NRP ''Gonçalo Velho'' was a second class

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

('' aviso de 2ª classe'') of the Portuguese Navy. She was designed to operate in the overseas territories of Portugal. The ship entered service in 1933 and was among the core of the fleet until the late 1940s. Following World War II, new ships were acquired and ''Gonçalo Velho'' was broken up for

scrap Scrap consists of Recycling, recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap Waste valorization, has monetary ...

in 1961.

Design and description

''Gonçalo Velho'' was a

of the . They were based on the Royal Navy's s, but with a heavier armament and omitting the minelaying equipment of the British ships.Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, pp. 396–397. ''Gonçalo Velho''s hull was long overall and between perpendiculars, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of . Two Yarrow boilers fed Parsons geared

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...

s, giving and driving two propeller shafts, with a design speed of . 470 tons of oil were carried giving a range of at .Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 397. They had a standard displacement of and at full load. They had a crew of 142 initially, but this was later reduced to 128.Blackman 1953, p. 290. Armament consisted of three guns in single mounts on the ship's centreline, with two forward and one aft. Four 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom anti-aircraft (AA) guns were fitted, while four

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

throwers provided an

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

armament. In 1943, the 40 mm guns were removed and replaced by five single-mounted AA cannon.

Construction and career

In 1930, Portugal set up a ten-year plan to modernise its navy. As part of this programme, a contract was placed with the British shipbuilder Hawthorn Leslie for two sloops, to be named ''Gonçalo Velho'' and . ''Gonçalo Velho'' was laid down on 9 October 1931, and launched on 3 August 1932.Blackman 1960, p. 253. Construction was completed in May 1933. They were among the ships that formed the core of the fleet until the late 1940s. They were tasked with coastal defence and defence of Portugal's colonial possessions. Following World War II, the ships were reclassified as

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s. Portugal acquired new ships in the postwar era and ''Gonçalo Velho'' was broken up for scrap in June 1961.Gardiner, Chumbley & Budzbon 1995, p. 319.

Citations

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goncalo Velho, NRP Naval ships of Portugal 1932 ships