View source for ARA La Argentina (C-3)

{{other ships|ARA La Argentina}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=La Argentina.jpg
|Ship caption=ARA ''La Argentina''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=Argentina
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Argentina|naval}}
|Ship name=''La Argentina''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Vickers-Armstrongs]], [[Barrow in Furness]]
|Ship laid down=11 January 1936
|Ship launched=16 March 1937
|Ship completed=31 January 1939
|Ship acquired=February 1939
|Ship commissioned=12 April 1939
|Ship decommissioned= 1972
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Scrapped 1974
|Ship motto=
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=
|Ship type=[[Light cruiser]]
|Ship displacement=*6,500 tons (standard)
*7,500 tons (full load)
|Ship length= {{convert|165|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|17.22|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught= {{convert|5.03|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=4 shaft Parsons geared turbines, 4 Yarrow type boilers, {{convert|54,000|hp|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed= {{convert|30|kn|km/h}}
|Ship range= {{convert|12000|nmi|km}} at {{convert|12|kn|km/h}}
|Ship endurance=
|Ship complement=800 (including 60 cadets)
|Ship crew=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*9 × 6 inch (152 mm) guns (3 × 3)
*4 × 4 inch (100 mm) guns (4 × 1)
*8 × [[QF 2 pounder naval gun|2-pounder "pom pom"]] (8 × 1)
*6 × 21 inch [[torpedo tube]]s (2 × 3)
|Ship armour=*3 inch [[Belt armor|belt]]
*2 inch [[Deck (ship)|deck]]
*2 inch [[gun turret|turret]]s
*3 inch [[conning tower]]
|Ship aircraft=1 × [[Supermarine Walrus]]
|Ship aircraft facilities=[[Aircraft catapult#Interwar and World War II|Catapult]] launcher
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''ARA ''La Argentina''''' was a [[light cruiser]], designed for training naval cadets, built for the [[Argentine Navy]]. The ship was authorised in 1934, and the contract was put out to tender in 1935, being won by the British company [[Vickers-Armstrongs]] at a cost of 6 million [[Argentine peso moneda nacional|pesos]].
''La Argentina'' was built in [[Barrow-in-Furness]], England. She was [[Keel laying|laid down]] on 11 January 1936, [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] 16 March 1937 and not completed until 31 January 1939, being delayed by the British re-armament programme. She was decommissioned in 1972 and scrapped.
==Design==
The design was based on British practice, being modified to meet the requirements of the Argentinians for a training ship with 60 cadets. This ship was an enlarged version of the {{sclass|Arethusa|cruiser (1934)|4}}, armed with triple [[gun turret|turret]]s.
==Service==
The ship sailed from Britain in February 1939 and arrived at [[La Plata]] on 2 March, being commissioned on 12 April 1939. She made several training cruises before the war but was placed in the active squadron to maintain [[Argentina during World War II|Argentine neutrality]]. After the war she made many training cruises before retiring in 1972.
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:ARA La Argentina (C-3).jpg|Front side view, note triple 6in gun turrets
File:LaArgentina 1939.jpg|Side view, note Walrus plane amidships
File:Canones crucero La Argentina.jpg|Front view, close-up main gun turrets
File:Supermarine Walrus Argentine Navy (4446497743).jpg|Walrus MK-IV on board ''La Argentina'', San Francisco, 1940
</gallery>
== See also ==
* [[List of cruisers]]
* [[List of ships of the Argentine Navy]]
==References==
*{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Harold|first2=Anthony G.|last2=Williams |title=Question 1/04 Vickers 1-in Antiaircraft Gun |journal=Warship International |date=2005 |volume=XLII |issue=3 |pages=236–238|issn=0043-0374|name-list-style=amp}}
* M.J. Whitley, ''Cruisers of World War Two'', 1995, Arms and Armour Press {{ISBN|1-86019-874-0}}
== Further reading ==
* [[Ricardo Burzaco|Burzaco, Ricardo]]. ''Acorazados y Cruceros De La Armada Argentina''. Eugenio B, Buenos Aires, 1997. {{ISBN|987-96764-0-8}} ''(in Spanish)''
* [[Pablo Arguindeguy|Arguindeguy, Pablo]]. ''Apuntes sobre los buques de la Armada Argentina (1810–1970)''. Comando en Jefe de la Armada, Buenos aires, 1972. ISBN n/d  ''(in Spanish)''
<!-- ships traditionally sorted on full name -->
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Argentina}}
[[Category:Cruisers of the Argentine Navy]]
[[Category:Cruisers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness]]
[[Category:1937 ships]]
[[Category:World War II cruisers of Argentina]]