ARA La Argentina (C-3)

For other ships with the same name, see ARA La Argentina.

ARA La Argentina was a light cruiser, designed for training naval cadets, built for the Argentine Navy. The ship was authorised in 1934, and the contract was put out to tender in 1935, being won by the British company Vickers-Armstrongs at a cost of 6 million pesos.

ARA La Argentina
History
Argentina
Name	La Argentina
Builder	Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow in Furness
Laid down	11 January 1936
Launched	16 March 1937
Completed	31 January 1939
Acquired	February 1939
Commissioned	12 April 1939
Decommissioned	1972
Fate	Scrapped 1974
General characteristics
Type	Light cruiser
Displacement	6,500 tons (standard) 7,500 tons (full load)
Length	165 m (541 ft 4 in)
Beam	17.22 m (56 ft 6 in)
Draught	5.03 m (16 ft 6 in)
Propulsion	4 shaft Parsons geared turbines, 4 Yarrow type boilers, 54,000 hp (40,000 kW)
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h)
Range	12,000 nautical miles (22,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement	800 (including 60 cadets)
Armament	9 × 6 inch (152 mm) guns (3 × 3) 4 × 4 inch (100 mm) guns (4 × 1) 8 × 2-pounder "pom pom" (8 × 1) 6 × 21 inch torpedo tubes (2 × 3)
Armour	3 inch belt 2 inch deck 2 inch turrets 3 inch conning tower
Aircraft carried	1 × Supermarine Walrus
Aviation facilities	Catapult launcher

La Argentina was built in Barrow-in-Furness, England. She was laid down on 11 January 1936, launched 16 March 1937 and not completed until 31 January 1939, being delayed by the British re-armament programme. She was decommissioned in 1972 and scrapped.

Design

The design was based on British practice, being modified to meet the requirements of the Argentinians for a training ship with 60 cadets. This ship was an enlarged version of the Arethusa class, armed with triple turrets.

Service

The ship sailed from Britain in February 1939 and arrived at La Plata on 2 March, being commissioned on 12 April 1939. She made several training cruises before the war but was placed in the active squadron to maintain Argentine neutrality. After the war she made many training cruises before retiring in 1972.

Gallery

• 
  Front side view, note triple 6in gun turrets
• 
  Side view, note Walrus plane amidships
• 
  Front view, close-up main gun turrets
• 
  Walrus MK-IV on board La Argentina, San Francisco, 1940

See also

• List of cruisers
• List of ships of the Argentine Navy

References

• Johnson, Harold & Williams, Anthony G. (2005). "Question 1/04 Vickers 1-in Antiaircraft Gun". Warship International. XLII (3): 236–238. ISSN 0043-0374.
• M.J. Whitley, Cruisers of World War Two, 1995, Arms and Armour Press ISBN 1-86019-874-0

Further reading

• Burzaco, Ricardo. Acorazados y Cruceros De La Armada Argentina. Eugenio B, Buenos Aires, 1997. ISBN 987-96764-0-8 (in Spanish)
• Arguindeguy, Pablo. Apuntes sobre los buques de la Armada Argentina (1810–1970). Comando en Jefe de la Armada, Buenos aires, 1972. ISBN n/d (in Spanish)