ARA Cervantes (D-1)

Some time after the end of the dreadnought race, Argentina began to strengthen the fleet. Because of World War I , in which the country remained neutral , some of the ships ordered in the early 1910s in Europe “did not reach” the owner. This was especially true for destroyers ^[3] . Argentina by that time entered the top ten most developed countries of the world ^{[4] [5]} , the country's gold reserve from 1914 to 1920 doubled ^[6] .

In 1926, an ambitious ten-year fleet renewal program worth 75 million gold pesos was adopted. The same period coincided with the strengthening of diplomatic and cultural ties with Spain . Thus, Buenos Aires became the final destination of the Plus Ultra Iberian seaplane, which made a transatlantic flight, and on February 7, 1926, Spanish ships arrived on the shores of La Plata - cruiser Mendes Nunez and the destroyer "Alcedo" . The latter aroused strong interest among the country's naval circles. At this time, in Spanish Cartagena, the destroyers of the Churruka type were very useful. The first two ships - Cervantes and Juan de Garay - were bought by Argentina. D-1 cost the treasury 1,750,000 gold pesos. ^[7] The purchase took place on May 25, 1927 - on the anniversary of the beginning of the May Revolution .

On January 10, 1928, Cervantes arrived with the sistership in the capital of the Argentine Republic ^[7] .

In 1929, he was transferred to the destroyer squadron of the 1st naval area based in Puerto Belgrano . Airborne letter changed to E-1 ( Explorador ). Operated off the coast of Argentina between the ports of Bahia Blanca and Mar del Plata , as well as in the Gulf of Nuevo. In January-February 1937, as part of the Argentine squadron, it sailed the southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans , visiting the ports of Ushuaia , Valparaiso , Callao and Punta Arenas ^[7] .

In 1941, it was reclassified as a destroyer , the onboard letter was changed to T-1 ( Torpedero ) ^[7] .

In 1952, the onboard letter was changed to D-1 ( Destructor ).

On September 16, 1955, the anti- Peronist “ Liberation Revolution ” began in the country. Cervantes, who sided with the rebellious General Lonardi , along with the destroyer La Rioja , blocked the coast ^[8] in the La Plata estuary . On the morning of the same day, the ships were attacked by the pro-government Kalkins and Meteors . The attack of the latter caused fierce retaliatory fire. According to unconfirmed reports, the sailors shot down one plane. As a result of the battle at Cervantes, 5 sailors were killed, 20 were injured. Shabby ships went to Uruguayan Montevideo ^{[7] [8]} .

Since the late 50s it has been used as a training vessel . In February 1960, the Cervantes, with the cadets of the naval school on board, accompanied by the Ingeniero Iribas floating base and the Muratur and King corvettes , sailed in the Gulf of Nuevo off the coast of Patagonia ^{[9] [10]} . Suddenly, “Muratur” recorded an unidentified object located at a depth. After the bombardment ^[11] , the ships blocked the exit from the bay and called the aircraft from the bases of Comandante Espora ( Bahia Blanca ) and Mar del Plata. The President of Frondisi was replaced by the Independence carrier and other ships and planes ^[11] . The coast of the gulf was cordoned off by the marines . At the exit from the bay, sea ​​mines were installed. The Americans supplied Argentina with modern search equipment ^[12] .

After an unsuccessful search, on February 25, the termination of the operation was announced. The opinion was expressed that foreign submarines could be unidentified objects ^{[9] [11] [10] [13]} .

June 24, 1961 expelled from the fleet, and in Decemberof the same year sold to Wolffzhan & Spatz for scrap.

• Conway's All The Worlds Fighting Ships, 1922-1946 / Gray, Randal (ed.). - London: Conway Maritime Press, 1980 .-- 456 p. - ISBN 0-85177-1467 .