The ''Baptista de Andrade'' class were a class of four Portuguese designed corvettes, built for the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy ( pt, Marinha Portuguesa, also known as ''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'' or as ''Armada Portuguesa'') is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Por ...

BAZAN Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, which offers its services to both military and civil sectors. It is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world with shipyards around the globe. The heir to t ...

in Spain in the 1970s. They are an updated version of the - designed by the Portuguese naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira - with more modern armament and sensors. Like the ''João Coutinho'' ships, the ''Baptista de Andrade'' corvettes were intended to operate in the Portuguese overseas territories. Allegedly, the ships would originally be intended to the South African Navy, the delivery being canceled after the Portuguese

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lis ...

in 1974. After Portugal withdrew from its colonies, the four ships were due to be sold to the

Colombian Navy ) , colors= , march= ''"Viva Colombia, soy marinero"'' , mascot= , battles= Battle of Lake Maracaibo Thousand Days War (Civil war) Colombia-Peru War World War II Korean War Colombian Armed Conflict Operation Atalanta , notable_commanders= José ...

in 1977 but the deal was not completed. One ship, NRP ''Oliveira e Carmo'', was decommissioned in 1999 and was officially scrapped on 1 November 2007 and later sunk as an artificial reef on 30 October 2012. NRP ''Afonso Cerqueira'' was decommissioned on 13 February 2015 and later sunk as an artificial reef off

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

. Another ship was decommissioned in 2017 and the last one remains in limited service but will be retired and replaced by s.

Ships

References

*Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995 ;Specific {{Baptista de Andrade-class corvette Corvette classes Portugal–Spain relations