ARA Almirante Brown (C-1)

For other ships with the same name, see ARA Almirante Brown.

Almirante Brown was a Veinticinco de Mayo-class heavy cruiser in service with the Argentine Navy. The ship was named in honour of Admiral Guillermo Brown, the Father of the Argentine Navy.

History
Argentina
Name	Almirante Brown
Namesake	Guillermo Brown
Builder	Cantieri navali Odero, Genoa-Cantiere della Foce
Laid down	12 October 1927
Launched	28 September 1929
Commissioned	18 July 1931
Identification	C-1
Fate	Scrapped 1962
General characteristics
Class & 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 nmi (15,000 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h)
Complement	600
Armament	6 × 190 mm (7.5 inch)/52 caliber guns (3 × 2) 12 × 102 mm (4 inch)/45 caliber DP guns (6 × 2) 6 × Vickers-Terni 40/39 mm AA guns 6 × 533 mm (21-inch) torpedo tubes
Armour	Deck: 1 in (25 mm) Sides: 2.8 in (71 mm) Conning tower: 2.3 in (58 mm) Turrets: 2 in (51 mm)
Aircraft carried	2 × Grumman J2F Duck
Aviation facilities	Catapult launcher

Design and construction

Almirante Brown was built by Odero in Genoa (Italy), laid down 27 November 1927, launched on 11 August 1929, and completed 11 July 1931. Her total displacement was 6,800 tons. The ship was broadly similar to the Italian Trento class but was armed with three twin 7.5 in (190 mm) gun turrets as against four twin 8-inch (200 mm) guns. Another important difference was the repositioning of the boilers, which gave the ship a single funnel. On trials the cruiser reached its contracted speed of 32 knots (59 km/h). As completed the ship had a short funnel but it was subsequently raised. During the Second World War the ship finally received the catapult which had been included in the original design. The catapult and crane were carried on the centreline between the funnel and mainmast, with two Grumman floatplanes. When built six single 100 mm (3.9 in) anti-aircraft guns were mounted at forecastle deck level but these were later replaced by twin 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns.

Almirante Brown was decommissioned on 27 June 1961 and sold for breaking up in Italy in 1962.

See also

• List of ships of the Argentine Navy