Bouchard-class minesweeper

The Bouchard-class minesweepers were the first large warships built in Argentina. They were intended to complement and eventually replace the Argentine Bathurst-class ships purchased from Germany after World War I. They were designed in the early 1930s and laid down in 1935–1937.{{cite web|url= http://www.histarmar.com.ar/Armada%20Argentina/Buques1900a1970/Rastreadores.htm |title= Rastreadores |trans-title=Minesweepers |website=Histarmar - Historia y Arqueología Marítima |publisher=Fundación Histarmar |language=es |location=Argentina |access-date=2016-12-03}}

The Bouchard class was based on the Bathurst-class design, with diesel engines instead of steam engines and larger calibre (99 mm Bethlehem-Vickers) main armament. However, these ships had poor stability, which eventually led to the loss of Fournier in 1949.

The minesweepers were {{convert|59.00|m|ftin|abbr=on}} long overall and {{convert|164|ft|0|in|m|2|order=flip|abbr=on}} between perpendiculars with a beam of {{convert|7.30|m|ftin|abbr=on}} and a draught of {{convert|2.27|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. The Bouchard class had a standard displacement of {{convert|450|LT|t|abbr=on|0}} and {{convert|520|LT|t|abbr=on|0}} at full load. They were powered by 2-cycle MAN diesel engines turning two shafts rated at {{convert|2000|bhp|lk=in}}. They had capacity for {{convert|50|LT|t|abbr=on|0}} of fuel oil, a maximum speed of {{convert|15|kn|lk=in}} and had a range of {{convert|3000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}.Blackman, p. 126.Chesneau, p. 421.Chesneau has the maximum speed listed as {{convert|16|kn}}.

The ships were armed with two single-mounted {{convert|3.9|in|mm|order=flip|abbr=on|0}}/47 calibre guns.The 47 calibre denotes the length of the gun. This means that the length of the gun barrel is 47 times the bore diameter. For anti-aircraft defence, the minesweepers were equipped with one twin {{convert|40|mm|in|abbr=on}} mount. They also carried two {{convert|7.65|mm|in|abbr=on}} machine guns and were initially equipped with two depth charges.McMurtrie, p. 115. The Bouchard class had a complement of 62.

The Bouchard class were all given names of famous Argentine naval commanders. They were commissioned by the Argentine Navy in the late 1930s and remained in service until the late 1960s. The ships in the class were used in exercises with the main fleet, and very frequently assigned to the Patagonian seas where conditions are very rough. The stability problem of this design was worsened in those seas, which eventually led to the loss of Fournier with all hands during a storm in the Straits of Magellan on 22 September 1949. Fournier struck an uncharted rock at the entrance to the San Gabriel Channel.

Three ships were transferred to the Paraguayan Navy after being decommissioned by Argentina, and remained in service as of the late 1990s. The three ships included Bouchard and Seaver, and PySome sources erroneously claim it was Parker that was the third ship. with Bouchard being renamed Nanawa and commissioned into the Paraguayan Navy on 14 March 1964. Seaver became Capitan Meza and commissioned on 6 May 1968. Py became Teniente Farina and commissioned on 6 May 1968.Nanawa sported the pennant numbers M 1 then P 01, Capitan Meza sported the pennant numbers M 2 then P 02 and Teniente Farina sported the pennant numbers M 3, then P 03. In Paraguayan service they were used as river patrol craft and could carry naval mines. Their armament was modified to just one quad 40 mm mount and the two machine guns.Gardiner, Chumbley & Budzbon, p. 302 Teniente Farina was berthed at Asunción in 2009 with the intention of converting the vessel to a museum ship.{{csr|register=MSI|id=6110896|shipname=Py|accessdate=17 November 2018}}

• List of ships of the Argentine Navy

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• {{cite book |editor-last=Blackman |editor-first=Raymond V. B. |year=1953 |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1953–54 |location=London |publisher=Sampson, Low and Marston |oclc=913556389}}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Chesneau |editor-first=Roger |year=1980 |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=Greenwich, UK |isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Gardiner |editor-first=Robert |editor-last2=Chumbley |editor-first2=Stephen |editor-last3=Budzbon |editor-first3=Przemysław |name-list-style=amp |year=1995 |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=1-55750-132-7}}
• {{cite book |editor-last=McMurtrie |editor-first=Francis E. |orig-year=1942 |year=1943 |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1942 |issue=46 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Co. |location=London |oclc=28197961}}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Sharpe |editor-first=Richard |year=1990 |title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1990–91 |publisher=Jane's Information Group |edition=93 |location=Surrey, United Kingdom |isbn=0-7106-0904-3}}

• {{cite book |last=Arguindeguy |first=Pablo |title=Apuntes sobre los buques de la Armada Argentina (1810-1970)|year=1972 |publisher=Comando en Jefe de la Armada|location=Buenos Aires, Argentina|language=es}}
• {{cite book|last=Burzio| first =Humberto|title =Armada Nacional| publisher= Secretaria de Estado de Marina |language=es |year =1960 |author-link=Humberto Francisco Burzio}}
• {{cite book|last1= Piccirilli |first1 = Ricardo|last2=Gianello |first2=Leoncio |title= Biografías navales | publisher= Secretaría de Estado de Marina |location=Buenos Aires |language=es | year= 1963}}

• {{Commonscat-inline|Bouchard class minesweepers}}

{{Bouchard-class minesweeper}}

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Category:Ships built in Argentina

Category:1937 ships

Category:Ships of the Paraguayan Navy

Category:Mine warfare vessel classes