Mendoza-class destroyer
Introduction The '''''Mendoza'' class''' were a series of three destroyers built in the United Kingdom for the Argentine Navy in the 1920s. They were the first part of the Argentine re-armament programme of the 1920s. Construction began in 1927 and all three were commissioned in 1929.All three destroyers were converted to anti-aircraft escorts in 1958 and remained in service until 1962 when they were discarded.
Design The ships were based on the British Admiralty type flotilla leader design built at the end of World War I, with minor modifications. The ''Mendoza''-class destroyers had a standard displacement of  and were  at full load. The vessels were  long overall and  long at the waterline. They had a beam of  and a mean draught of .The ''Mendoza'' class were equipped with Parsons single-reduction geared turbines powered by steam provided by four  three-drum boilers. The turbines turned two shafts rated at  giving the destroyers a maximum designed speed of . The ships carried  of fuel oil and had a range of  at . The destroyers had a complement of 160 officers and ratings.Ships of the ''Mendoza'' class were equipped with five  QF Mark IX guns located in single turrets along the centreline of the ship. The ''Mendoza''-class destroyers were also given one  gun for anti-aircraft (AA) defence and two 2-pounder pom poms. They were also armed with six  torpedo tubes in two triple mounts. The 3-inch, both 2-pounder and "Q" gun were later swapped out for six 40 mm Bofors guns in 3 twin mountings for AA defense, arranged either side and abaft the second funnel.
Ships in class + Construction dataShip Pennant numberBuilder Launched Commissioned Fate  E-3 J. Samuel White & Co, Cowes 18 July 1928 24 January 1929  Discarded, 30 April 1962  E-4 2 February 1929 23 July 1929  E-5 16 October 1928 3 May 1929
Service history Contracts were placed with J. Samuel White in 1927 as part of the Argentine Navy's modernisation programme. The three vessels took on the names of destroyers under construction during World War I that had been appropriated by France and Germany. All three ships exceeded their design speed during sea trials, with ''La Rioja'' reaching the fastest speed at  without exceeding the limits of its engines. After all three ships had been accepted by the Argentine Navy, the three destroyers sailed for Argentina together from the United Kingdom, stopping only at Lisbon, Portugal en route. Argentina remained neutral during World War II.In 1952, the ''Mendoza'' class' designation was changed from ''Exploradores'' (destroyer) to ''Torpederos'' (destroyer escort) in 1952 and their pennant numbers changed from "E" to "T" to reflect that. ''La Rioja'' and ''Tucuman'' were laid up that year and disarmed. The class were converted to anti-submarine escorts in 1958. ''Mendoza'' remained in service until 1961, when the last of the class was decommissioned. The class was discarded on 30 April 1962 and replaced with former United States Navy ships that were acquired cheaply.
See also * List of ships of the Argentine Navy*
Notes
Citations
Bibliography * * * *
Further reading * Guillermo J. Montehengo, An Argentinian Naval Buildup in the Disarmament Era, in Warship 2002-2003, Conway's Maritime press.
External links *   Destroyers ("Destructores (Tambien llamados Torpederos)") – Histarmar website