ARA Sarandí (D-13)
Encyclopedia
ARA Sarandí (pennant number D-13) is the fourth and last ship of the MEKO 360H2
Almirante Brown class destroyer
The Almirante Brown is a class of destroyers commissioned between 1983 and 1984 for the Argentine Navy. As of 2005, ARA Sarandí is the Argentinian fleet flagship.-Specifications:...

 series of four destroyers built for the Argentine Navy
Argentine Navy
The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....

. The ship is the fourth ship in the history of the Argentine Navy to bear the name of the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 
Sarandí, which was a famous ship of the Argentine Navy during the Argentina-Brazil War
Argentina-Brazil War
The Cisplatine War or the Argentine–Brazilian War was an armed conflict over an area known as Banda Oriental or "Eastern Shore" in the 1820s between the United Provinces of River Plate and the Empire of Brazil in the aftermath of the United Provinces' emancipation from Spain.-Background:Led by...

 between 1825 and 1828. The original
Sarandí was itself named after a major victory of the Argentine Army
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country.- History :...

 during that same conflict.

Origin

Sarandí and her sister ships were authorized under the Naval Construction National Plan of 1974, an initiative by the Argentine Navy to replace old World War II-vintage warships which were nearing the end of their operational lives. A contract was signed with the Blohm + Voss
Blohm + Voss
Blohm + Voss , is a German shipbuilding and engineering works. It is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems; there were plans to sell 80% of Blohm + Voss to Abu Dhabi Mar Group, but talks collapsed in July 2011.-History:It was founded on April 5, 1877, by Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss as a...

 Shipyards in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 for the construction of four MEKO 360H2 destroyers.

Construction

Sarandís keel was laid down on March 9, 1982 and was launched on August 31 of that same year. The ship was delivered to the Argentine Navy on April 23, 1984 for her sea trials, following which the ship departed for Argentina, arriving at Puerto Belgrano Naval Base on June 21 of that same year.

Service history

On 2003 Sarandi joined the Carrier Strike Group and Destroyer Squadron 18 as a part of Exercise Solid Step during their tour in the Mediterranean. This marked the first time that a ship of the Argentine Navy inter-operated with an United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 battlegroup.

Sarandí was involved in an unfortunate incident on November 29, 2004, during the annual FRATERNO naval exercise with ships of the Brazilian Navy
Brazilian Navy
The Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America...

. While conducting gunnery practice shots against target drones, she fired by mistake on the Brazilian frigate Rademaker
HMS Battleaxe (F89)
HMS Battleaxe was a Type 22 frigate of the Royal Navy. She was sold to the Brazilian Navy on 30 April 1997 and renamed Rademaker.HMS Battleaxe was featured in Tom Clancy's novel Red Storm Rising....

, injuring four Brazilian crewmen and an Argentine naval observer and causing moderate damage to the Brazilian ship.

She is currently homeported at Puerto Belgrano
Puerto Belgrano
Base Naval Puerto Belgrano is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near Bahía Blanca, about south of Buenos Aires...

as the flagship of the Navy's 2nd Destroyer Division, along with her three sister ships.
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