The PR-72P class are a series of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

-designed

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s in service with the

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy ( es, link=no, Marina de Guerra del Perú, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Addit ...

. Six units were ordered in 1976 by the Peruvian Navy from the ''Société Française de Construction Navale (SFCN)''. Subsequently, three of them were built by the company's own Villeneuve-la-Garenne

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

, and the rest subcontracted to Lorient Naval Dockyard.

Pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

s were originally P-101 to P-106, but were later modified to CM-21 to CM-26, where CM stands for ''corbeta misilera'', Spanish for

guided missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket ...

Ships

In 1998 the

signed a contract with MTU to re-engine three PR-72P-class corvettes. The other units are expected to be similarly modified in the near future.

Sources

* Baker III, Arthur D., ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 2002-2003''. Naval Institute Press, 2002. * Sharpe, Richard (ed.), ''Jane's Fighting Ships 1990 - 91''. Jane's Information Group, 1990. {{PR-72P class corvettes Corvette classes