ARA Espora (P-41)

Anti-Ship / Anti-Submarine Corvette / Frigate Warship

Argentina | 1985

"While classified by some sources as frigates, the Argentine Navy sees the ARA Espora P-41, and her sisters, as corvettes."

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 04/24/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

The modern Argentine Navy is a shell of its former self, having suffered for decades from a lack of proper funding and its situation only worsened with growing Argentine economic woes. Despite this, the service treads water with what is available to its men and women. Among the active inventory is the Espora-class which was originally purchased in a six-strong batch encompassing Espora, Rosale, Spiro, Parker, Robinson, and Gomez Roca. The series entered service from 1985 to 2002 but, today (2018), less than half of the class is known to be actively available.

The group was part of a larger Argentine Navy modernization plan heading into the 1980s to help replace ex-American Navy World War 2-era fighting surface combatants. However, the subsequent defeat of the Argentines, at the hands of the British Navy, during the Falklands War of 1982 severely derailed the initiative. The six corvettes, identified by some sources as frigates, were based in an original Portuguese warship design known as "Joao Coutinho" and this evolved to become the "MEKO 140A16" design standard, essentially a scaled-down version of the larger "MEKO 360" series destroyer. The purpose of the ships was to fulfill the anti-ship / anti-submarine coastal defense role (but to also include maritime enforcement and fishery-industry-related tasks) so they carried compact dimensions including a rather shallow draught of just 10.9 feet. Overall length reached 299 feet and their beam was 36 feet.

Displacing 1,560 tons under load, the class was led by its lead ship, ARA Espora. Espora was named after Tomas Espora and built by the local Argentine shipyard of Rio Santiango. Her keel was laid down on March 10th, 1980 and she was launched to sea on January 23rd, 1982. However, the aforementioned Argentina involvement in the Falklands delayed commissioning of the vessel until September 4th, 1985 - well after the war had concluded.

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Powered by 2 x SEMT-Pielstick 16PC 2-5 V400 marine diesels driving twin shafts under stern, the vessel could make headway at 27 knots and range out to 4,000 nautical miles. Aboard was a crew of about 93 specialists. Armament included a single 76mm OTO-Melara turreted deck gun in the "A" position, a 40mm Bofors autocannon in the "B" position and another 40mm gun mounted well aft. Beyond this 2 x 0.50 caliber heavy machine guns could be installed for close-in air/ship defense. 2 x 324mm ILAS-3 triple torpedo tubes were installed to deal with at-sea threats but the main armament of this little ship became the four MM.38 "Exocet" anti-ship missile launchers which gave the vessel a dangerous ranged, sea-skimming capability.

The warship's profile was largely conventional: the forecastle was relatively short and fitted the 76mm turreted main gun. On a stepped portion of the hull superstructure was found the first 40mm autocannon (the second fitting was over the stern). The bridge took its usual place over the forward superstructure and a dual mast approach was featured. The smoke funnels were enclosed and of a low profile design. A helipad was installed to support a single light-class utility-minded helicopter.

Beyond general patrolling duties for the Argentine Navy, ARA Espora has undertaken joint allied exercises. Machinery problems were noted in October of 2012 which delayed her participation in one such event. During May of 2016, she collided with an oil tanker off the coast of Puerto Belgrano - her homeport - and suffered extensive damage to her frame.

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Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one sea-going vessel design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for ARA Espora (P-41).

2 x SEMT-Pielstick marine diesels developing 20,385 horsepower and driving 2 x Shafts under stern.
Propulsion

27.0 kts
31.1 mph
Surface Speed

4,002 nm
4,605 miles | 7,411 km
Range

Structure
The bow-to-stern, port-to-starboard physical qualities of ARA Espora (P-41).

93
Personnel
Complement

299.0 ft
91.14 meters
O/A Length

36.1 ft
11.00 meters
Beam

10.9 ft
3.32 meters
Draught

1,560
tons
Displacement

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of ARA Espora (P-41).

1 x 76mm OTO-Melara Dual-Purpose (DP) turreted deck gun over the forecastle.
4 x MM.38 "Exocet" anti-ship missiles in two twin-tubed container launchers at the stern.
1 x 40mm Oerlikon Anti-Aircraft (AA) gun in forward mounting.
1 x 40mm Oerlikon AA gun in aft mounting.
2 x 12.7mm Browning Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs).
2 x 324mm (12.75") ILAS 3 triple torpedo tubes with 12 x Reloads available.

Air Arm
Available supported fixed-wing / rotary-wing aircraft featured in the design of ARA Espora (P-41).

1 x Aerospatiale SA319B Alouette III or AS555 Fennec light-class utility helicopter over the stern helipad.

Ships-in-Class (6)
Notable series variants as part of the ARA Espora (P-41) family line as relating to the Espora-class group.

ARA Espora (P-41); ARA Rosale (P-42); ARA Spiro (P-43); ARA Parker (P-44); ARA Robinson (P-45); ARA Gomez Roca (P-46)

Operators
Global operator(s) of the ARA Espora (P-41). Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national naval warfare listing.

[ Argentina ]

1 / 1

Image from the Public Domain.

Going Further...
ARA Espora (P-41) Anti-Ship / Anti-Submarine Corvette / Frigate Warship appears in the following collections:

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