ARA Sarandí (D-13)

ARA Sarandí underway.
History
Argentina
Name:	Sarandí
Builder:	Blohm + Voss
Laid down:	9 March 1982
Launched:	31 August 1982
Commissioned:	23 April 1984
Identification:	pennant number D-13
Status:	in active service, as of 2016
General characteristics
Class & type:	Almirante Brown-class destroyer
Displacement:	3,360 tons
Length:	126 m (413 ft)
Beam:	14 m (46 ft)
Draught:	5.8 m (19 ft)
Propulsion:	COGAG (4 turbines) 36,000 shp (27,000 kW)
Speed:	30.5 kn (56.5 km/h)
Range:	4,500 mi (7,200 km)
Complement:	224
Armament:	8 × MM40 Exocet anti-ship missiles 1 × Selenia/Elsag Albatross octuple launcher with 24 Aspide SAMs 1 × Oto Melara 127 mm (5 in) dual purpose gun 8 × Bofors 40 mm L/70 AA guns (4 × twin) 6 × 324 mm (13 in) torpedo tubes (2 × 3)
Aircraft carried:	1 x Aérospatiale AS 555 Fennec helicopter
Aviation facilities:	Single hangar

ARA Sarandí is the fourth and last ship of the MEKO 360H2 series of four destroyers built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the fourth ship in the history of the Argentine Navy to bear the name of the schooner Sarandí, which was a famous ship of the Argentine Navy during the Cisplatine War between 1825 and 1828. The original Sarandí was itself named after a major victory of the Argentine Army during that same conflict.

The Argentine Navy struggles to meet maintenance and training requirements because of financial problems and import restrictions. The Almirante Brown class are reported to be short of spares and suffering engine problems, plus all their ordnance is past its expiry date.^[1]

Origin

Sarandí and her sister ships were authorized under the Naval Construction National Plan of 1974, an initiative by the Argentine Navy to replace old World War II-vintage warships which were nearing the end of their operational lives. A contract was signed with the Blohm + Voss Shipyards in Hamburg, West Germany for the construction of four MEKO 360H2 destroyers.

Construction

Sarandí's keel was laid down on 9 March 1982 and was launched on 31 August of that same year. The ship was delivered to the Argentine Navy on 23 April 1984 for her sea trials, following which the ship departed for Argentina, arriving at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base on 21 June of that same year.

Service history

In 2003 Sarandi joined the USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group and Destroyer Squadron 18 as a part of Exercise Solid Step during their tour in the Mediterranean. This marked the first time that a ship of the Argentine Navy inter-operated with an United States Navy battlegroup.

Sarandí was involved in an unfortunate incident on 29 November 2004, during the annual FRATERNO naval exercise with ships of the Brazilian Navy. While conducting gunnery practice shots against target drones, a technical failure of her automatic weapons system made her fire on the Brazilian frigate Rademaker, causing injuries to four Brazilian crewmen and an Argentine naval observer, as well as moderate damage to the Brazilian ship.

She is currently homeported at Puerto Belgrano as the flagship of the Navy's 2nd Destroyer Division, along with her three sister ships.

Notes

1. "Argentine navy short on spares and resources for training and maintenance". MercoPress. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2015.

References

• Bourdette, Ignacio Amendolara. Guia de los buques de la Armada Argentina 2005-2006 (in Spanish). ISBN 987-43-9400-5.