Mendoza-class destroyer

Mendoza in 1932.
Class overview
Name:	Mendoza class
Builders:	JS White, Cowes, England
Operators:	Argentine Navy
Built:	1927-29
In commission:	1929-62
Completed:	3
Retired:	3
General characteristics
Type:	Destroyer
Displacement:	1595 tonnes (standard) 2154 tonnes (full load)
Length:	102.11 m (335.0 ft)
Beam:	9.68 m (31.8 ft)
Draught:	3.81 m (12.5 ft)
Propulsion:	2 shaft geared steam turbines, four boilers, 42,000 hp (31,000 kW)
Speed:	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range:	4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km; 5,200 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement:	160
Armament:	5 × 4.7-inch (120 mm) QF Mark IX guns (5x1) 1 × 3-inch (76 mm) AA gun 2 - 2-pounder pom poms 6 - 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2x3)

The Mendoza class were a group of destroyers built in Britain for the Argentine Navy in the 1920s. They were the first part of the Argentine re-armament programme of the 1920s

Design

The ships were based on the Thornycroft type destroyer leader design built at the end of World War I, with minor modifications. British pattern weapons were used. There was a limited modernisation in the 1950s when 40mm Bofors guns and updated sensors were fitted.

Ships

All three ships were built by J. Samuel White & Co in Cowes, Isle of Wight, The ships were named after provinces of Argentina

Ship	Launched	Commissioned	Decommissioned
ARA La Rioja (E-4)	2 February 1929	23 July 1929	April 1962
ARA Mendoza (E-3)	18 July 1928	24 January 1929	April 1962
ARA Tucuman (E-5)	16 October 1928	3 May 1929	April 1962

References

• Whitley, M.J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Cassell Publishing. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
• Guillermo J. Montehengo, An Argentinian Naval Buildup in the Disarmament Era, in Warship 2002-2003, Conway's Maritime press.