BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81)

1973 COLD WAR MODERN NAVY

• 1 BAP Almirante Gray (CLM-81) History
• 2 BAP Almirante Gray (CLM-81) Specification
  • 2.1 Basic
  • 2.2 Roles
  • 2.3 Dimensions
  • 2.4 Weight
  • 2.5 Performance
  • 2.6 Performance
  • 2.7 Armor
  • 2.8 Wing

BAP Almirante Gray (CLM-81) History

The modern Peruvian Navy has a cruiser-type battleship, this ship - BAP Almirante Grau (CLM-81) - also serves as its flagship. Originally designed in 1953 as a warship for the Dutch Navy (HNLMS De Ruyter (C801) (details elsewhere on this site)), Almirante Grau was acquired by the Peruvians on March 7, 1973 and officially commissioned on May 23 . navy. In 1973, she established her home port in Callao and fought under the motto "Poder y Gloria" (which translates to "Power and Glory").

At the time of writing (2016), she has active duty status.

The BAP Almirante displaces 9,680 tonnes under standard load and 12,165 tonnes under full load. She was designed with a span of 615 feet, a beam of 57 feet, and a draft of 22 feet. Her crew consisted of 47 officers and 606 soldiers.

Installed propulsion power comes from 4 x Werkspoor-Yarrow 3-drum boilers providing 85,000 hp to 2 x De Schelde Parsons geared steam turbines while driving 2 x shafts under the stern. She can go at 32 knots and reach a distance of 7,900 miles.

Armor protection includes belts up to 76mm, 125mm turret and 125mm conning tower. BAP Almirante Grau is equipped with various systems covering the early warning, surface search, fire control and navigation parts of its operations.

Weapons include 8 x OTOmat Mk. 2 Series Surface-to-Surface Missiles (SSM) of Italian origin. Conventional armament consists of 8 x 152mm 53 caliber Bofors guns mounted in four twin gun turrets - these turrets make up their main guns.

Her secondary guns consist of 4 x 40mm/70 caliber OTO Melara cannons. 2 x Matra Defense "Dagaie" launchers and 1 x "Sagaie" launcher provide airborne deception services.

BAP Almirante Grau started in Peru in July 1973. Between 1985 and 1988, she underwent a major refit from the Dutch, which greatly enhanced her tactical and strategic capabilities. She received all modern sensors and processing systems, lost some of her more traditional guns, and saw her hull sonar removed.

The OTOmat missile kit was added in 1993, as was the 40mm gun. The radar system was eventually replaced by the more modern AN/SPS-6 series.

Although listed as a "missile cruiser" in some publications, the Almirante Grau is first and foremost an armed cruiser battleship - the last of its kind in the world. Compared to the guided-missile destroyers seen in the U.S. Navy and European navies today, the Almirante Grau is an outdated naval warship design with limited value in modern naval warfare.

Many modern navies have moved away from their reliance on cruisers and instead augmented the inherent capabilities of frigates, destroyers, and frigates.

BAP Almirante Gray (CLM-81) Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Wing