River Gunboats
Page 41
1913: 1 × 7mm MG. 1932–5: + 2 × .50 cal (?) HMG.
Fate:
Stricken after 1972.
An early photo of Teniente Herreros. (Paraguayan Navy photo)
Sajonia
Sajonia, also known as the ‘buque fantasma’ or ‘phantom ship’, was a transport purchased by the Paraguayan government for the carriage of fruit from Asunción to Buenos Aires. On the night of 4 August 1904 she was moored off Buenos Aires when she was boarded by revolutionaries under Commander Manuel J Duarte. He directed Sajonia to La Plata where she took on other revolutionaries, and an armament of six Vickers Model 1887 and six 75mm Krupp mountain guns, eight 3in Vickers landing guns and twelve Maxim MG. The crew now numbered seventy, and in addition to the artillery and machine guns they were transporting 3,000 Lee-Metford and 1,300 Gras rifles.
The Paraguayan government of Colonel Escurra heard news of the imminent arrival of the revolutionaries, and hastily armed a second steamer, the Villarica, to head off the Sajonia. The two vessels met in combat on 11 August off the town of Pilar, and after thirty minutes Sajonia had reduced her opponent to a sinking wreck. A cabinet minister, Eduardo Fleytas, jumped overboard, braving the piranhas and tried to swim to the Argentine shore, but the revolutionaries fished him out of the river.
After the revolution, Sajonia was apparently commissioned as an armed transport, and renamed Libertad.
Adolfo Riquelme (Tacuarí)
In 1911 the four-year-old yacht Clover was purchased by revolutionaries planning to overthrow the Jara régime in Paraguay. In December 1911 she was incorporated in the Paraguayan Navy as a gunboat and renamed Adolfo Riquelme.
During the civil war of 1922–3 she served on the loyalist side, being attacked on the Upper Parana River by a rebel SVA 5 aircraft on 1 August 1922. On 5 September she was the target of a rebel launch armed with two 100kg spar torpedoes, which was destroyed by the gunboat Coronel Martínez. Her last action during the civil war took place on 3 October 1922 when she drove away attacking rebel aircraft. She was renamed Tacuarí on 30 July 1930.
Adolfo Riquelme, and the single Paraguayan CANT 10ter flying boat which was used as a transport during the Chaco War. (Official Paraguayan Navy photo)
Like old soldiers, some old river gunboats never die. They simply rust away … The hulk of dumb cargo barge CHATA 10, ex-Tacuarí, in 2003. (Photo via Website: http://www.histarmar.com.ar/index.htm)
Under repair when the Chaco War began, Tacuarí was hurriedly relaunched and used as a transport. With her boiler fires withdrawn, she was a stationary target for three Bolivian aircraft which unsuccessfully attacked her on 22 December 1932 at Bahia Negra. Tacuarí shot down one of the attackers with her 37mm Pom-Poms, a Curtis Osprey which crashed on Brazilian territory. Two days later the remaining two aircraft attacked a second and third time, but the gunboat was now able to manoeuvre, and escaped with only bullet holes in her upperworks. Several crew members, however, were wounded.
After the Chaco War she served as a training ship and transport, and in 1938 was earmarked for reconstruction as a private yacht for President Estigarriba, but after his death the plan was cancelled. Rebuilt with a pair of diesel motors over a period of no less than fourteen years, she was intended for reconstruction as a gunboat to serve as a historical memorial, only once more to see the plan cancelled. Tacuarí finished her naval career as a dumb barge, with engines removed.
Launched:
1907 as yacht Clover by Messrs T & J Hosking, Ireland.
Dimensions:
Displ: 360 tons full load; L: 41m/134ft 6in; B: 7.63m/25ft; D: 1.83m/6ft.
Crew:
74 (1915); 55 (1926).
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × vertical compound 250ihp steam engines/13 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1926: 2 × 3in Vickers; 2 × 6-pounder Hotchkiss QF; 2 × 37mm Pom-Poms. 1932: Hotchkiss QF replaced by 2 × MG.
Fate:
Stricken after 2003.
Coronel Martínez
Ordered as one of the two tugs (see Capitán Cabral below) of the so-called ‘Dredging Train’ for river port construction, she fell into rebel hands during the 1912 revolution. By March 1916 she was converted to a naval gunboat and renamed Coronel Martínez.
During the civil war of 19223 she destroyed a launch attempting to attack Adolfo Riquelme with spar torpedoes. Coronel Martínez was active towing barges during the Chaco War. She finished her naval career as an unarmed tug, renamed R-8 in 1972.
Launched:
1907 as tug Presidente Baéz, by Conrad Werf, Haarlem, Netherlands.
Dimensions:
Displ: 98.5 full load; L: 22.86m/75ft; B: 6.1m/20ft; D: 1.52m/5ft.
Crew:
35 (1926).
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 1 × VTE 200ihp steam engine/10.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1926: 1, later 2 × 3in Vickers; 2, later 3 × 37mm Pom-Poms. 1932: + 2 × MG.
Fate:
1972 converted to tug R-8. Stricken by 1981.
Capitán Cabral
The larger of the two tugs built in 1907 for river port construction and originally named Triunfo, she was also used for general towing purposes. Incorporated in the Paraguayan navy in around 1911 under her original name, she was initially listed as a coast-guard vessel. Later designated as a gunboat, she was on the rebel side during the revolution of 1912. Renamed Capitán Cabral in 1930, she took an active part in the Chaco War.
Refitted several times during her long career afloat, in 1981–5 she was fitted with a new steel deck and enlarged superstructure, and her steam power plant was replaced by a diesel motor. Some time later, her old-fashioned straight stem was replaced with a raked version, and her armament was modernised. On 2–3 February 1989 she took part in the military coup which removed President Stroessner, during which she fired at the government palace and the congress building. After a session as guardship moored off the Vinas Cué military prison, she has since been in continuous deployment.
Launched:
1907 as tug Triunfo, by Conrad Werf, Haarlem, Netherlands.
Dimensions:
Displ: 183 tons (as built), 206 tons full load (current); L: 32.7m/107ft 3in (as built), 33.9m/111ft 2½in (current); B: 7.32m/24ft; D: 1.98m/6ft 6in.
Crew:
48 (1915); 43 (1926); 33 + 80 troops (current).
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 1 × VTE 270ihp steam engine. Replaced by 1 × 365bhp Caterpillar 3408 diesel engine/12 knots.
Guns/Armour:
Initially: 1 × 37mm Pom-pom. 1926: 1 × 3in Vickers; 2 × 37mm Pom-Poms. 1932: + 2 × MG. Current: 1 × 40mm Bofors; 2 × 20mm Oerlikon; 2 × 0.50 cal Browning HMG.
Fate:
As P-01, still in service.
Capitán Cabral in 1932. (Official Paraguayan Navy photo)
Capitán Cabral as rebuilt. (Photo by JerryE on Website: Shipspotting.com)
Paraguay and Humaitá
Paraguay and Humaitá are a pair of extremely large and powerfully-armed river gunboats built for Paraguay in Italy in the early 1930s. Probably with a view to suitably impressing their neigh-bours, both Paraguayan gunboats featured prominently in a series of postage stamps issued at the time (see APPENDIX 1). Paraguay became Navy flagship, and officially commissioned on 13 May 1931. Her sister commissioned on the same day.
Due to their large size both gunboats were used as troop transports during the Chaco War, Paraguay in particular transporting over 30,000 men northwards in 10 trips, bringing back over 2,000 Paraguayan troops and nearly 200 Bolivian prisoners. Humaitá was also used as a transport, and she saw action on 22 December 1932 near Puerto Leda, when the two Bolivian aircraft that had survived the morning’s attack on Tacuarí attacked her. Humaitá’s formidable AA defence drove them away without damage to either side. In October 1934 preparations were made to remove the after twin 120mm mounting on Humaitá, and transport the guns on a land carriage to bombard a key bridge near the Bolivian stronghold of
Villa Montes. The gun shield had been removed when progress by the Paraguayan Army rendered the project unnecessary.
In February 1936 both gunboats took part in the revolution which toppled President Eusebio Ayala, the commander of Paraguay giving the President refuge on board, but then changing sides when it became apparent that loyalist troops were losing.
Both were also involved in the revolt of May 1947, when they were taken over by parts of their crews at Buenos Aires and sailed for Paraguay. Humaitá suffered bomb and artillery damage from loyalist forces and both ended up interned at Itá Ibaté on 15 August 1947.
Paraguay was present at one more revolution, this time in September 1955 in Buenos Aires, when the ousted President Juan Perón sought refuge on board before fleeing to Asunción.
In 1968 Paraguay suffered a boiler-room fire. This caused secondary damage to her turbines, which did not become apparent until four years later. She was therefore withdrawn from active service and retained in a training and ceremonial role, which she continues to fulfil today. Her sister was deactivated in June 1983 due to the need for boiler overhaul. She was declared a museum ship in 2000, but in the intervening period managed to take an active part in yet another revolution, being towed from her moorings to the Bay of Asunción where she fired on the government palace, the congress building and loyalist strongholds, during the February 1989 coup which ousted President Stroessner.
Humaitá (now pennant number C-2) seen on an old postcard. For the stamps featuring these gunboats, see APPENDIX 1.
Paraguay’s forward twin 120mm guns and one of her 76mm AA guns, all of which are retained in working order, although ammunition for these Italian weapons has not been manufactured for many years. (Photo via Website: http://www.histarmar.com.ar/index.htm)
Launched:
Humaitá 16 April 1930, Paraguay 22 June 1930, by Odero, Sestri Ponente, Genoa.
Dimensions:
Displ: 835 tons full load as designed, 1,050 tons max; L: 71.2m/233ft 7in; B: 10.5m/34ft 5in; D: 1.8m/5ft 11in designed, 2.13m/7ft max (2.29m/7ft 6in aft).
Crew:
Original: 242 (wartime), 151 (peacetime). Current: 96 + up to 1,200 troops.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × ahead + 2 × astern 1,480shp geared steam turbines /17 knots.
Guns/Armour:
Original: 2 × twin 120mm Odero-Terni L/50; 3 × 76mm Odero-Terni L/50 DP; 2 × 40mm Pom-Poms M 1928; 6 Vickers H mines/Amidships Belt 15mm; Conning tower 20mm; 120mm Gun Shields 10mm. 1932–5: + 6 × 0.50 cal HMG. Current: Paraguay as above + 2 × 20mm Oerlikon (not presently fitted). Humaitá: Since 1974, 1 × 76mm in ‘B’ position replaced by 1 × twin 40mm Bofors; 40mm Pom-Poms replaced by 2 × 20mm Oerlikons.
Fate:
Humaitá retained as museum ship since 6 September 2000. Currently moored at Sajonia. Paraguay since 1972 withdrawn from active service. Relegated to gunnery training ship, seamanship and new recruit training. She also fulfils a ceremonial role.
Bouchard Class
Argentinian Bouchard class minesweepers were transferred to Paraguay: ARA Bouchard in 1964, becoming P-02 Nanawa, ARA Seaver in 1968, becoming P-03 Capitán Meza, and ARA Py the same year, becoming P-04 Teniente Fariña. All three were rerated as patrol vessels in 1968. P-03 was withdrawn from service in 1992 and used for a time as a barrack ship, before being scrapped. Her sisters are still in commission.
Launched:
P-02 20 March 1936, by Rio Santiago Arsenal; P-03 24 August 1938 by Astillero de Hansen y Puccini DY, San Fernando; P-04 31 March 1938 by Rio Santiago Arsenal.
Dimensions:
Displ: 679 tons full load; L: 59.69m/195ft 10in; B: 7.31m/24ft; D: 2.74m/9ft.
Crew:
106 (later reduced to 63) + 300 troops.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × two-stroke MAN 1,000bhp diesel engines/16 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 100mm; 2 × 20mm; 2 × 7.65mm MG. Current (P-02 and P-04): 2 × twin 40mm Bofors; 2 × 0.50 cal Browning HMG.
Fate:
P-03 scrapped 1995; P-02 and P-04 still in service.
P-02 Nanawa, ex-Argentine Bouchard, seen at the Sajonia Naval Station, Asunción. (Photo via Website: http://www.histarmar.com.ar/index.htm)
Itaipú
Itaipú is a Brazilian Roraíma-class river gunboat built for Paraguay at the Rio Arsenal. Launched on 16 March 1984, she sailed for Paraguay on 17 May 1985, carrying on board two new helicopters for the Paraguayan navy. She has a helipad capable of landing one helicopter. On 2–3 February 1989 Itaipú fired mortar rounds at the Asunción police station during the coup which deposed President Stroessner. The police station was inaccessible to direct artillery fire. For details, see BRAZIL.
Launched:
16 March 1984 by Arsenal de Marinha de Rio de Janeiro.
Dimensions:
Displ: 401.7 tons full load; L: 46.3m/151ft 11in; B: 8.58m/28ft 2in; D: 1.595m/5ft 3in (full load).
Crew:
51 and 30 Marines, + max 200 troops.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × 972bhp MAN V16/18TLS 12-cyl diesel engines/14 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 40mm Bofors; 2 × M2 Mod 0 combined 81mm mortars + 0.50 cal MG; 4 × 0.50 cal Browning HMG.
Fate:
In service.
P06 and P07
In November 1994 Taiwan transferred to Paraguay two aluminium fast missile patrol boats of the early Hai Ou class, based on an Israeli design, the Dvora class. FAGB-3 became P06 Capitán Ortiz and FAGB-4, P07 Teniente Robles. Both were delivered without missiles or associated equipment, for use as river patrol boats. Their low-profile lattice masts carrying the missile guidance radar have been replaced with tall tower masts more suitable for observation of the river banks.
P06 Capitán Ortiz, ex-FABG-3.
Launched:
1977 by China Shipbuilding Corp., Kaoshiung, Taiwan.
Dimensions:
Displ: 48.5 tons full load; L: 22.86m/75ft; B: 5.48m/18ft; D: 1.22m/4ft (fwd); 1.83m/6ft (aft).
Crew:
12.
Power/Speed:
Triple screws; 3 × 1,600bhp MTU 12V331 TC81 diesel engines/40 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 20mm Oerlikon; 1 × 0.50 cal HMG; 2 × 7.62mm MG.
Fate:
In service.
P08 Yhaguy and P09 Tebicuary
Two smaller patrol craft, built of GRP, were donated to Paraguay by Taiwan in 1999. They have an MG tub forward, and can carry sixteen troops/passengers in aircraft-type seats.
Launched:
1999 by China Shipbuilding Corp., Kaoshiung, Taiwan.
Dimensions:
Displ: 25 tons; L: 16.1m/52ft 10in; B: 4.5m/14ft 9in; D: 1m/3ft 3in.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × 800bhp Caterpillar 3406E diesel engines/40 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × MG.
Fate:
In service.
PATROL LAUNCHES
P1 to P6
Six wooden former US Navy 45-foot (13.7m) picket boats were transferred to Paraguay under Lend-lease in 1944.
Launched:
1944 as USCG Hull Nos C20417–C20419 and C20421–C20423.
Dimensions:
Displ: 16 tons; L: 13.95m/45ft 9in; B: 4.17m/13ft 8in; D: 1.12m/3ft 8in.
Crew:
5.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × 250bhp Hudson or Hall-Scott Invader 12-cyl petrol engines/20 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × twin 0.50 cal MG.
Fate:
P1 and P2 remained in service until the early 1960s.
PT-110, PT-111, PT-112, PT-114, PT-115, PT-116 and PT-117
Small wooden patrol launches delivered to Paraguay under the American Mutual Assistance Program (MAP) in 1972.
Launched:
1953 as US Army boats, design Type 243B.
Dimensions:
Displ: 6.7 tons; L: 11.12m/36ft 6in; B: 3.2m/10ft 6in; D: 0.
60m/1ft 11½in.
Crew:
5.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 1 × 200bhp General Motors 6071-A diesel engine.
Guns/Armour:
MG.
Fate:
Stricken beginning in 1978, the last one being abandoned in 1981.
L.P.1
L.P.1, the former Anselmita, was donated to the navy by Messrs Apesteguia y Barte, and served as a patrol launch during the Chaco War.
Launched:
?
Dimensions:
Displ: 8.2 tons; L: 14.2m/46ft 7in; B: 2.8m/9ft 2in; D: 0.65m/2ft 1½in (fwd), 1m/3ft 3in (aft).
Crew:
7.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 1 × 55bhp 4-cyl Selve D4 BW diesel/10 knots.
Guns/Armour:
MG.
Fate:
Stricken by 1989 at Encarnatión.
LP-2 Grumete Reyes
This patrol launch was built of iron, 13m (42ft 8in) long × 2.3m (7ft 6in) beam × 0.6m (2ft 11½in) draught. She was transferred to the National Port Navigation Administration (ANNP) in 1979.
L.P.3 Grumete Corrales
Patrol launch, intended as the prototype of a series of six, but which remained unique.
Launched:
1 September 1960 by Asunción Naval Arsenal.
Dimensions:
Displ: 5 tons; L: 10.7m/35ft 1in; B: 9.8m/32ft 2in; D: 0.62m/2ft 0½in.
Crew:
5–7.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 1 × 200bhp General Motors 6071-A diesel engine/8 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 7.65mm MG.
Fate:
Stricken by 1989 at Encarnatión.
L.P.4 and L.P.5
No information is available about these two patrol launches, except that L.P.5 was powered by a Borgward diesel engine of 105bhp.