Navy of Peru

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Peruvian Navy

History History of the Peruvian Navy Battles of the Peruvian Navy Ships Current ships Historic ships Personnel Senior officers Officer rank insignia Enlisted rate insignia Other Naval School

The Peruvian Navy (Spanish: Marina de Guerra del Perú, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding internal security, conducting disaster relief operations and participating in international peacekeeping operations.

As of 2007, the Peruvian Navy comprises 1 cruiser, 1 destroyer, 8 frigates, 6 corvettes, 6 submarines, 4 tank landing ships and 4 replenishment oilers. Ships are given the prefix BAP, short for Buque Armada Peruana (Peruvian Navy Ship). The Marina de Guerra del Perú celebrates on October 8 the anniversary of its creation (1821) and of the Battle of Angamos (1879).

Contents 1 History 2 Organization 2.1 Comandancia General de Operaciones del Pacífico 2.2 Comandancia General de Operaciones de la Amazonía 2.3 Dirección General de Capitanías y Guardacostas 3 Bases 4 Personnel 5 Ships 5.1 Cruiser 5.2 Destroyer 5.3 Frigates 5.4 Corvettes 5.5 Submarines 5.6 Tank Landing Ships 5.7 River Gunboats 5.8 Auxiliaries 6 Naval Aviation 6.1 Fixed-wing Aircraft 6.2 Rotary-wing Aircraft 7 Naval Infantry 7.1 Naval Infantry Brigade 7.2 Other units 8 Equipment 8.1 Guns 8.2 Missiles 8.3 Torpedoes 9 Peacekeeping Operations 10 Future plans 11 Notes 12 Sources 13 See also 14 External links

[edit] History

Main article: History of the Peruvian Navy

The Marina de Guerra del Perú was established on October 8, 1821 by the government of general José de San Martín. Its first actions were undertaken during the War of Independence (1821-1824) using captured Spanish warships. Shortly afterwards it was engaged in the war against the Gran Colombia (1828-1829) during which it conducted a blockade against the seaport of Guayaquil and then helped with the occupation of this city by Peruvian forces. It saw further action during the wars of the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy (1836-1839) and during the war with Spain (1866). The breakout of the Pacific War (1879-1883) caught the Peruvian Navy unprepared and with inferior forces in comparison with the Chilean Navy. Even so, hit-and-run tactics carried out by Peruvian Admiral Miguel Grau, commander of the ironclad Huáscar, delayed the Chilean advance by six months until his death and defeat at the Battle of Angamos.

After the war, the Peruvian Navy had to be rebuilt from the ground up. This lengthy process started in 1907 with the acquisition in the United Kingdom of the protected cruisers Almirante Grau and Coronel Bolognesi, followed by the arrival of two submarines, Ferré and Palacios, from France in 1911. During the Presidency of Augusto B. Leguía (1919-1930) a Navy Ministry was established as well as a Navy Aviation Corps, both in 1920. Border conflicts with Colombia in 1911 and 1932 and a war with Ecuador in 1941 saw Peruvian warships involved in some skirmishes in support of the Army. The attack on Pearl Harbor brought World War II to the Pacific and even though Peru didn't declare war on the Axis until 1945, it's Navy was involved in patrol missions against possible threats by the Imperial Japanese Navy from early 1942 up to mid-1945. During the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s the Peruvian Navy carried out a major buildup programme which allowed it to regain parity vis-à-vis its traditional rival, the Chilean Navy. This proved to be temporary because the economic crisis of the second half of the 1980s forced the decommissioning of several warships and resulted in a general lack of funds for maintenance and training. The economic upturn of the 1990s and 2000s has permitted some improvement although at a reduced force level compared to the early 1980s.

[edit] Organization

The current Commander-in-Chief of the Peruvian Navy is Admiral Eduardo Darcourt Adrianzén. Naval Forces are subordinated to the Ministry of Defense and ultimately to the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Peruvian Armed Forces. They are organized as follows:

• Comandancia General de la Marina (Navy General Command)
  • Estado Mayor General de la Marina (Navy General Staff)
  • Inspectoría General de la Marina (Navy General Inspectorate)

Operational units are divided between three commands:

[edit] Comandancia General de Operaciones del Pacífico

Pacific Operations General Command, it comprises the following units:

• Comandancia de la Escuadra (Fleet Command)
• Comandancia de Submarinos (Submarine Command)
• Comandancia de Aviación Naval (Naval Aviation Command)
• Comandancia de Infantería de Marina (Naval Infantry Command)
• Comandancia de Operaciones Especiales (Special Operations Command)

[edit] Comandancia General de Operaciones de la Amazonía

Amazon Operations General Command, tasked with river patrolling in the Peruvian portion of the Amazon Basin.

[edit] Dirección General de Capitanías y Guardacostas

Coast Guard, tasked with law enforcement on Peruvian territorial waters, rivers and lakes.

[edit] Bases

• Ancón - Naval Infantry headquarters and base
• Callao - Main naval base, dockyard and naval aviation base
• Chimbote - Minor base and dockyard
• Iquitos - On the Amazon river
• Paita - Minor base
• Pisco - Minor base
• Puno - On Lake Titicaca
• San Juan de Marcona - Naval aviation base

Although most of the fleet is based at Callao, this is not considered an ideal location because it's also the main outlet for Peruvian trade, causing space and security problems. During the 1980s the building of a new naval base at Chimbote was considered but high costs and a bad economic situation made the project unfeasible.^[1]

[edit] Personnel

Personnel (as of 2001) [2]
Commissioned Officers	2,107
Non-commissioned officers	16,863
Cadets	620
NCO in training	1,533
Enlisted	4,855
Civilians	5,079
Total	25,988 (excl. civilians)

[edit] Ships

[edit] Cruiser

De Ruyter class

• BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81) ex HNLMS De Ruyter

[edit] Destroyer

Daring class

• BAP Ferré (DM-74) ex HMS Decoy

[edit] Frigates

Modified Lupo class

• BAP Carvajal (FM-51)
• BAP Villavisencio (FM-52)
• BAP Montero (FM-53)
• BAP Mariátegui (FM-54)

Lupo class

• BAP Aguirre (FM-55) ex MM Orsa
• BAP Palacios (FM-56) ex MM Lupo
• BAP Bolognesi (FM-57) ex MM Perseo
• BAP Quiñónez (FM-58) ex MM Sagitario

[edit] Corvettes

PR-72P class

• BAP Velarde (CM-21)
• BAP Santillana (CM-22)
• BAP De los Heros (CM-23)
• BAP Herrera (CM-24)
• BAP Larrea (CM-25)
• BAP Sánchez Carrión (CM-26)

[edit] Submarines

Type 209/1200 class

• BAP Angamos (SS-31) ex BAP Casma
• BAP Antofagasta (SS-32)
• BAP Pisagua (SS-33)
• BAP Chipana (SS-34) ex BAP Blume
• BAP Islay (SS-35)
• BAP Arica (SS-36)

[edit] Tank Landing Ships

Terrebonne Parish class

• BAP Paita (DT-141) ex USS Burnett County
• BAP Pisco (DT-142) ex USS Waldo County
• BAP Callao (DT-143) ex USS Washoe County
• BAP Eten (DT-144) ex USS Traverse County

[edit] River Gunboats

• BAP Loreto (CF-11)
• BAP Amazonas (CF-12)
• BAP Marañón (CF-13)
• BAP Ucayali (CF-14)

[edit] Auxiliaries

• BAP Caloyeras (ACA-111)
• BAP Noguera (ACP-118)
• BAP Gauden (ACP-119)
• BAP Carrasco (AH-171) ex HNLMS Abcoude
• BAP Marte (ALY-313)
• BAP Unanue (AMB-160) ex USS Wateree
• BAP Guardián Ríos (ARA-123) ex USS Pinto
• BAP Dueñas (ARB-126)
• BAP San Lorenzo (ART-322)
• BAP Mollendo (ATC-131) ex BAP Ilo
• BAP Talara (ATP-152)
• BAP Lobitos (ATP-153) ex USNS Sealift Caribbean
• BAP Bayovar (ATP-154) ex Petr Schmidt
• BAP Zorritos (ATP-155) ex Grigoriy Nesterenko
• BAP Supe (ATP-157)

[edit] Naval Aviation

[edit] Fixed-wing Aircraft

• 5 Beechcraft B-200T maritime patrol aircraft
• 3 Fokker F-27 maritime patrol aircraft
• 5 Beechcraft T-34C-1 training aircraft
• 2 Antonov An-32B transport aircraft
• 1 De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter seaplane
• 1 Cessna 206 liaison aircraft

[edit] Rotary-wing Aircraft

• 5 Agusta - Bell AB-212 anti-surface warfare / anti-submarine warfare helicopter
• 3 Agusta - Sikorsky ASH-3D anti-surface warfare / anti-submarine warfare helicopter
• 4 Bell 206B training helicopter
• 3 Mil Mi-8T transport helicopter

[edit] Naval Infantry

[edit] Naval Infantry Brigade

• 1st Naval Infantry Battalion - Ancón
• 2nd Naval Infantry Battalion - Ancón
• Amphibious Support Group
• Fire support Group
• Commando Grouping
• Engineers Unit

[edit] Other units

• 3rd Naval Infantry Battalion - Tumbes
• 4th Naval Infantry Battalion - Puno
• 1st Jungle Naval Infantry Battalion - Iquitos
• 2nd Jungle Naval Infantry Battalion - Pucallpa
• Naval Infantry Detachment Litoral Sur - Mollendo

[edit] Equipment

[edit] Guns

• Bofors 152/53 mm
• Vickers Mk V 114/45 mm
• Otobreda 127/54 mm Compact Gun
• Otobreda 76/62 mm Compact Gun
• Otobreda 40/70 mm Compact Gun

[edit] Missiles

• Exocet AM-39 Air-to-Surface Missile (ASM)
• Exocet MM-38 Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM)
• Otomat Mk2 Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM)
• Aspide Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM)

[edit] Torpedoes

• A-184 533 mm heavyweight torpedo
• A-244 324 mm lightweight torpedo
• SST-4 Mod 0 533 mm heavyweight torpedo

[edit] Peacekeeping Operations

The Peruvian Navy has been actively involved in several United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. As of June of 2006 Naval Infantry and Special Operations troops have been deployed to United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) (embedded in the Argentine forces[1] ) and United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Peruvian naval officers have also been deployed to United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) as United Nations Militar Observers (UNMOs).

[edit] Future plans

According to current plans, the destroyer Ferré will soon be decommissioned followed by the fleet flagship, the cruiser Almirante Grau, in 2008 or 2010. By 2010 the fleet is expected to be composed of 8 frigates, 6 corvettes, 6 submarines and two replenishment oilers. They will be supported by 3 maritime patrol aircraft and 8 antisubmarine warfare helicopters.^[3]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ "La base de Chimbote", Caretas, 1985.
2. ^ http://www.resdal.org/art-rial.htm, based on Supreme Decree DS No. 69 DE/SG of 2001.
3. ^ Alejo Marchessini, "El proceso de Reforma Militar". Defensa 318: 24-29 (October 2004).

[edit] Sources

• Baker III, Arthur D., The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 2002-2003.
  Naval Institute Press, 2002.
• Basadre, Jorge, Historia de la República del Perú. Editorial Universitaria, 1983.
• "La base de Chimbote", Caretas, 855: 31 (June 17, 1985).
• Marchessini, Alejo, "La Comandancia de Operaciones del Pacifico".
  Defensa 315/316: 68-69 (July / August 2004).
• Marchessini, Alejo, "El proceso de Reforma Militar".
  Defensa 318: 24-29 (October 2004).
• Marchessini, Alejo, "Las patrulleras de los Guardacostas".
  Defensa 342: 48-50 (October 2006).
• Marchessini, Alejo & Javier Taibo, "La Marina de Guerra del Perú".
  Defensa 267/268: 36-59 (July / August 2000).
• Ortiz Sotelo, Jorge, Apuntes para la historia de los submarinos peruanos. Biblioteca Nacional, 2001.
• Rial, Juan, Los militares tras el fin del régimen de Fujimori-Montesinos.
  http://www.resdal.org/art-rial.htm

[edit] See also

• Battle of Angamos
• Battle of Iquique
• Battle of Pacocha
• Ironclad Huáscar
• Miguel Grau
• SIFOREX
• War of the Pacific

[edit] External links

• Official Peruvian Navy Website
• Armored Defense — Photo gallery.
• Servicio Industrial de la Marina — Peruvian Navy Shipyards. In English and Spanish.
• The Peruvian Navy: the XIX Century Maritime Campaigns — a series of articles covering the history of the 19th century Peruvian Navy by Juan del Campo.

Military of Peru
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