BAP Coronel Bolognesi (CL-82)

History
United Kingdom
Name	Ceylon
Builder	Alexander Stephen and Sons, Govan
Laid down	April 27, 1939
Launched	July 30, 1942
Commissioned	July 13, 1943
Out of service	Transferred to Peruvian Navy on 18 December 1959
Peru
Name	Coronel Bolognesi
Commissioned	February 9, 1960
Decommissioned	September 20, 1982
Fate	Scrapped in Taiwan, August 1985
General characteristics
Displacement	8,712 tonnes standard; 11,024 tons full load;
Length	169.3 m (555 ft)
Beam	18.9 m (62 ft)
Draught	5.3 m (17 ft)
Propulsion	Four oil fired three-drum Admiralty-type boilers; four-shaft geared turbines; four screws; 54.1 megawatts (72,500 shp);
Speed	33 knots (61 km/h)
Range	10,200 nmi (18,900 km; 11,700 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	730 (wartime); 650 (peacetime);
Sensors and ; processing systems	Type 281 air search; Type 272 surface search; Type 277 height finding; Type 274 fire control (152 mm); Type 283 fire control (102 mm); Type 282 fire control (2 pdr);
Armament	3 triple Mk XXIII 152/50 mm guns; 4 twin Mk XIX 102/45 mm guns; 4 quadruple Mk VII 2 pdr (40 mm) pom-pom guns; 10 twin Mk II 20/70 mm guns; 2 triple 533 mm torpedo tubes;
Armour	82.5-88.9 mm belt; 25.4-50.8 mm turrets;
Aircraft carried	Bell 47G helicopter (deck only)

BAP Coronel Bolognesi (CL-82) was a Crown Colony class cruiser in service with the Peruvian Navy. It was completed for the Royal Navy in 1943 as HMS Ceylon and, after being withdrawn from service, commissioned by the Marina de Guerra del Perú on February 9, 1960. Renamed BAP Coronel Bolognesi (CL-82), in honor of the Peruvian Colonel Francisco Bolognesi, it arrived to its new homeport of Callao on March 19, 1960.

In service, the ship has participated in several exercises, including the multinational UNITAS manoeuvres, as well as taking part in disaster relief operations after the 1970 Ancash earthquake. In 1963, after the creation of the Servicio de Aviación Naval (Naval Aviation Service), the Coronel Bolognesi started operating Bell 47G helicopters from its fantail. It was passed to a reserve status on June 9, 1981, renamed Pontón Perú (UAI-113) on May 30, 1982 and decommissioned on September 20 of the same year.

Sources

Rodríguez Asti, John, Cruceros. Buques de la Marina de Guerra del Perú desde 1884. Dirección de Intereses Marítimos, 2000.