ARA ''Gómez Roca'' (P-46) is the sixth and last ship of the MEKO 140A16 of six

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 sloo ...

s built in Germany for the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; ). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Argentine Army, Army and the Argentine ...

. The ship is the first ship to bear the name of Frigate Captain Sergio Gómez Roca, who commanded the Argentine patrol ship during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

and died in action when the ship was attacked by

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

helicopters. Originally the ship was to have been named ''Seaver'' after Captain Benjamin Seaver, a US-born naval hero of the

Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence () was a secessionist civil war (until 1816) fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martín Miguel de Güemes, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de ...

Origin

''Gómez Roca'' and her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s were part of the 1974 Naval Constructions National Plan, an initiative by the Argentine Navy to replace old

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

-vintage ships with more advanced warships. The original plan called for six MEKO 360H2 destroyers, four of them to be built in Argentina, but the plan was later modified to include four MEKO destroyers and six corvettes for anti-surface warfare and patrol operations.

Construction

''Gómez Roca'' was constructed at the

Río Santiago Shipyard The Rio Santiago Shipyard is a shipyard located in the city of Ensenada, Buenos Aires Province at the shores of the Santiago River. Currently owned by the Government of Buenos Aires Province, it has been one of the major active and important ship ...

s of the Astilleros y Fábricas Navales del Estado (State Shipyards and Naval Factories) state corporation. Her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

was laid down on 7 June 1983 and was launched on 14 November 1984. Fitting out of ''Gómez Roca'' and her sister ship was suspended in 1992, briefly resumed in July 1994 and finally started again on 18 July 1997. Following the resumption of construction, the ship was delivered to the Navy in 2004 and commissioned in 2005. Both ''Robinson'' and ''Gómez Roca'' benefitted from their construction delay with better automation, communication and electronic systems than their four sister ships. As with and ''Robinson'', ''Gómez Roca'' is fitted with a telescopic hangar.

Service history

Following her commissioning ''Gómez Roca'' participated in several

naval exercise A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

s and conducted fishery patrol duties in the Argentine

exclusive economic zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

. She is homeported at

Puerto Belgrano Port Belgrano Naval Base ( - BNPB) is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near Bahía Blanca, about south of Buenos Aires. It is named after the brigantine ''General Belgrano'' (named after Manuel Belg ...

Naval Base and is part of the Navy's 2nd Corvette Division with her five sister ships. In March 2010, she operated with during the Gringo-Gaucho / Southern Seas 2010 exercises as the aircraft carrier transited around South America to her new home base at

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. As of 2021 ''Gómez Roca'' remained active and, in September, participated in a sea exercise also involving her sister ships ''Espora'', ''Robinson'' and ''Spiro'', along with the destroyer ''Sarandi''. In October 2024, ''Gómez Roca'' was reported to have engaged in an exercise with her sister ships ''Espora'', ''Rosales'' and ''Robinson'' as well as with the destroyers ''La Argentina'', ''Almirante Brown'', and Sarandí and with several other vessels.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* ''Guia de los buques de la Armada Argentina 2005-2006''. Ignacio Amendolara Bourdette, , Editor n/a. (Spanish/English text) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez Roca (P-46) Espora-class corvettes Ships built in Argentina 1984 ships Corvettes of Argentina