Everything about The Peruvian Navy totally explained
The
Peruvian Navy (
Spanish:
Marina de Guerra del Perú, abbreviated
MGP) 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 (370 km) from the Peruvian
littoral. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding internal security, conducting
disaster relief operations and participating in international
peacekeeping operations.
As of 2007, the Peruvian Navy comprises 1
cruiser, 8
frigates, 6
corvettes, 6
submarines, 4
tank landing ships and 3
replenishment oilers. Ships are given the
prefix BAP, short for
Buque Armada Peruana (Peruvian Navy Ship). The
Marina de Guerra del Perú celebrates on
October 8 the anniversary of its creation (1821) and of the
Battle of Angamos (1879).
History
The
Marina de Guerra del Perú was established on October 8, 1821 by the government of general
José de San Martín. Its first actions were undertaken 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
Chincha Islands War with
Spain (1866). The breakout of the
War of the Pacific (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.
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, its Navy was involved in patrol 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 take advantage over 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 resulted in a general lack of funds for
maintenance. 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 Eduardo Darcourt Adrianzén. Naval Forces are subordinated to the
Ministry of Defense and ultimately to the
President as Commander-in-Chief of the Peruvian Armed Forces. They are organized as follows:
Operational units are divided between three commands:
Comandancia General de Operaciones del Pacífico
Pacific Operations General Command, it comprises the following units:
Fuerza de Superficie (Surface Force)
Fuerza de Submarinos (Submarine Force)
Fuerza de Aviación Naval (Naval aviation Force)
Fuerza de Infantería de Marina (Naval Infantry Force)
Fuerza de Operaciones Especiales (Special Operations Force)
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, tasked with law enforcement on Peruvian territorial waters, rivers and lakes.
Bases
Ancón - Naval Infantry headquarters and base
Callao - Main naval base, dockyard and naval aviation base
Chimbote - Minor base and dockyard
Iquitos - On the Amazon river
Paita - Minor base
Pisco - Minor base
Puno - On Lake Titicaca
San Juan de Marcona - Naval aviation base
Although most of the fleet is based at Callao, this isn't considered an ideal location because it's also the main outlet for Peruvian trade, causing space and security problems. During the 1980s the building of a new naval base at Chimbote was considered but high costs and a bad economic situation made the project unfeasible.
Personnel
Ships
Cruiser
De Zeven Provinciën class
BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81) ex HNLMS De Ruyter
Frigates
Carvajal class
BAP Carvajal (FM-51)
BAP Villavisencio (FM-52)
BAP Montero (FM-53)
BAP Mariátegui (FM-54)
Lupo class
BAP Aguirre (FM-55) ex Orsa
BAP Palacios (FM-56) ex Lupo
BAP Bolognesi (FM-57) ex Perseo
BAP Quiñónez (FM-58) ex Sagitario
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)
Submarines
Type 209/1200 class
BAP Angamos (SS-31) ex BAP Casma
BAP Antofagasta (SS-32)
BAP Pisagua (SS-33)
BAP Chipana (SS-34) ex BAP Blume
Type 209/1100 class
BAP Islay (SS-35)
BAP Arica (SS-36)
Tank landing ships
Terrebonne Parish class
BAP Paita (DT-141) ex USS Burnett 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
River gunboats
BAP Loreto (CF-11)
BAP Amazonas (CF-12)
BAP Marañón (CF-13)
BAP Ucayali (CF-14)
Auxiliaries
BAP Caloyeras (ACA-111)
BAP Noguera (ACP-118)
BAP Gauden (ACP-119)
BAP Carrasco (AH-171) ex HNLMS Abcoude
BAP Marte (ALY-313)
BAP Unanue (AMB-160) ex USS Wateree
BAP Guardián Ríos (ARA-123) ex USS Pinto
BAP Dueñas (ARB-126)
BAP San Lorenzo (ART-322)
BAP Mollendo (ATC-131) ex BAP Ilo
BAP Talara (ATP-152)
BAP Lobitos (ATP-153) ex USNS Sealift Caribbean
BAP Bayovar (ATP-154) ex Petr Schmidt
BAP Zorritos (ATP-155) ex Grigoriy Nesterenko
Recently Decommissioned Ships
Destroyer
Daring class
ex BAP Ferré (DM-74) ex HMS Decoy (2007)
Naval Aviation
! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft
! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin
! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type
! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions
! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service
! ignore="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|
-
| Bell 212
|
| OTHT / ASW helicopter
| AB-212 ASW
| 5
| built by Agusta
|
-
| Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King
|
| ASuW / ASW helicopter
| ASH-3D
| 3
| built by Agusta
|
-
| Antonov An-32
|
| transport aircraft
| An-32B
| 2
|
|
-
| Beechcraft Super King Air
|
| maritime patrol aircraft
| B200T
| 5
|
|
-
| Beechcraft T-34 Mentor
|
| training aircraft
| T-34C-1
| 5
|
|
-
| Bell 206 JetRanger
|
| training helicopter
| 206B
| 3
|
|
-
| Cessna 206 Stationair
|
| liaison aircraft
| 206
| 1
|
|
-
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
|
| seaplane
| DHC-6
| 1
|
|
-
| Fokker F27 Friendship
|
| maritime patrol aircraft
| F27
| 3
|
|
-
| Mil Mi-8
|
| transport helicopter
| Mi-8T
| 3
|
|
-
|}
Naval infantry
Naval Infantry Brigade
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
Bofors 152/53 Naval Gun
Oto Melara 127/54 Compact Gun
Oto Melara 76/62 Compact Gun
Oto Melara Twin 40L70 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 1A 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
Peacekeeping operations
The Peruvian Navy has been actively involved in several United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. As of June of 2006 Naval Infantry and Special Operations troops have been deployed to United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) (embedded in the Argentine forces(External Link
) ) and United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Peruvian naval officers have also been deployed to United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) as United Nations Militar Observers (UNMOs).
Future plans
According to current plans, the fleet flagship Almirante Grau will soon be decommissioned in 2008 or 2010. By 2010 the fleet is expected to be composed of 8 frigates, 6 corvettes, 6 submarines and two replenishment oilers. They will be supported by 3 maritime patrol aircraft and 8 antisubmarine warfare helicopters.
The Almirante Grau is currently the only operating gun cruiser in any navy, and Peru is one of only four nations to operate any cruisers at all, along with the United States, Russia, and France.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Peruvian Navy'.
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