The ''Murature''-class patrol ships are a

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...

warships, originally classified as

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

s and later reclassified as

patrol ship A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

s. The class is named after

José Luis Murature José Luis Murature (27 January 1876 – 15 September 1929) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, professor and foreign minister of Argentina from 1914 to 1916. Born in Buenos Aires, the son of José P. Murature and Dolores Legarrete, he was educ ...

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

from 1916 to 1918.

Design

The class was as part of a program to build four mine warfare ships during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Two (''Murature'' and ''King'') were completed as patrol ships and the others (''Piedrabuena'' and ''Azopardo'') as antisubmarine frigates.

History

''Murature'' was laid down in 1944 and commissioned in 1945, while her

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...

''King'' was launched in 1943 and commissioned in 1946. In 1955 both took part of the rising against

Juan Domingo Perón ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philip ...

's government known as

Revolución Libertadora The ''Revolución Libertadora'' (; ''Liberating Revolution'') as it named itself, was the civic-military dictatorship that ruled the Argentine Republic after overthrowing President Juan Domingo Perón, shutting down the National Congress of Ar ...

, when she protected as a floating battery the rebel naval base at

Río Santiago Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

and was strafed by loyal

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...

jet fighters. According to Capitán de navio (R) Benjamín Cosentino who acted as anti-submarine advisor to the Officer in Tactical Command, Argentine Destroyer Force in February 1960, he was sent to the School of Naval Warfare that month to write the final report on the 1960

Golfo Nuevo Golfo Nuevo (Spanish for "New Gulf") is a body of water formed by the Península Valdés and Punta Ninfas in the province of Chubut in the Argentine Patagonia. It is located southwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Puerto Madryn is its major seapo ...

incident for the Argentine Naval General Staff. In this incident, one or possibly two intruder submarines of unknown flag were present in Golfo Nuevo,

Chubut Province Chubut ( from Tehuelche language, Tehuelche 'transparent'; ) is a provinces of Argentina, province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa ...

, between the period 31 January and 17 February 1960 and eluded or survived all attempts to sink them. One or other of the ''Murature'' patrol ships were involved in all six depth-charge or gunnery attacks along the coastal shallows: ''Murature'' on 4th, 7th (evening), 11th and in company with ''King'' on 16 February 1960: ''King'' on 5th, 7th (morning) and along with ''Murature'' on 16 February 1960.Cosentino, Benjamin. p.47-106 ''Murature'' was the oldest unit still in service in the Argentine navy as of 2014 when she was decommissioned;A.R.A. "Murature" - P 20
histarmar.com her sister ''King'' remained as the oldest unit still in service in the Argentine navy as of late 2015.

Specifications

Ships in class

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * Cosentino, Benjamín: Testimonios de Tiempos Dificiles, 1955–1979, Editorial Dunken, Buenos Aires, 2011 p. 47-106.

External links

Patrol ship ARA “Murature” - Histarmar website (Historia y Arqueología Marítima – Patrullero ARA Murature)
(''accessed 2016-12-03'')

(''accessed 2016-12-03'') * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20131017132948/http://www.ara.mil.ar/pag.asp?idItem=288 Argentine Navy website - Patrulleros Clase "MURATURE"''(in Spanish - accessed 2013-10-31)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Murature Murature-class patrol boats Ships built in Argentina Patrol vessels of the Argentine Navy Riverine warfare Patrol ship classes World War II minelayers