ARA Rosales (P-42)

ARA "Rosales" (P-42) is the second ship of the MEKO 140A16 Espora series of six corvettes built for the Argentine Navy. The ship is the fourth ship to bear the name of Colonel (Navy) Leonardo Rosales, who fought in the Argentine Navy during Argentina's war of independence and the Argentina-Brazil War.

She was constructed at the Río Santiago Shipyard of the Astilleros y Fábricas Navales del Estado (State Shipyards and Naval Factories) state corporation.

Origin

"Rosales" and her sister ships were part of the 1974 Naval Constructions National Plan, an initiative by the Argentine Navy to replace old World War II-vintage ships with more advanced warships. The original plan called for six MEKO 360H2 destroyers, four of them to be built in Argentina, but the plan was later modified to include four MEKO destroyers and six corvettes for anti-surface warfare and patrol operations.

Construction

"Rosales"' keel was laid on April 1, 1981 and was launched on March 4, 1983. The ship was officially delivered to the Navy on November 14th, 1986 and formally commissioned on March 24th, 1987.

Service History

Following her commissioning "Rosales" participated in several naval exercises and conducted fishery patrol duties in the Argentine Exclusive Economic Zone, capturing two illegal fishing ships in 1992.

She is homeported at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base and is part of the Navy's 2nd Corvette Division with her five sister ships.