The Bouchard-class minesweepers were a class of nine minesweepers, designed and built in Argentina, in service with the Argentine Navy from 1937 to the late 1960s. One of the class was lost after running aground in the Straits of Magellan and the remaining eight were discarded. Three were transferred to the Paraguayan Navy and remained in service as of late 1990s. In Paraguayan service, they were used for river patrol work. One of the class was docked in Asunción in 2009 with the intention of converting the vessel to a museum ship
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.
The minesweepers were 59m (194feet) long overall and 164feet between perpendiculars with a beam of 7.3m (24feet) and a draught of 2.27m (07.45feet). The Bouchard class had a standard displacement of 450abbr=onNaNabbr=on and 520abbr=onNaNabbr=on at full load. They were powered by 2-cycle MAN diesel engines turning two shafts rated at 2000bhp. They had capacity for 50abbr=onNaNabbr=on of fuel oil, a maximum speed of 15kn and had a range of 3000nmi at .[2] [3] [4]
The ships were armed with two single-mounted 3.9inches/47 calibre guns.[5] For anti-aircraft defence, the minesweepers were equipped with one twin 40mm mount. They also carried two 7.65mm machine guns and were initially equipped with two depth charges.[2] [6] The Bouchard class had a complement of 62.[3]
| align=center colspan=6 | Bouchard-class minesweepers[7] | |||||
| Ship name | Pennant number | Builder | Launched | Service entry | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M-7 | Río Santiago Naval Yard | 20 March 1936 | 27 January 1937 | Transferred to Paraguay February 1964 and renamed Nanawa. | ||
| M-2 | 19 June 1936 | 1937 | Discarded 28 March 1964 | |||
| M-4 | 27 January 1937 | 1937 | Discarded 19 December 1967 | |||
| M-11 | Sanchez Shipyard, San Fernando | 2 May 1937 | 1937 | Discarded 23 July 1963 | ||
| M-13 | Río Santiago Naval Yard | 7 June 1937 | 1938 | Discarded 14 March 1962 | ||
| M-3 | Hansen y Puccini, San Fernando | 18 August 1938 | 1939 | Discarded 19 December 1967 | ||
| M-12 | 18 August 1938 | 20 May 1939 | Discarded 20 November 1967, transferred to Paraguayan Navy and renamed Capitan Meza. | |||
| (aka Comodoro Py) | M-10 | Río Santiago Naval Yard | 30 March 1938 | 1 July 1939 | Discarded 20 November 1967, transferred to Paraguayan Navy and renamed Teniente Farina. | |
| M-5 | Sanchez Shipyard, San Fernando | 1939 | 1940 | Hit a reef and sank in the Straits of Magellan on 22 September 1949 |
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.[2] Fournier 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[8] 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.[9] 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.[7] [10] Teniente Farina was berthed at Asunción in 2009 with the intention of converting the vessel to a museum ship.