Monday 22 November 2010

Ship Spotting


Last one for today.



What is it?

11 comments:

D. E. Reddick said...

My immediate impression is that it is likely a Brazilian river gunboat.

Chuck Hill said...

Looks like an American Yangtze River gunboat, but the weapons which appear to include Bofors 40 mm and Oerlikon 20 mm, suggest this is post WWII, so it was probably under Chinese control at the time.

Haven't been able to find a match yet.

D. E. Reddick said...

Chuck,

I looked at the USN gunboats and none of them had the spacing between the two funnels or the lack of a bridge elevated above the rest of the superstructure.

D. E. Reddick said...

GL / tangosix,

OT moment:

In case you haven't seen it yet - Mike Colombaro has a really good analysis of the RN's future over at Combat Fleets Of The World.

Future of the Royal-Navy...growing concerns...

http://combatfleetoftheworld.blogspot.com/2010/11/future-of-royal-navygrowing-concerns.html

Chuck Hill said...

DER, Yes, I saw that too, but it still looked American to me.

I checked the British Gunboats and none of them seemed to match

Trying to think where river gunboats might have been used, I suppose it might have been used on the Amazon as you suggest or perhaps the Mekong or the Nile

D. E. Reddick said...

Chuck,

Also there are possibilities with the Dutch East Indies and also British-controlled Burma.

Then, too - there's the Belgian Congo...

D. E. Reddick said...

Chuck,

I forgot to mention this...

Forget the Nile. That's a tropical rainforest shown on the shore in the background of the picture.

Well, unless this was a gunboat in British or Imperial German service on Lake Victoria or Lake Tanganyika during WW-I.

Chuck Hill said...

Peruvian River Gunboat "America"

Chuck Hill said...

DER, You were correct that it was on the Amazon. I found it in my 1982 Janes, it was commissioned in 1904. their comment, "...America now reported non-operational after only 77 years."

GrandLogistics said...

Hello Chuck Hill,

well done,B.A.P.America,now a museum ship and looking very good for her years.
I think I read somewhere she had British origins but I have been unable to confirm that.

D.E.Reddick,I have just read Mike Columbaro's piece but much of it is incorrect and a good deal else guesswork.

Most importantly it completely ignores the most important thing.
The United Kingdom is now committed
to joint European defence forces.
There is a reason why small European navies are suddenly building ocean going fleet escorts while the Royal Navy cuts it's surface fleet.

Even though this is now enshrined in U.K. law and published in official documents over and over again,nobody seems to even notice it!


Read this from 2008 for example:

http://eurodefenseuk.blogspot.com/2008/11/european-carrier-group-interoperability.html

British and other European armed forces are being deliberately reduced in size to create military interdependence which then justifies the joint European defence forces which have already been publicly agreed to by European governments.


GrandLogistics.

Chuck Hill said...

According to my Janes she was built by Tranmere Bay Development Co., Ltd, Birkenhead

240 tons, 133x19.5x4.5 feet 2x40mm and 4x20mm. 350iHP=14 kts.

This is the second Peruvian vessel you have done. Sounds like you have been there.