João Belo-class frigate

NRP Comandante João Belo (F480)
Class overview
Name: João Belo (modified Commandant Rivière)
Builders: AC de Nantes, France
Operators:  Portuguese Navy
 National Navy of Uruguay
In commission: 1967 - present day
Completed: 4
Active: 2 (Uruguay)
Scrapped: 2
General characteristics
Type:frigate
Displacement:1,750 tons standard, 2,230 tons full load
Length:102,7 m
Beam:11.5 m
Draught:4.3 m
Propulsion:2 shaft 4 Diesel engines SEMT Pielstick V12 PC2 16,000 HP
Speed:25 knots
Range:7500 nmi at 16 knots
Boats and landing
craft carried:		LCPS boats
Complement:9 officers
67 non-commissioned officers
93 Quarter-masters and sailors
Sensors and
processing systems:		DRBV22A sentry radar

Decca 1226 navigation radar
DRBC32C fire control radar
DUBA3 sonar

SQS17 sonar
Electronic warfare
and decoys:		ARBR10 radar detector
Armament:3 x 100 mm guns (3x1) - one gun later replaced by 4 MM38 Exocet Missiles

2 - 40 mm guns
1 -305 mm anti-submarine mortar

6 - 550 mm torpedo tubes (2x3)

The João Belo class, also known as Comandante João Belo class, is a class of four frigates of French design, identical to the Commandant Rivière class, with extra equipment for tropical climates. Ordered by the Portuguese Navy in 1964, the four ships of this class were constructed in Nantes' shipyard.

In the 1960s the Portuguese Navy was interested in the acquisition of British frigates of the Leander class, but because of British political opposition against Portugal this acquisition was impossible. Portugal was then forced to buy frigates of an already existing project due the urgency in the acquisition of naval ships for the defense of African, Macau's and Portuguese Timor's waters.

The two remaining frigates in active service of this class were replaced, in 2008, by the Bartolomeu Dias class (Dutch Karel Doorman class) in the Portuguese Navy. The NRP João Belo and the NRP Sacadura Cabral were sold to the Uruguayan Navy, becoming, respectively the ROU Uruguay and the ROU Pedro Campbell.

Ships

Pennant Name Shipyard Commissioned Status
F480 Comandante João Belo Chantier Nantes, Dubigeon 1967 Sold to Uruguay as ROU 01 Uruguay
F481 Comandante Hermenegildo Capelo Chantier Nantes, Dubigeon 1968 Decommissioned in 2004. Sunk in 2013 to form an artificial reef in Algarve. "Ocean Revival" program.
F482 Comandante Roberto Ivens Chantier Nantes, Dubigeon 1968 Decommissioned in 1998 after colliding with a Tanker ship on a NATO exercise. The vessel was seriously damaged by the accident and had to be towed to harbour. Due to the age and extent of the damage, it was decided to decommission the ship. It was stripped of its equipment, taken to sea and sunk.
F483 Comandante Sacadura Cabral Chantier Nantes, Dubigeon 1969 Sold to Uruguay as ROU 02 Comandante Pedro Campbell

See also

References