Brazilian aircraft carrier Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
| |
History | |
---|---|
Brazil | |
Name | Minas Gerais |
Namesake | State of Minas Gerais |
Builder | Swan Hunter |
Laid down | 16 November 1942 as HMS Vengeance (R71) |
Launched | 23 February 1944 |
Completed | 15 January 1945 |
Acquired | 14 December 1956 |
Builder | Verolme Dock, Rotterdam (reconstruction) |
Cost | US$27,000,000 |
Commissioned | 6 December 1960 |
Decommissioned | 16 October 2001 |
Fate | Scrapped in India in 2004 |
Badge | |
General characteristics (Brazil service) | |
Class and type | Modified Colossus-class aircraft carrier |
Displacement |
|
Length |
|
Beam | 80 ft (24 m) |
Draught | 24.5 ft (7.5 m) |
Speed | 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) at 120 revolutions |
Range |
|
Complement | 1,000 + 300 air group |
Sensors and processing systems |
|
Armament |
|
Aircraft carried | 21 |
Notes | Taken from:[1] |
NAeL Minas Gerais (pennant number A 11) was a
The ship underwent a four-year conversion in the Netherlands to make her capable of operating heavier naval aircraft. She was commissioned into the MB as Minas Gerais (named after the state of
Minas Gerais remained in service until 2001, when she was replaced by NAe São Paulo. At the time of her decommissioning, she was the oldest operational aircraft carrier in the world, and the last operational unit of the World War II Light Fleet design. Despite attempts to preserve the carrier as a museum ship, and after several failed attempts to auction the ship off (including a listing on eBay), Minas Gerais was sold for scrap in 2004 and taken to Alang, India for breaking up.
Design and construction
The carrier was constructed by Swan Hunter for the Royal Navy (RN) as HMS Vengeance.[2] She was laid down on 16 November 1942, and launched on 23 February 1944.[2] Construction was completed on 15 January 1945, and Vengeance was commissioned into the RN.[2]
The Colossus-class carriers were intended to be 'disposable warships': they were to be operated during World War II and scrapped at the end of hostilities or within three years of entering service.[3] Despite this plan, the ship had a service life of over 55 years across three navies.
Early operational history
After commissioning, Vengeance was assigned to the 11th Aircraft Carrier Squadron, which was attached to the British Pacific Fleet.[4] The carrier arrived in Sydney, Australia in July 1945, but remained in the harbour for refits until the end of World War II.[4] Vengeance operated in the waters of Asia until mid-1946, when she returned to England and was reassigned as a training vessel.[4] In late 1948, Vengeance was converted for Arctic conditions, and from February 1949 to March 1949, she operated in Arctic waters as part of an experimental cruise to determine how well ships, aircraft, and personnel functioned in extreme cold.[4][5]
From late 1952 until mid-1955, Vengeance was loaned to the Royal Australian Navy, to serve in place of the under-construction HMAS Melbourne.[6][7]
Purchase and modernisation
During the leadup to the
From mid-1957 until December 1960, the carrier underwent a massive refit and reconstruction in the Netherlands.
The carrier was commissioned into the Marinha do Brasil as NAeL Minas Gerais (named for Kubitschek's home state) on 6 December 1960.[2] She departed Rotterdam for Rio de Janeiro on 13 January 1961.[2] The duration of the refit meant that while the carrier was the first purchased by a Latin American nation, she was the second to enter service, after another Colossus-class carrier entered service with the Argentine Navy as ARA Independencia in July 1959.[11]
Weapons and systems
During the ship's modernisation refit to become Minas Gerais, her armament was altered to consist of ten
By 1996, Minas Gerais was fitted with the following radars: a Lockheed SPS-40B for air search, a Plessey AWS 4 for surface search, a Signaal ZW06 for navigation, two SPG-34 for fire control, and a Scanter Mil-Par for Carrier-Controlled Approach.
As of the mid-1990s, the carrier's air group consisted of six
Brazilian operational history
In 1965, President
From 1976 to 1981, the ship underwent a major refit.
Minas Gerais underwent a modernisation refit from July 1991 to October 1993.[1] This included the overhaul of the boilers and engines, integration of a SICONTA command system, two new navigation radars and Scanter-MIL landing radar were installed, and preparation for the installation of Simbad launchers for Mistral surface-to-air missiles.[1][17] The launchers themselves were installed in 1994, with the ten Bofors removed at the same time.[1] The Bofors could be reinstalled to complement the ship's armament if needed.[1] In November 1993, the carrier conducted a joint exercise with the Argentine Navy, where Argentine pilots flying Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard aircraft performed 177 touch-and-go landings, in order to maintain their carrier landing qualifications while Veinticinco de Mayo was out of service.[17]
During 1995 and 1996, the ability to operate fixed-wing aircraft was restored to Minas Gerais after the catapult from the decommissioned Veinticinco de Mayo was acquired and installed.[16] In 1997, Minas Gerais was loaned an A-4Q airframe by the Argentine Aviación Naval (Naval Aviation) for deck-handling and interface trials.[14] This was in lead-up to the 1999 acquisition of 20 A-4KU Skyhawks and three TA-4KU trainer aircraft from the Kuwait Air Force for US$70 million.[12] This was the first time since the carrier's commissioning that Força Aeronaval da Marinha (Brazilian Navy Aviation) had been permitted to own and operate fixed-wing aircraft.[12] The 23 aircraft were formed as the First Intercept and Attack Squadron, had all entered service by early 2000, and began carrier operations in late October 2000.[12][18] In order to operate the new fighters, Minas Gerais underwent a major refit at the Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro.[12] The main purpose of this refit was to upgrade the catapult to launch Skyhawks.[12]
Replacement and decommissioning
The replacement of Minas Gerais was first suggested in the early 1980s, as part of planned 15-year naval expansion program.
Replacement of Minas Gerais was under serious consideration by 1999; despite numerous refits and life-extending upgrades, the MB predicted that the carrier would require replacement before 2010.[12] As well as the two proposals, consideration was given to acquiring a second-hand carrier, such as the French Navy's Foch.[12] One of the main issues in considering the replacement was the MB's significant investment in fixed-wing aviation in the late 1990s; a carrier capable of operating the recently acquired Skyhawks would be more expensive to acquire and operate than a STOVL or helicopter carrier, but the cheaper concepts would require the refactoring of Brazilian naval aviation.[12] In the end, Foch was acquired, renamed NAe São Paulo, and slated to commission into the Marinha do Brasil in April 2001.[18] She was downclassed as a helicopter support ship in 2001 before her decommissioning.[21]
Minas Gerais was decommissioned on 16 October 2001: the second to last of the World War II-era light aircraft carriers to leave service, with the other being the 1959-commissioned
See also
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Sharpe (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships, 1996–1997, p. 55
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Blackman (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships (1968–69), p. 23
- ^ a b Hobbs, in The Navy and the Nation, p. 217
- ^ a b c d Cassells, The Capital Ships, p. 181
- ^ Till, Holding the Bridge in Troubled Times, p. 317
- ^ Donohue, From Empire Defence to the Long Haul, p. 94
- ^ ANAM, Flying Stations, p. 120
- ^ a b Gordon, Brazil's Second Chance, p. 40
- ^ a b c d Ireland, Aircraft Carriers of the World, p. 245
- ^ a b c Bishop & Chant, Aircraft carriers, p. 82
- ^ English, Focus on Latin American Navies, p. 56
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Corless, The Brazilian Navy blazes a trail in the South Atlantic
- ^ http://www.chilecompany.com/chilecomp11.htm Kuwaiti Air Force Sale
- ^ a b Jane's Navy International, Carrier Aviation – Skyhawks set to land on Brazilian carrier, p. 6
- ^ a b English, Latin American Navies still treading water
- ^ a b c Fleet Air Arm Archive, History of the Colossus class carrier Minas Gerais
- ^ a b Scott & Starr, Carrier aviation at the crossroads
- ^ a b Jane's International Defence Review Brazil – Skyhawks begin flights from carrier
- ^ a b c d e Anthony, The Naval Arms Trade, p. 110
- ^ a b c Anthony, The Naval Arms Trade, p. 111
- ^ a b "History of the Colossus class carrier Minas Gerais (Ex HMS Vengeance)". Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Navy News (Australia), Campaign to save the Vengeance
- ^ Syal & Lashmar, Race to save historic ship from scrap heap
- ^ a b c Parry, Sad end to symbol of city's liberation
- ^ a b Tweedie, For internet sale: aircraft carrier, only three owners
References
- Books
- Anthony, Ian (1990). The Naval Arms Trade. Strategic issue papers. Oxford: Oxford University Press. OCLC 59184818.
- Australian Naval Aviation Museum (ANAM) (1998). Flying Stations: a story of Australian naval aviation. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. OCLC 39290180.
- Blackman, Raymond, ed. (1968). Jane's Fighting Ships, 1968-69 (71st ed.). London: Jane's Publishing Company. OCLC 123786869.
- Bishop, Chris; Chant, Christopher (2004). Aircraft carriers: the world's greatest naval vessels and their aircraft. Grand Rapids, MI: Zenith. OCLC 56646560.
- Cassells, Vic (2000). The Capital Ships: their battles and their badges. East Roseville, NSW: Simon & Schuster. OCLC 48761594.
- Donohue, Hector (October 1996). From Empire Defence to the Long Haul: post-war defence policy and its impact on naval force structure planning 1945-1955. Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs (No. 1). Canberra: Sea Power Centre. OCLC 36817771.
- Gordon, Lincoln (2001). Brazil's Second Chance: En Route Toward the First World. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. OCLC 45806362.
- Hobbs, David (2005). "HMAS Sydney (III): a symbol of Australia's growing maritime capability". In Stevens, David; Reeve, John (eds.). The Navy and the Nation: the influence of the Navy on modern Australia. Corws Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. OCLC 67872922.
- Ireland, Bernard (2008) [2005]. The Illustrated Guide to Aircraft Carriers of the World. London: Anness Publishing. OCLC 156616762.
- Polmar, Norman (2001) [1993]. The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet (17th ed.). Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press. p. 107. OCLC 249124965.
- Sharpe, Richard, ed. (March 1996). Jane's Fighting Ships, 1996-97 (99th ed.). Surrey: Jane's Information Group. OCLC 34998928.
- Journal articles
- Corless, Josh (1 June 1999). "The Brazilian Navy blazes a trail in the South Atlantic". Jane's Navy International. 104 (6). Jane's Information Group.
- English, Adrian J. (2002). "Focus on Latin American Navies". Naval Forces. 23 (6). Bonn Mönch: 53–64. ISSN 0722-8880.
- English, Adrian J. (1 May 1996). "Latin American Navies still treading water". Jane's Navy International. 101 (3). Jane's Information Group.
- "Brazil – Skyhawks begin flights from carrier". Jane's International Defence Review. Jane's Information Group. 24 October 2000.
- "Carrier Aviation – Skyhawks set to land on Brazilian carrier". Jane's Navy International. 103 (1). Jane's Information Group: 6. 1 January 1998.
- Scott, Richard; Starr, Barbara (1 March 1999). "Carrier aviation at the crossroads". Jane's Navy International. 100 (2). Jane's Information Group.
- Till, Geoffrey (April 2005). "Holding the Bridge in Troubled Times: The Cold War and the Navies of Europe". The Journal of Strategic Studies. 28 (2). Routledge: 309–337. S2CID 216087963.
- Newspaper articles and websites
- "Campaign to save the Vengeance". Navy News. Royal Australian Navy. 4 February 2001. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
- "History of the Colossus class carrier Minas Gerais". Fleet Air Arm Archive. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - Syal, Rajeev; Lashmar, Paul (16 June 2002). "Race to save historic ship from scrap heap". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 11 July 2008.
- Tweedie, Neil (10 January 2004). "For internet sale: aircraft carrier, only three owners". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2008.