Bouchard-class minesweeper

The Bouchard-class minesweepers were the first large warships built in Argentina. They were intended to complement and eventually replace the Argentine Bathurst-class ships purchased from Germany after World War I. They were designed in the early 1930s and laid down in 1935–1937.[1]

The Bouchard class was based on the Bathurst-class design, with diesel engines instead of steam engines and larger calibre (99 mm Bethlehem-Vickers) main armament. However, these ships had poor stability, which eventually led to the loss of Fournier in 1949.[1]

The minesweepers were 59.00 m (193 ft 7 in) long overall and 49.99 m (164 ft 0 in) between perpendiculars with a beam of 7.30 m (23 ft 11 in) and a draught of 2.27 m (7 ft 5 in). The Bouchard class had a standard displacement of 450 long tons (457 t) and 520 long tons (528 t) at full load. They were powered by 2-cycle MAN diesel engines turning two shafts rated at 2,000 brake horsepower (1,500 kW). They had capacity for 50 long tons (51 t) of fuel oil, a maximum speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) and had a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[2][3][n 1]

The ships were armed with two single-mounted 99 mm (3.9 in)/47 calibre guns.[n 2] For anti-aircraft defence, the minesweepers were equipped with one twin 40 mm (1.6 in) mount. They also carried two 7.65 mm (0.301 in) machine guns and were initially equipped with two depth charges.[2][4] The Bouchard class had a complement of 62.[3]

The Bouchard class were all given names of famous Argentine naval commanders.[2] They were commissioned by the Argentine Navy in the late 1930s and remained in service until the late 1960s. The ships in the class were used in exercises with the main fleet, and very frequently assigned to the Patagonian seas where conditions are very rough. The stability problem of this design was worsened in those seas, which eventually led to the loss of Fournier with all hands during a storm in the Straits of Magellan on 22 September 1949.[1][2] Fournier had struck an uncharted rock at the entrance to the San Gabriel Channel.[3]

Three ships were transferred to the Paraguayan Navy after being decommissioned by Argentina, and remained in service as of the late 1990s. The three ships included Bouchard and Seaver, and Py[n 3] with Bouchard being renamed Nanawa and commissioned into the Paraguayan Navy on 14 March 1964. Seaver became Capitan Meza and commissioned on 6 May 1968. Py became Teniente Farina and commissioned on 6 May 1968.[n 4] In Paraguayan service they were used as river patrol craft and could carry naval mines. Their armament was modified to just one quad 40 mm mount and the two machine guns.[5][6] Teniente Farina was berthed at Asunción in 2009 with the intention of converting the vessel to a museum ship.[7]

• List of ships of the Argentine Navy

• Blackman, Raymond V. B., ed. (1953). Jane's Fighting Ships 1953–54. London: Sampson, Low and Marston. OCLC 913556389.
• Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen & Budzbon, Przemysław, eds. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
• McMurtrie, Francis E., ed. (1943) [1942]. Jane's Fighting Ships 1942. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. OCLC 28197961.
• Sharpe, Richard, ed. (1990). Jane's Fighting Ships 1990–91 (93 ed.). Surrey, United Kingdom: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-7106-0904-3.

• Arguindeguy, Pablo (1972). Apuntes sobre los buques de la Armada Argentina (1810-1970) (in Spanish). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Comando en Jefe de la Armada.
• Burzio, Humberto (1960). Armada Nacional (in Spanish). Secretaria de Estado de Marina.
• Piccirilli, Ricardo; Gianello, Leoncio (1963). Biografías navales (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Secretaría de Estado de Marina.

• Media related to Bouchard class minesweepers at Wikimedia Commons