ARA Granville (P-33)

For other ships with the same name, see ARA Granville.

ARA Granville (P-33) was a Drummond-class corvette of the Argentine Navy named after Guillermo Enrique Granville, who fought in the 1827 Battle of Juncal against Brazil.

ARA Granville at Mar del Plata naval base in 2005
History
Argentina
Namesake	Guillermo Enrique Granville
Operator	Argentine Navy
Laid down	1 December 1978[1]
Launched	28 June 1980[1]
Commissioned	22 June 1981[1]
Decommissioned	31 August 2024
Homeport	Mar del Plata
Status	Retired
General characteristics
Class & type	Type A69 Drummond-class corvette
Displacement	1,170 tons (1,320 tons full load)[1]
Length	80 m (260 ft)[1]
Beam	10.3 m (34 ft)[1]
Draught	3.55 m (11.6 ft)[1]
Installed power	12,000 shp (8.9 MW)[1]
Propulsion	2× SEMT Pielstick 12 PC 2.2 V400 diesels, 2× controllable pitch propellers[1]
Speed	23.3 knots (43 km/h)[1]
Range	4,500 nautical miles (8,330 km) at 16 knots (30 km/h)[1]
Endurance	15 days[1]
Complement	5 officers, 79 enlisted, 95 berths[1]
Sensors & processing systems	Thales DRBV 51A air/surface search Thales DRBC-32E fire control Consilium Selesmar NavBat Thales Diodon hull MF sonar[1]
Electronic warfare & decoys	Thales DR 2000 S3 Thales Alligator 51 jammer 2× Matra Dagaie decoys[1]
Armament	4× MM38 Exocet anti-ship missiles (As of 2020, work underway to maintain the missile's operational relevance)[2] 1× 100 mm/55 Mod.1968 dual purpose gun 1× twin Bofors 40 mm L/70 AA guns 2× 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns 2× .50cal Colt M2 machine guns 2× triple 324 mm ILAS-3 tubes (WASS A-244S torpedoes)[1]
Aviation facilities	small pad for VERTREP

Up until 2024 she was based at Mar del Plata,^[3] and had for many years been conducting fishery patrol duties in the Argentine exclusive economic zone where she captured several trawlers.^[4][5]

According to reports in November 2012 the Drummond class "hardly sail[ed] because of lack of resources for operational expenses".^[6] As of 2020, only Granville was reported to be operational, having undergone a refit in mid-2019, with the other ships of the class in reserve.^[7] Granville was retired in August 2024.^[8]

Service history

The first two ships of the Drummond class were built in 1977 in France for the South African Navy. The sale was embargoed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 418 during sea trials, and the ships were sold to Argentina instead. A third ship was ordered and entered service as ARA Granville on 22 June 1981,^[1] in time for the Falklands War the following year. There are minor differences in equipment fit compared to her sisters, for instance Granville has French Degaie decoys rather than the British Corvus chaff launchers.^[1]

On 28 March 1982 she sailed with her sister ARA Drummond and took up station northeast of Port Stanley to cover the main amphibious landings on 2 April.^[9] After the attack she operated north of the Falklands with her sister ships as Task Group 79.4, hoping to catch ships detached from the British task force.^[10] On 29 April the corvettes were trailed by the submarine HMS Splendid while she was looking for the Argentine aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, but they managed to outrun the British submarine.^[11]

Granville carried the P-3 pennant number until the introduction of the Espora-class corvettes in 1985, when she became P-33. In 1994, Granville and her sisters participated in Operation Uphold Democracy, the United Nations blockade of Haiti. During this time, she was based at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico.^[12]

According to British reports, in 1995 Granville harassed a number of trawlers around the Falklands and confronted and illuminated the British forward repair ship RFA Diligence with her radar.^[13]