BAP ''Almirante Grau'' (CLM-81) is a cruiser that served in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest of Peru, Spanish conquest in th ...

navies. Completed for the Dutch in 1953 as HNLMS ''De Ruyter'' (C801), she was acquired by Peru in 1973 and served as

fleet flagship In the Royal Navy, the fleet flagship is, in practice, the warship designated as the fleet's most prestigious vessel, currently . In the modern era, the fleet flagship has usually been an aircraft carrier, but that changed in 2010 with the assignm ...

. ''Almirante Grau'' underwent a major modernization program between 1985 and 1988 during which she was fitted with new weapons and electronics. She was the last gun cruiser in service in any navy before being decommissioned on 26 September 2017. In 2019, it was to be said that she would be preserved as a museum ship. However, it was later announced on 14 February 2022 that the ship would put up for sale with an asking price of 4,180,000 soles (1,112,520 USD).

Construction

''De Ruyter'' was laid down by the Royal Netherlands Navy on 5 September 1939 as the cruiser HNLMS ''De Zeven Provinciën'' at the

Wilton-Fijenoord Wilton-Fijenoord was a shipbuilding and repair company in Schiedam the Netherlands from 1929 to 1999. Presently, the shipyard of Wilton-Feijnoord is part of Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam. Merger of Wilton and Fijenoord (1929) Wilton-Fijenoord had ...

shipyard at Schiedam. She and her sister-ship, later ', were intended to replace the two s in the Dutch East Indies. At the

German invasion of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands ( nl, Duitse aanval op Nederland), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands ( nl, Slag om Nederland), was a military campaign part of Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb), the Nazi German invasion of t ...

in May 1940 little had been constructed. The Kriegsmarine intended to complete her as the training cruiser ''KH 1'' but construction was slow and she was not launched until 24 December 1944, with the intent by then to use her as a

blockship A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used. It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of at Portland Harbour in 1914 ...

in the

Nieuwe Waterweg The Nieuwe Waterweg ("New Waterway") is a ship canal in the Netherlands from het Scheur (a branch of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta) west of the town of Maassluis to the North Sea at Hook of Holland: the Maasmond, where the Nieuwe Waterweg con ...

, the approaches to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

. After the liberation of the Netherlands, the Navy completed ''De Zeven Provinciën'' with modifications, and she was commissioned as HNLMS ''De Ruyter'' (C801) on 18 November 1953.

Royal Netherlands Navy service

In Dutch service both ships participated in several NATO exercises, and were frequently used as flagships for different naval task forces. Between 1962 and 1964, ''De Zeven Provinciën'' underwent a refit which included the removal of the two aft turrets and the installation of a

RIM-2 Terrier The Convair RIM-2 Terrier was a two-stage medium-range naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. It underwent significant upgrades while in service, starting with ...

SAM system, but lack of funds precluded the same modifications from being carried out in ''De Ruyter''. After two decades in service, she was decommissioned on 16 October 1972.

Peruvian Navy service

The Peruvian Navy bought ''De Ruyter'' on 7 March 1973 as a counter to the acquisition of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

cruiser by the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the War ...

. Commissioned on 23 May 1973 as ''Almirante Grau'', in honor of the

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian Admiral Miguel Grau, the ship arrived at her new homeport of Callao on 11 July 1973. She was designated

in succession to another cruiser of the same name (the former ), which was renamed .

Modernization

From 1985 until 1988, she underwent a major modernization program by Amsterdam Naval Services (ANS) at its shipyard in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, during which she was denominated ''Proyecto de Modernización 01'' (Modernization Project 01) or PM-01. Her role as flagship was assumed by her sistership as ''Almirante Grau''. Both ships regained their former names when the former ''De Ruyter'' returned to Callao on 15 February 1988. The upgrade program carried out in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

included the following: * Fitting of the

Signaal Thales Nederland B.V. (formerly Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V. or in short Signaal) is a subsidiary of the French multinational company Thales Group based in the Netherlands. The firm was founded as ''NV Hazemeyer's Fabriek van Signaalapparate ...

SEWACO Foresee PE combat management system * Fitting of a

DA-08 surface-search

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

* Fitting of a

LW-08 air-search

* Fitting of a

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

1226

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

* Fitting of a

STIR-24 fire-control radar * Fitting of a

WM-25 fire-control radar * Fitting of two

LIROD-8 optronic directors * Fitting of the

Rapids ESM system * Fitting of the CME Scimitar ECM system * Fitting of two Matra Défense Dagaie decoy launchers * Fitting of one Matra Défense Sagaie decoy launcher * Fitting of a Link Y

data link A data link is the means of connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a transmitter and a recei ...

* Fitting (towers) of two

Bofors AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms concern BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years. History Located ...

signal amplifiers, including aiming and firing limitation * Removal of four twin

57/60 mm gun mountings * Removal of the CWE-610 hull

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

Further work was carried out by SIMA dockyards in Callao as follows: * Eight Otomat Mk 2 SSMs were fitted in 1993 * Two OTO Melara Twin 40L70

DARDO Dardo means dart in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. Dardo may also refer to: * Dardo IFV, an Italian infantry fighting vehicle * DARDO, an Italian close-in weapon system * Dardo (automobile), a Brazilian sports car * Tibetan name for the Chines ...

compact gun mountings were fitted in 1996, replacing four single Bofors 40/70 mm gun mountings The LW-08 radar was later replaced by an AN/SPS-6, the former being installed in the frigate (FM-51) in 2003.

Decommissioning

''Almirante Grau'' was decommissioned on 26 September 2017. She was the last gun cruiser in service in any navy, although its main armament was supplemented with

Otomat The Otomat is an anti-ship and coastal defence missile developed by the Italian company Oto Melara jointly with Matra and now made by MBDA. The name comes, for the first versions, from the name of the two builders ("Oto Melara" and "Matra") an ...

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A goo ...

s. She was replaced by the BAP ''Montero'', now known as BAP ''Almirante Grau.'' On 9 August 2019, the Peruvian Navy announced that she would be preserved as a museum ship in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, though in February 2022, the ship was placed on sale. In July 2022 it was reported that she was to be scrapped.

Gallery

File:Marine Beneluxdagen in Amsterdamse Haven, aankomst Hr Ms Kruiser De Ruyter, Bestanddeelnr 914-3312.jpg, HNLMS ''De Ruyter'' 1962 Image:US Navy 040703-N-1464F-001 The Peruvian cruiser Almirante Grau CLM-81 fires one of its 15.2 cm caliber cannons.jpg, ''Almirante Grau'' firing her guns File:BAP Almirante Grau 2007.jpg, A stern view of BAP ''Almirante Grau'' from Image:PERU-CM-81-2.JPG, BAP ''Almirante Grau'' 1993

References

Sources

* Baker III, Arthur D., ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 2002-2003''. Naval Institute Press, 2002. * Rodríguez Asti, John, ''Cruceros. Buques de la Marina de Guerra del Perú desde 1884''. Dirección de Intereses Marítimos, 2000. * * * Jane's Fighting Ships 2011-2012. * Unexpected end: old cruiser De Ruyter on its way to scra

from MarineSchepen

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almirante Grau (CLM-81) De Zeven Provinciën-class cruisers of the Peruvian Navy 1944 ships Ships built by Wilton-Fijenoord Naval ships of the Netherlands captured by Germany during World War II Cold War cruisers of the Netherlands