Brazilian aircraft carrier Minas Gerais
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NAeL ''Minas Gerais'' (pennant number A 11) was a light aircraft carrier operated by the ''Marinha do Brasil'' (MB,
Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious war ...
) from 1960 until 2001. The ship was laid down for the United Kingdom's
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
as , was completed shortly before the war's end, and did not see combat. After stints as a training vessel and Arctic research ship, the carrier was loaned to the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
from 1952 to 1955. She was returned to the British, who sold her to Brazil in 1956. The ship underwent a four-year conversion in the Netherlands to make her capable of operating heavier naval aircraft. She was commissioned into the MB as ''Minas Gerais'' (named after the state of
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
) in 1960; the first purchased by a
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
n nation, and the second to enter service, behind the Argentinian ARA ''Independencia''. Between 1987 and 1996, the carrier was unable to operate fixed-wing aircraft because of a defective catapult, and was retasked as a helicopter carrier and
amphibious assault ship An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, a ...
. ''Minas Gerais'' remained in service until 2001, when she was replaced by NAe . At the time of her decommissioning, she was the oldest operational aircraft carrier in the world, and the last operational unit of the World War II Light Fleet design. Despite attempts to preserve the carrier as a museum ship, and after several failed attempts to auction the ship off (including a listing on
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
), ''Minas Gerais'' was sold for scrap in 2004 and taken to
Alang Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Because it is home to the Alang Ship Breaking Yard, Alang beaches are considered the world's largest ship graveyard. Demographics As of the 2001 Indian census, Al ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
for breaking up.


Design and construction

The carrier was constructed by
Swan Hunter Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powe ...
for the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
(RN) as HMS ''Vengeance''.Blackman (ed.), ''Jane's Fighting Ships (1968–69)'', p. 23 She was laid down on 16 November 1942, and launched on 23 February 1944. Construction was completed on 15 January 1945, and ''Vengeance'' was commissioned into the RN. The ''Colossus''-class carriers were intended to be 'disposable warships': they were to be operated during World War II and scrapped at the end of hostilities or within three years of entering service.Hobbs, in ''The Navy and the Nation'', p. 217 Despite this plan, the ship had a service life of over 55 years across three navies.


Early operational history

After commissioning, ''Vengeance'' was assigned to the 11th Aircraft Carrier Squadron, which was attached to the
British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships o ...
.Cassells, ''The Capital Ships'', p. 181 The carrier arrived in Sydney, Australia in July 1945, but remained in the harbour for refits until the end of World War II. ''Vengeance'' operated in the waters of Asia until mid-1946, when she returned to England and was reassigned as a training vessel. In late 1948, ''Vengeance'' was converted for Arctic conditions, and from February 1949 to March 1949, she operated in Arctic waters as part of an experimental cruise to determine how well ships, aircraft, and personnel functioned in extreme cold. From late 1952 until mid-1955, ''Vengeance'' was loaned to the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
, to serve in place of the under-construction .Donohue, ''From Empire Defence to the Long Haul'', p. 94ANAM, ''Flying Stations'', p. 120


Purchase and modernisation

During the leadup to the 1955 presidential election,
Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a prominent Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. His term was marked by economic prosp ...
, governor of the state of
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
promised Brazilian admirals to acquire an aircraft carrier for the '' Marinha do Brasil'' (MB, Brazilian Navy).Gordon, ''Brazil's Second Chance'', p. 40 Kubitschek later claimed that this was to avoid a naval rebellion during his inauguration at the start of 1956, and despite believing in the "military uselessness" of the second-hand warship, the sale of ''Vengeance'' to Brazil for US$9 million went through on 14 December 1956. From mid-1957 until December 1960, the carrier underwent a massive refit and reconstruction in the Netherlands. The work was carried out by Verolme Dock in Rotterdam, and cost US$27 million. The most visible change was the installation of an 8.5-degree angled flight deck.Ireland, ''Aircraft Carriers of the World'', p. 245 The size of the angle required that an accessway be built around the starboard side of the island superstructure; the weight acting as a counterbalance for the flight deck's portside overhang. Combined with the fitting of a more powerful
steam catapult An aircraft catapult is a device used to allow aircraft to take off from a very limited amount of space, such as the deck of a vessel, but can also be installed on land-based runways in rare cases. It is now most commonly used on aircraft carrier ...
, stronger
arresting gear An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOB ...
, reinforced hangar elevators, and a
mirror landing aid An optical landing system (OLS) (nicknamed "meatball" or simply "ball") is used to give glidepath information to pilots in the terminal phase of landing on an aircraft carrier. From the beginning of aircraft landing on ships in the 1920s to the ...
, these modifications permitted the operation of jet aircraft up to in weight.Bishop & Chant, ''Aircraft carriers'', p. 82 The carrier's island superstructure was replaced, and a lattice mast was fitted to support the new fire control system and radar suite. The ship's boiler capacity was increased, and internal electricity was converted to AC through the installation of four turbo generators and one diesel generator. The carrier was commissioned into the ''Marinha do Brasil'' as NAeL ''Minas Gerais'' (named for Kubitschek's home state) on 6 December 1960. She departed Rotterdam for Rio de Janeiro on 13 January 1961. The duration of the refit meant that while the carrier was the first purchased by a
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
n nation, she was the second to enter service, after another ''Colossus''-class carrier entered service with the Argentine Navy as ARA ''Independencia'' in July 1959.English, ''Focus on Latin American Navies'', p. 56


Weapons and systems

During the ship's modernisation refit to become ''Minas Gerais'', her armament was altered to consist of ten Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft guns (2 quad mountings and 1 twin mounting), and two 47 mm
saluting guns A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...
. In 1994, the Bofors were removed and replaced with two twin surface-to-air launchers for
Mistral missile The Missile Transportable Anti-aérien Léger (English: Transportable lightweight anti-air missile), commonly called Mistral, is a French infrared homing short range air defense system manufactured by MBDA France (formerly by Matra Defence and ...
s. If additional armament was required, the Bofors could be reinstalled. By 1996, ''Minas Gerais'' was fitted with the following radars: a Lockheed SPS-40B for air search, a Plessey AWS 4 for surface search, a Signaal ZW06 for navigation, two SPG-34 for fire control, and a Scanter Mil-Par for Carrier-Controlled Approach. The two search radars operate on NATO frequency bands designated E and F, the navigation and CCA radars operate on the NATO I band, and the fire control radars on both the I and J bands. As of the mid-1990s, the carrier's air group consisted of six S-2E Trackers, four to six ASH-3D Sea Kings, two AS-355 Ecureuils, and three A-332 Super Pumas. In 1999, the MB acquired 20 A-4KU Skyhawks and 3 TA-4KU trainer aircraft from the Kuwait Air Force for $US70 million. ''Minas Gerais'' began operating these aircraft in late 2000.http://www.chilecompany.com/chilecomp11.htm Kuwaiti Air Force Sale


Brazilian operational history

In 1965, President
Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco () (September 20, 1897 – July 18, 1967) was a Brazilian military leader and politician. He served as the first president of the Brazilian military dictatorship after the 1964 military coup d'etat. ...
permitted the operation of helicopters to the Navy, fixed-wing aircraft were to remain the responsibility of the '' Força Aérea Brasileira'' (FAB, Brazilian Air Force).Jane's Navy International, ''Carrier Aviation – Skyhawks set to land on Brazilian carrier'', p. 6 As a result, ''Minas Gerais'' was required to embark two air groups: the Navy operated helicopters while the Air Force operated
S-2 Tracker The Grumman S-2 Tracker (S2F prior to 1962) was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventiona ...
aircraft. Consequently, the ship spent most of her Brazilian career operating as an anti-submarine warfare carrier.Corless, ''The Brazilian Navy blazes a trail in the South Atlantic'' From 1976 to 1981, the ship underwent a major refit. Work included the installation of a datalink to improve co-operation with s, updates to the radar suite, and other work to extend the carrier's life expectancy into the 1990s. In 1988, engine problems, combined with the inability for Argentina to fund a required modernisation of , saw the ''Colossus''-class carrier confined to port, making ''Minas Gerais'' the only active aircraft carrier in the South American region.English, ''Latin American Navies still treading water'' In December 1987, ''Minas Gerais'' herself was laid up after participating in Operation Dragon XXIII because of problems with her aircraft catapult.Fleet Air Arm Archive, ''History of the Colossus class carrier Minas Gerais'' Although unable to operate as an aircraft carrier, the ship saw use over the following years in training exercises as an
amphibious assault ship An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, a ...
; using an air group of
Eurocopter AS532 Cougar The Eurocopter AS532 Cougar (now Airbus Helicopters H215M) is a twin-engine, medium-weight, multipurpose helicopter developed by France. The AS532 is a development and upgrade of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma in its militarized form. Its civil ...
and Eurocopter AS350 Squirrel helicopters to transport
Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
ashore. ''Minas Gerais'' underwent a modernisation refit from July 1991 to October 1993. This included the overhaul of the boilers and engines, integration of a SICONTA command system, two new navigation radars and Scanter-MIL landing radar were installed, and preparation for the installation of Simbad launchers for Mistral surface-to-air missiles.Scott & Starr, ''Carrier aviation at the crossroads'' The launchers themselves were installed in 1994, with the ten Bofors removed at the same time. The Bofors could be reinstalled to complement the ship's armament if needed. In November 1993, the carrier conducted a joint exercise with the Argentine Navy, where Argentine pilots flying
Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard The Dassault-Breguet Super Étendard (''Étendard'' is French for " battle flag", cognate to English "standard") is a French carrier-borne strike fighter aircraft designed by Dassault-Breguet for service with the French Navy. The aircraft is ...
aircraft performed 177 touch-and-go landings, in order to maintain their carrier landing qualifications while ''Veinticinco de Mayo'' was out of service. During 1995 and 1996, the ability to operate fixed-wing aircraft was restored to ''Minas Gerais'' after the catapult from the decommissioned ''Veinticinco de Mayo'' was acquired and installed. In 1997, ''Minas Gerais'' was loaned an A-4Q airframe by the Argentine ''Aviación Naval'' (Naval Aviation) for deck-handling and interface trials. This was in lead-up to the 1999 acquisition of 20 A-4KU Skyhawks and three TA-4KU trainer aircraft from the Kuwait Air Force for US$70 million. This was the first time since the carrier's commissioning that ''Força Aeronaval da Marinha'' (Brazilian Navy Aviation) had been permitted to own and operate fixed-wing aircraft. The 23 aircraft were formed as the First Intercept and Attack Squadron, had all entered service by early 2000, and began carrier operations in late October 2000.Jane's International Defence Review ''Brazil – Skyhawks begin flights from carrier'' In order to operate the new fighters, ''Minas Gerais'' underwent a major refit at the Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro. The main purpose of this refit was to upgrade the catapult to launch Skyhawks.


Replacement and decommissioning

The replacement of ''Minas Gerais'' was first suggested in the early 1980s, as part of planned 15-year naval expansion program. Two different carrier designs were proposed.Anthony, ''The Naval Arms Trade'', p. 110 The first was for a 40,000-ton ship equipped with up to forty aircraft, including naval fighters. To complement this proposal, a plan to expand the Brazilian fleet air arm by acquiring second-hand
A-4 Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed ...
s from Kuwait or Israel was submitted.Anthony, ''The Naval Arms Trade'', p. 111 For this to happen, the 1965 ruling that prevented the MB from operating fixed-wing aircraft had to be overturned; a decision the FAB opposed. To make the purchase worthwhile, ''Minas Gerais'' would have to operate the aircraft until the replacement carrier entered service, which in turn required the installation of a modified steam catapult and arresting gear. As the ship had just emerged from a modernisation refit, this was an expensive proposition, and the Skyhawk acquisition plan was cancelled in October 1984. The Skyhawk plan was successfully revisited in the late 1990s. The second proposal was for a 25,000-ton helicopter carrier built to commercial standards. Later interpretations of this proposal suggested a ship similar to the Royal Navy's . Replacement of ''Minas Gerais'' was under serious consideration by 1999; despite numerous refits and life-extending upgrades, the MB predicted that the carrier would require replacement before 2010. As well as the two proposals, consideration was given to acquiring a second-hand carrier, such as the French Navy's . One of the main issues in considering the replacement was the MB's significant investment in fixed-wing aviation in the late 1990s; a carrier capable of operating the recently acquired Skyhawks would be more expensive to acquire and operate than a
STOVL A short take-off and vertical landing aircraft (STOVL aircraft) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is able to take off from a short runway (or take off vertically if it does not have a heavy payload) and land vertically (i.e. with no runway). The ...
or helicopter carrier, but the cheaper concepts would require the refactoring of Brazilian naval aviation. In the end, ''Foch'' was acquired, renamed NAe ''São Paulo'', and slated to commission into the ''Marinha do Brasil'' in April 2001. She was downclassed as a helicopter support ship in 2001 before her decommissioning. ''Minas Gerais'' was decommissioned on 16 October 2001: the second to last of the World War II-era light aircraft carriers to leave service, with the other being the 1959-commissioned (former ) which was ordered during the war but not completed and was the oldest aircraft carrier still in service in the world until it was decommissioned in 2017.Navy News (Australia), ''Campaign to save the Vengeance'' At the time of her decommissioning, she was the second oldest active aircraft carrier in the world (a title passed on to the 1961-commissioned ). Also at the decommissioning ceremony was 87-year-old Admiral Hélio Leôncio Martins, who was the first commander of the aircraft carrier. There were also crew who had served on the Minas Gerais at different times. The carrier was marked for sale in 2002, and was sought after by British naval associations for return to the United Kingdom and preservation as a museum ship, although they were unable to raise the required money.Syal & Lashmar, ''Race to save historic ship from scrap heap'' Just before Christmas 2003, the carrier was listed for sale on auction website
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
by a user claiming to be a
shipbroker Shipbroking is a financial service, which forms part of the global shipping industry. Shipbrokers are specialist intermediaries/negotiators (i.e. brokers) between shipowners and charterers who use ships to transport cargo, or between buyers an ...
representing the owner.Tweedie, ''For internet sale: aircraft carrier, only three owners'' Bidding reached £4 million before the auction was removed from the website under rules preventing the sale of military ordnance. An auction in Rio de Janeiro in February 2004 also failed to sell the ship. Sometime between February and July 2004, the carrier was towed to the ship breaking yards at Alang, India for dismantling.Parry, ''Sad end to symbol of city's liberation''


See also

*


Citations


References

;Books * * * * * * * * * * * ;Journal articles * * * * * * * ;Newspaper articles and websites * * * *


External links


HMS Vengeance website – photos of transport and breakup






{{DEFAULTSORT:Minas Gerais Colossus-class aircraft carriers of the Brazilian Navy Cold War aircraft carriers of Brazil 1944 ships EBay listings Ships built by Swan Hunter