Nueva Esparta class destroyer

Aragua destroyer
Class overview
Builders: Vickers Armstrongs Shipyards Barrow in Furness
Operators: Venezuela Venezuelan Navy
Preceded by: Nueva Esparta class destroyer
General characteristics
Displacement:Standard: 2,600 tons
Full load: 3,670 tons
Length:402 ft (122,5 m)
Beam:43 ft (13 m)
Draught:19 ft (5.8 m)
Propulsion:2 Foster Wheeler boilers (650 psi, 850 °F), Parsons steam turbines, 50,000 shp
Speed:34 kn ( km/h)
Range:10,000 nmi at 10 kn, 1 month
Complement:18 officers and 236 crew members
Sensors and
processing systems:		Radar Type 293Q target indication

Radar Type 291 air warning
Radar Type 274 navigation
Radar Type 275 fire control on director Mk.VI

Radar Type 262 fire control on director CRBF and STAAG Mk.II
Armament:6 x QF 4.5 in /45 (114 mm) Mark V in 3 twin mountings UD Mark VI

4 x 40 mm /60 Bofors A/A in 2 twin mounts STAAG Mk.II
2 x 40 mm /60 Bofors A/A in 1 twin mount Mk.V
2 x Torpedo tubes for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes Mk.IX

1 x 'Squid A/S mortar

The Nueva Esparta-class destroyers were a class of warships used by the navy of Venezuela. The lead ship was named after Nueva Esparta (Spanish for "New Sparta"), the name of one of the States of Venezuela.

These ships were requested in 1950, and were built by the Vickers Armstrongs shipyards in Barrow-in-Furness between 1951 and 1954.

History

The ships were designed by Vickers Armstrong shipyards in the 1950s for the Venezuela naval forces. The design has been identified as a derivative of the Batch 3 Battle-class destroyers built for the United Kingdom and Australia, according information released by the International Naval Research Organization and several independent researchers in 2006. They were to form part of a fleet that included a 25,000 ton aircraft carrier and a Tiger-class cruiser.

The fleet arrangement for 30/04/1949 covers:

The names assigned to these ships were associated with states in Venezuela.

Ships

Two Nueva Esparta-class destroyers during the UNITAS X exercise in 1969.
Code Name Shipyard ID. Keel date Launch date Commissioned Repair Weapons refit Major maint Status Decommissioned Life cycle
D11 Nueva Esparta 1009 24/07/1951 19/11/1952 08/12/1953 1959 1960 1968/69 Sunk 1978 25,08
D21 Zulia 1010 24/07/1951 29/06/1953 14/02/1956 1959 1960 N/A Floating museum - sunk 1983 29,32
D31 Aragua 1036 29/06/1953 27/01/1955 14/02/1956 1959 N/A N/A Sunk 1975 19,89

Sensors and EW

Model Max range Abilities Notes
FH-4 500 Surface and aerial search, bearing, and classification data Passive RWR/ESM/SIGINT
Tipo 162 1 Search, bearing, and range data Active sonar
Type 170 3 Search, bearing & range data Active sonar
Type 177 3 Search, bearing & range data Active/passive radar
Type 275 fc 16 Surface & aerial search in surface, bearing and classification, range & altitude data Radar
Type 293 45 Surface & aerial search in surface, bearing and range data, IFF Radar
Type 974 25 Surface & aerial search in surface, bearing and range data Radar

Armament

Mount Rate of Fire Capacity Weapons per mount
8 x twin mounting 40mm L/60 Bofors 120 800 16 x 40mm/60 twin double Bofors (max 16)
2 x Mark 4 Squid 180 3 3 x MK4 Squid (max 3)
3 x 4.5 inch (113 mm) L/45 Vickers Mark V in Mark IV twin mounting 18 900 3 x 114mm/45 Vickers MK IV Twin (max 6)

Magazines

Magazines Rate of Fire Armor Capacity Stores
4.5 in (114 mm) 18 Light 900 900
MK4 Squid 15 None 20 20
40mm 120 None 800 800

Communications and datalinks

Name Type Range Channels Description
HF Radio 300 10 HF secure
VHF Radio 100 10 VHF secure
UHF Radio 100 10 UHF secure
HF Radio 300 10 HF plain
VHF Radio 100 10 VHF plain
UHF Radio 100 10 UHF plain

Sensor signatures

Signature Type Front Side Rear
Passive sonar 95 96 97
Active sonar 16 27 17
Visual 110 151 110
IR —12 67 18
Radar 71 140 71

Service

One ship was assigned to each destroyer division along with two Almirante Clemente-class destroyers; Nueva Esparta went to the first division, Zulia to the second and Aragua to the third.

References

    External links