The Paraguayan Navy's Humaitá-class river gunboats may well be regarded as ancient by most modern standards, but their longevity pales into insignificance when compared to that Navy's Capitán Cabral (ex-Triunfo, ex-Adolfo Riquelme), which was first launched in 1907!
She began life as a river tug, and was purchased and converted into a river gunboat soon after she was launched. She was originally armed with a single 3" gun, but in the late 1980s this was replaced by a 40mm Bofors automatic cannon, two 20mm Oerlikon automatic cannons, and two 0.5" machine guns.
At the same time as she was re-armed, the ship was modernised. Her original steam engines were replaced with new diesel ones, and her superstructure was completely re-modelled. She was certainly still in service in 2016 ... one hundred and eleven years after she was launched!
She began life as a river tug, and was purchased and converted into a river gunboat soon after she was launched. She was originally armed with a single 3" gun, but in the late 1980s this was replaced by a 40mm Bofors automatic cannon, two 20mm Oerlikon automatic cannons, and two 0.5" machine guns.
At the same time as she was re-armed, the ship was modernised. Her original steam engines were replaced with new diesel ones, and her superstructure was completely re-modelled. She was certainly still in service in 2016 ... one hundred and eleven years after she was launched!
Recycle, Reuse!
ReplyDeleteRoss Mac,
DeleteIt is sobering to think that this ship was being built when the Dreadnought was entering service!
All the best,
Bob
Bob- One Hundred and Eleven years must be some sort of Guinness Book record for being in service...would you consider making a 15mm model of the Gunboat for your Portable Game - if you get around to it in the future? Cheers. kEV.
ReplyDeleteKev Robertson,
DeleteThere are some older ships that are still in service ... but as far as I know, they are historic or museum ships, and not still available for active service.
As the vessel was originally designed to be a tug, making a model would not be very difficult, and it is something that I will certainly consider building.
All the best,
Bob