turrets and one grenade launcher, all controlled from inside the armoured citadel and equipped with night vision sensors. In addition, her crew and Marines can deploy MG and small arms through four firing points, two on each side of the bridge structure. She can refuel and arm helicopters which can land on her helipad. A major change is the fitting of two pump-jet propulsion and steering units in place of screws, which give the PAF III superb manoeuvrability and are designed to operate in shallow rivers with heavy weed growth.
Profile of PAF III-class patrol boat ARC NF-611 Tony Pastrana Contreras. The two pump-jet units are situated under the stern beneath the rear twin 0.50 cal MG turrets.
PAF remote-controlled armament: Left: the 40mm grenade launcher turret; right: the twin 0.50 cal MG turret. (Photos: Website www.unffmm.com)
Launched:
2004 by Cotecmar.
Dimensions:
Displ: 370 tons; L: 40.3m/132ft 3in; B: 9.5m/31ft 2in; D: 1m/3ft 3in.
Crew:
37.
Power/Speed:
Twin pump-jet units; 2 × diesel engines, total 950bhp/10.2 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 40mm Mk 19 grenade launcher; 3 × twin 0.50 cal HMG; 4 × 7.62mm MG/Armoured against small-arms fire, mortar rounds and RPGs.
Fate:
In service.
PAF IV Class
The next development, the PAF IV class, has a slightly deeper draught, and further enhanced protection from mortar rounds and RPGs. Production of this variant continued at regular intervals, and the basic configuration is under consideration for the Joint Amazon Patrol Boat design (PAF-A) to be built by Cotecmar for Colombia, Brazil and Peru. The Brazilian boats are expected to include a hangar for extended helicopter deployment. It is possible that some of the MG turrets will be replaced by turrets mounting automatic cannons.
Units so far built are:
ARC 612 CTCMI Jorge Moreno Salazar (2006);
ARC 613 TFEIM Juan Ricardo Oyola Vera (2006);
ARC 614 TECIM Freddy Alexander Pérez Rodriguez (2009);
ARC 615 TECIM Edic Cristian Reyes Holguin (2009).
Launched:
2006 onward by Cotecmar.
Dimensions:
Displ: 373 tons; L: 40.3m/132ft 3in; B: 9.5m/31ft 2in; D: 1.26m/4ft 2in.
Crew:
37.
Power/Speed:
Twin pump-jet units; 2 × diesel engines, total 950bhp/9.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 40mm Mk 19 grenade launcher; 3 × twin 0.50 cal HMG; 4 × 7.62mm MG/Armoured against small-arms fire, mortar rounds and RPGs.
Fate:
In service.
The 360-degree turning capacity of the PAF IV class provided by the pump-jet propulsion system. (Photo: Website www.unffmm.com)
PAF-L Class
A smaller, lighter version of the PAF III, lacking the helipad, designed to operate in shallower rivers and swamp environments. Each of the twin MG turrets mounts only one HMG, and there is no grenade launcher turret. The first unit is ARC PAF-L 616 Alejandro Ledesma Ortiz.
2012 by Cotecmar; assembled on the rivers where they are to be operated.
Dimensions:
Displ: 116 tons; L: 30m/98ft 5in; B: 7m/22ft 11½in; D: 0.75m/2ft 5½in.
Crew:
43 max.
Power/Speed:
Twin pump-jet units; 2 × diesel engines, total 950bhp/9 knots (6 knots in shallow water).
Guns/Armour:
2 × 0.50 cal HMG; 2 × 7.62mm M60 MG/Armoured against small-arms projectiles, mortar rounds and RPGs.
Fate:
In service.
Here is PAF-L ARC TECIM Alejandro Ledesma Ortiz. (Photo Colombian Navy)
ECF-L
This is the type of small, fast and heavily-armed patrol boat which is supported by and refuelled from the PAF vessels.
LPR-40
Launched:
Beginning in 2013 by Cotecmar, Cartagena, Colombia.
Dimensions:
Displ: 12.8 tons full load; L: 12.7m/41ft 8in; B: 3m/9ft 10in; D: 0.7m/2ft 3½in.
Crew:
4.
Power/Speed:
Twin water jets/30 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × twin 0.50 cal HMG; 2 × 7.62mm L7 GPMGs/Bulletproof hull and superstructure.
Fate:
In service.
The LPR-40 armoured small patrol boat with the ability to remotely control the weapons mounts from inside the armoured citadel. Cotecmar is supplying these patrol boats not only to Colombia but also to Brazil.