ARA Veinticinco de Mayo (C-2)
ARA Veinticinco de Mayo was a cruiser which served in the Argentine Navy. The English translation of the name is May 25, which is the date of Argentina's May Revolution in 1810.
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Argentina | |
| Name: | Veinticinco de Mayo |
| Namesake: | May Revolution |
| Builder: | Cantiere navale fratelli Orlando, Livorno |
| Laid down: | 29 November 1927 |
| Launched: | 11 August 1929 |
| Commissioned: | 11 July 1931 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1960 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Veinticinco de Mayo-class cruiser |
| Displacement: | 6,800t normal; 9,000t full load |
| Length: | 560.3 ft (170.8 m) |
| Beam: | 58.5 ft (17.8 m) |
| Draught: | 15.3 ft (4.7 m) |
| Installed power: | 85,000 hp (63,000 kW) |
| Propulsion: | Parsons turbine, 2 screws |
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h) |
| Range: | 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h) |
| Complement: | 600 |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 2 × Grumman J2F Duck |
| Aviation facilities: | Catapult launcher |
History and design
Veinticinco de Mayo was built in Italy and was the first ship of the Veinticinco de Mayo class of cruisers. Three vessels were to be produced, but in the end, only 25 de Mayo and her sister ship Almirante Brown were acquired, both in 1931.
These ships were unusual in several ways. First, they carried 7.5-inch guns, only the third class of warship to do so (the British Hawkins-class cruisers of World War I being another; a more typical main armament for heavy cruisers is 8-inch guns). Also, like the Italian Zara class and other Italian-built warships of the era they carried their floatplanes under the foredeck and launched them from a fixed catapult over the bows.
References
- David Miller, Illustrated Directory of Warships - from 1860 to the present day. (Salamander Books, London, 2001)
- M.J. Whitley, Cruisers of World War II, An International Encyclopedia (1995) Arms and Armour Press
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)