Peruvian Navy

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:Peruvian Navy Flag.gif
Marina de Guerra del Perú
Personnel (as of 2001)
Officers	2,300
Enlisted	20,000
Naval Infantry	5,000 (officers and enlisted)
Strength (as of 2005)
Surface Combatants	14
Submarines	6
Fixed-wing Aircraft	14
Rotary-wing Aircraft	15

Image:Naval Jack of Peru.svg The Peruvian Navy (Marina de Guerra del Perú) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the peruvian littoral. As of 2005, it comprises 1 cruiser, 1 destroyer, 8 frigates, 6 corvettes, 6 submarines 4 landing ships and 2 fleet oilers.

Peruvian Navy ships are given the prefix BAP, short for Buque Armada Peruana (Peruvian Navy Ship). Marina de Guerra del Perú celebrates on October 8 the anniversary of its creation (1821) and of the Battle of Angamos (1879).

Contents 1 History 2 Organization 2.1 Comandancia General de Operaciones del Pacífico 2.2 Comandancia General de Operaciones de la Amazonía 2.3 Dirección General de Capitanías y Guardacostas 3 Bases 4 Ships 4.1 Cruiser 4.2 Destroyer 4.3 Frigates 4.4 Corvettes 4.5 Submarines 4.6 Landing Ships 4.7 Fleet oilers 5 Naval Aviation 5.1 Fixed-wing Aircraft 5.2 Rotary-wing Aircraft 6 Naval Infantry 6.1 Naval Infantry Brigade 6.2 Other units 7 Equipment 7.1 Guns 7.2 Missiles 7.3 Torpedoes 8 Future plans 9 Sources 10 See also 11 External links

History

Main article: History of the Peruvian Navy

Image:Angamos.jpg The Marina de Guerra del Perú was established on October 8, 1821 by the government of general José de San Martín. It's first actions were made during the War of Independence (1821-1824) using captured Spanish warships. Shortly afterwards it was engaged in the war against the Gran Colombia (1828-1829) during which it conducted a blockade against the seaport of Guayaquil and then helped with the occupation of this city by peruvian forces. It saw further action during the wars of the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy (1836-1839) and during the war with Spain (1866). The breakout of the Pacific War (1879-1883) caught the Peruvian Navy unprepared and with inferior forces in comparison with the Chilean Navy. Even so, hit-and-run tactics carried out by peruvian Admiral Miguel Grau, commander of the ironclad Huáscar, delayed the chilean advance by six months until his death and defeat at the Battle of Angamos.

Image:BAP Grau post-1944.jpg After the war, the Peruvian Navy had to be rebuilt from the ground up. This lengthy process started in 1907 with the acquisition in the United Kingdom of the protected cruisers Almirante Grau and Coronel Bolognesi, followed by the arrival of two submarines, Ferré and Palacios, from France in 1911. During the Presidency of Augusto B. Leguía (1919-1930) a Navy Ministry was established as well as a Navy Aviation Corps, both in 1920. Border conflicts with Colombia in 1911 and 1932 and a war with Ecuador in 1941 saw peruvian warships involved in some skirmishes in support of the Army. The attack on Pearl Harbor brought World War II to the Pacific and even though Peru didn't declare war on the Axis until 1945, it's Navy was involved in coastal defence missions against possible threats by the Imperial Japanese Navy from early 1942 up to mid-1945. During the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s the Peruvian Navy carried out a major buildup programme which allowed it to regain parity vis-à-vis its traditional rival, the Chilean Navy. This proved to be temporary because the economic crisis of the second half of the 1980s forced the decommissioning of several warships and a general lack of funds for maintenance and training. The economic upturn of the 1990s and 2000s has permitted some improvement although at a reduced force level compared to the early 1980s.

Organization

The current Commander-in-Chief of the Peruvian Navy is Admiral Jorge Ampuero. It's forces are divided between three operational commands:

Comandancia General de Operaciones del Pacífico

Pacific Operations General Command, it comprises the following units:

• Comandancia de la Escuadra (Fleet Command)
• Comandancia de Submarinos (Submarine Command)
• Comandancia de Aviación Naval (Naval Aviation Command)
• Comandancia de Infantería de Marina (Naval Infantry Command)
• Comandancia de Operaciones Especiales (Special Operations Command)

Comandancia General de Operaciones de la Amazonía

Amazon Operations General Command. Tasked with river patrolling in the peruvian portion of the Amazon Basin.

Dirección General de Capitanías y Guardacostas

Coast Guard.

Bases

Image:Callao.jpg

• Callao - Main naval base, dockyard and naval air station
• Chimbote - Minor base and dockyard
• Iquitos - On the Amazon river
• Paita - Minor base
• Pisco - Minor base
• Puno - On Lake Titicaca
• San Lorenzo - Submarine base
• San Juan de Marcona - Naval air station

Ships

Cruiser

De Ruyter class

• BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81) ex HNLMS De Ruyter

Destroyer

Daring class

• BAP Ferré (DM-74) ex HMS Decoy

Image:BAP Carvajal Unitas 46-05.jpg

Frigates

Lupo class

• BAP Carvajal (FM-51)
• BAP Villavisencio (FM-52)
• BAP Montero (FM-53)
• BAP Mariátegui (FM-54)
• BAP Aguirre (FM-55) ex MM Orsa
• BAP Palacios (FM-56) ex MM Lupo
• BAP Bolognesi (FM-57) ex MM Perseo
• BAP Quiñonez (FM-58) ex MM Sagitario

Image:BAP Sanchez Carrion Unitas 45-04.jpg

Corvettes

PR-72P class

• BAP Velarde (CM-21)
• BAP Santillana (CM-22)
• BAP De los Heros (CM-23)
• BAP Herrera (CM-24)
• BAP Larrea (CM-25)
• BAP Sánchez Carrión (CM-26)

Image:BAP Chipana Siforex 03.jpg

Submarines

Type 209/1200 class

• BAP Angamos (SS-31) ex BAP Casma
• BAP Antofagasta (SS-32)
• BAP Pisagua (SS-33) ex BAP Blume
• BAP Chipana (SS-34) ex BAP Pisagua
• BAP Islay (SS-35)
• BAP Arica (SS-36)

Image:BAP Callao Unitas 45-04.jpg

Landing Ships

Terrebonne Parish class

• BAP Paita (DT-141) ex USS Walworth County
• BAP Pisco (DT-142) ex USS Waldo County
• BAP Callao (DT-143) ex USS Washoe County
• BAP Eten (DT-144) ex USS Traverse County

Fleet oilers

Talara class

• BAP Talara (ATP-152)

Sealift class

• BAP Lobitos (ATP-153) ex USNS Sealift Caribbean

Naval Aviation

Fixed-wing Aircraft

Image:AB-212 Unitas 46-05.jpg

• 5 Beechcraft B-200T Super King Air Maritime Patrol Aircraft
• 5 Beechcraft T-34C-1 Turbo Mentor Training Aircraft
• 2 Antonov An-32B Cline Transport Aircraft
• 1 Fokker F-27 Friendship Transport Aircraft
• 1 Cessna 206 Stationair Liaison Aircraft

Rotary-wing Aircraft

• 5 Agusta-Bell AB-212ASW Anti-Submarine Warfare Helicopter
• 3 Agusta-Sikorsky ASH-3D Sea King Anti-submarine Warfare Helicopter
• 4 Bell 206B Jet Ranger Training Helicopter
• 3 Mil Mi-8T Hip C Transport Helicopter

Naval Infantry

Naval Infantry Brigade

Image:Peruvian Marines Unitas 45-04.jpg

• 1st Naval Infantry Battalion - Ancón
• 2nd Naval Infantry Battalion - Ancón
• Amphibious Support Group
• Fire support Group
• Commando Grouping
• Engineers Unit

Other units

• 3rd Naval Infantry Battalion - Tumbes
• 4th Naval Infantry Battalion - Puno
• 1st Jungle Naval Infantry Battalion - Iquitos
• 2nd Jungle Naval Infantry Battalion - Pucallpa
• Naval Infantry Detachment Litoral Sur - Mollendo

Equipment

Guns

Image:BAP Grau Unitas 45-04.jpg

• Bofors 152/53mm
• Mk V 114/45mm
• Otobreda 127/54 mm Compact Gun
• Otobreda 76/62 mm Compact Gun
• Otobreda 40/70 mm Compact Gun

Missiles

• Exocet AM-39 Air-to-Surface Missile (ASM)
• Exocet MM-38 Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM)
• Otomat Mk2 Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM)
• Aspide Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM)

Torpedoes

• A-184 533 mm Heavyweight Torpedo
• A-244 324 mm Lightweight Torpedo
• SST-4 Mod 0 533 mm Heavyweight Torpedo

Future plans

According to current plans, the destroyer Ferré will soon be decomissioned followed by the fleet flagship, the cruiser Almirante Grau, in 2008 or 2010. By 2010 the fleet is expected to be composed of 8 frigates, 6 corvettes, 6 submarines and two fleet oilers. They will be supported by 3 maritime patrol aircraft and 8 antisubmarine warfare helicopters.

Sources

• Baker III, Arthur D., The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 2002-2003. Naval Institute Press, 2002.
• Marchessini, Alejo, "La Comandancia de Operaciones del Pacifico". Defensa 315/316: 68-69 (July / August 2004).
• Marchessini, Alejo, "El proceso de Reforma Militar". Defensa 318: 24-29 (October 2004).
• Marchessini, Alejo & Javier Taibo, "La Marina de Guerra del Perú". Defensa 267/268: 36-59 (July / August 2000).

See also

• BAP Almirante Grau
• BAP Ferré
• BAP Pacocha
• Battle of Angamos
• Battle of Iquique
• Battle of Pacocha
• Ironclad Huáscar
• Miguel Grau
• War of the Pacific

External links

• Official Peruvian Navy Website
• Servicio Industrial de la Marina — Peruvian Navy Shipyards. In English and Spanish.
• The Peruvian Navy: the XIX Century Maritime Campaigns — a series of articles covering the history of the 19th century Peruvian Navy by Juan del Campo.

Template:Peruvian Armed Forceses:Marina de Guerra del Perú