Espora Class Frigate

The ''Espora''-class corvettes are six warships of the Argentine Navy built in Argentina to the German MEKO 140A16 design, this in turn being based on the Portuguese project. The first entered service in 1985 but accidents and lack of funds meant the last was not completed until 2004. The ships currently form the 2nd Corvette Division of the Argentine Navy and their home port is the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base. Although considered by its designers to be frigates, the ''Espora''-class vessels have been classed in Argentina as corvettes.

The Argentine Navy struggles to meet maintenance and training requirements because of financial problems and import restrictions. The ''Espora'' class has not been immune – ''Espora'' herself spent 73 days in South Africa in late 2012 in a dispute about payment for repairs to its generators. The operational status of ''Rosales'' is not clear, as of November 2012 she was waiting for spares, whilst ''Spiro'' lost her sonar in a grounding accident in August 2012. In 2019, ''Rosales'' was reported as scheduled to be scrapped. However, one year later training activities were still being conducted on her and in 2021 she was undergoing repair work for an envisaged return to service in 2022. She returned to service in September 2022.

''Parker'' was subsequently selected for conversion to the offshore patrol role and entered refit for that purpose in late 2021. Whilst initially planned to return to operational service in 2023, that work was reported to be in limbo as of late 2024.

Construction

The 1974 Naval Constructions National Plan was an initiative by the Argentine Navy to replace old World War II-vintage ships with more advanced warships. The original plan called for six MEKO 360H2 destroyers, four of them to be built in Argentina, but the plan was later modified to include four MEKO destroyers built in Germany and six corvettes built in Argentina, for anti-surface warfare and patrol operations.

The ships were designed by the German shipyard Blohm + Voss as a development of the Portuguese Navy's s, designed by the Portuguese naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira in the late 1960s. All the ships of the class were built in Argentina at the AFNE "Río Santiago" shipyard, close to the city of La Plata in Buenos Aires Province. The contract was signed on 1 August 1979 and the pennant numbers P10-P15 were assigned until they were changed to P41-P46 in 1988.

The first three (P-41-P-43) were commissioned between 1985 and 1987, but ''Parker'' was delayed until 1990 after flooding on 2 October 1986. Fitting out of ''Robinson'' and ''Gómez Roca'' was suspended in 1992, briefly restarted in July 1994 and resumed on 18 July 1997. These last two have improved automation, communication and electronics systems; along with ''Parker'' they have a telescopic hangar fitted. All members of the class have the Thales DAISY combat data system, but ''Robinson'' has an indigenous command system as well.

Service history

''Spiro'' and ''Rosales'' participated in the multinational task force blockading Iraq as part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990/1991. The ''Espora''s enforced the Argentine exclusive economic zone and captured a number of illegal fishing vessels in the early 1990s.

In August 2012 ''Spiro'' hit a sandbank as she left Mar del Plata and lost her sonar. This meant ''Espora'' had to make an unscheduled deployment to replace her in the Atlasur IX naval exercise off West Africa. ''Espora'' left home with unresolved problems in her generators, which became worse until she ended up in South Africa with three failed generators. The German manufacturers MTU refused to repair them without payment in advance since Argentina still owed them money for previous work, so ''Espora'' spent 73 days at Simonstown until the dispute was finally resolved and the repairs completed.

As of 2020 life extension programs for at least two units of the class were planned with work to be carried out at the Río Santiago Shipyard. This work might incorporate a conversion of the operational profile of two ships, possibly toward supporting offshore patrol missions. The first ship selected for conversion to the offshore patrol role was ''Parker'', though as of late 2024 plans for the ship were uncertain.

As of 2021, the corvettes ''Espora'', ''Spiro'', ''Robinson'' and ''Gómez Roca'' were all reported active and in September participated in a naval exercise also involving the destroyer ''Sarandí'' and aircraft from Argentine naval aviation.

In June 2024, the chief of the Argentine Navy, Rear-Admiral Carlos María Allievi, noted that only three of six ''Espora''-class vessels were operational (''Espora'', ''Rosales'' and ''Robinson''), with ''Parker'' in refit and the remaining two (''Spiro'' and ''Gomez Roca'') docked due to a shortage of spare parts. However, in October 2024, ''Gómez Roca'' was reported operational engaging in an exercise with her sister ships ''Espora'', ''Rosales'' and ''Robinson'' as well as with the destroyers ''La Argentina'', ''Almirante Brown'', and Sarandí and with several other vessels.

Specifications

*Displacement: n/a tons (empty); 1,790 tons (full load)
*Length: n/a ft (91.2 m)
*Beam: n/a ft (11.1 m)
*Draught: n/a ft (4.5 m)
*Propulsion:
**2 shafts / propellers
**2 Semt-Pielstick 16 PC2-5 V 400 diesel engines, tot.
**Max shaft horsepower: n/a shp max
*Speed:
*Range: at
*Armament
**4 × Aérospatiale MM 38 Exocet SSM (As of 2020, work was underway to maintain the missile's operational relevance; missiles removed from ''Parker'' given her 2021-23 conversion to the offshore patrol role)
**1 × 76 mm 62-cal. OTO Melara DP compact gun
**2 × twin 40 mm 70-cal. OTO Melara (Breda Bofors) AA guns
**2 × 12.7 mm machine guns
**2 × triple 324 mm ILAS-3 ASW torpedo tubes (Whitehead AS-244 torpedoes, quantity n/a)
*Aircraft: aft helicopter deck (and telescopic hangar in the second batch vessels); 1 SA-319B Alouette III or 1 AS-555-SN Fennec helicopter
*Complement:100
*Radar:
**Air/Surface Search & helicopter control: Signaal DA05 (equipped with IFF).
**Fire Control: Signaal WM2
**Navigation: Decca TM 1226
*Sonar: Atlas Elektronik ASO 4 (hull)
*Electronic Warfare
**Decoys: (no details available)
*Datalink: Signaal Sewaco
*Weapons Control System: Signaal WM22/41, Lirod director (radar/optronic)
*Concept/Program: German designed, Argentine built general purpose frigates (classified as "corvettes" by the Argentine navy).
*Builder: AFNE "Rio Santiago" shipyard, La Plata, Argentina.
*Designer: Blohm + Voss, Hamburg, Germany.
*Design: MEKO 140 modular design.

Ships in the class

First Batch:
* ARA ''Espora''
* ARA ''Rosales''
* ARA ''Spiro''
Second Batch:
* ARA '' Parker ''
* ARA '' Robinson ''
* ARA '' Gómez Roca''

References

Bibliography

* ''Guia de los buques de la Armada Argentina 2005–2006''. Ignacio Amendolara Bourdette, , Editor n/a. (Spanish/English text)

External links

Official website



Argentine Navy (ARA) official site – High Seas Fleet page, with class specifications & pictures for all the ships of ARA
(This class is under the heading Corbetas Clase "ESPORA (MEKO 140)")
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems website – Surface vessels page (formerly Blohm+Voss shipyards), only lists “current” products

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espora Class Corvette
Frigate classes
Corvette classes

Ships built in Argentina