João Belo-class frigate

NRP Comandante João Belo (F480)
Class overview
Name	João Belo (modified Commandant Rivière)
Builders	AC de Nantes, France
Operators	Portuguese Navy National Navy of Uruguay
Preceded by	Template:Sclass-
In commission	1967 - present day
Completed	4
Active	2 (Uruguay)
Scrapped	2
General characteristics
Type	Frigate
Displacement	1,750 tons standard, 2,230 tons full load
Length	102.7 m (337 ft)
Beam	11.5 m (38 ft)
Draught	4.3 m (14 ft)
Propulsion	2 shaft 4 diesel engines SEMT Pielstick V12 PC2 16,000 hp (12 MW)
Speed	25 kn (46 km/h; 29 mph)
Range	7,500 nmi (13,900 km; 8,600 mi) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	LCPS boats
Complement	9 officers 67 non-commissioned officers 93 Quarter-masters and sailors
Sensors and processing systems	DRBV22A sentry radar Decca 1226 navigation radar DRBC32C fire control radar DUBA3 sonar SQS17 sonar
Electronic warfare & decoys	ARBR10 radar detector
Armament	3 × 100-millimetre (4 in) guns (3x1) - one gun later replaced by 4 MM38 Exocet Missiles 2 × 40-millimetre (2 in) guns 1 × 305-millimetre (12 in) anti-submarine mortar 6 × 550-millimetre (22 in) torpedo tubes (2x3)

The João Belo class, also known as Comandante João Belo class, is a class of four frigates of French design, identical to the class, with extra equipment for tropical climates. Ordered by the Portuguese Navy in 1964, the four ships of this class were constructed at the shipyard in Nantes.

In the 1960s the Portuguese Navy was interested in the acquisition of British frigates of the Template:Sclass-, but because of British political opposition against Portugal this acquisition was impossible. Portugal was then forced to buy frigates of an already existing project due the urgency in the acquisition of naval ships for the defense of African, Macanese and Timorese waters.

The two remaining frigates in active service of this class were replaced, in 2008, by the Bartolomeu Dias class (Dutch Template:Sclass-) in the Portuguese Navy. NRP João Belo and NRP Sacadura Cabral were sold to the Uruguayan Navy, becoming, respectively ROU Uruguay and ROU Pedro Campbell.

Ships

Pennant	Name	Shipyard	Commissioned	Status
F480	Comandante João Belo	Chantier Nantes, Dubigeon	1967	Sold to Uruguay as ROU 01 Uruguay
F481	Comandante Hermenegildo Capelo	Chantier Nantes, Dubigeon	1968	Decommissioned in 2004. Sunk in 2013 to form an artificial reef in Algarve. "Ocean Revival" program.
F482	Comandante Roberto Ivens	Chantier Nantes, Dubigeon	1968	Decommissioned in 1998 after colliding with a Tanker ship on a NATO exercise. The vessel was seriously damaged by the accident and had to be towed to harbour. Due to the age and extent of the damage, it was decided to decommission the ship. It was stripped of its equipment, taken to sea and sunk.
F483	Comandante Sacadura Cabral	Chantier Nantes, Dubigeon	1969	Sold to Uruguay as ROU 02 Comandante Pedro Campbell

See also

• Portuguese Navy
• Portuguese Colonial War
• Template:Sclass-

References

• Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995

External links

• "Comandante Hermenegildo Capelo ship profile" (in Portuguese). Portuguese Navy. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
• "João Belo class" (in Portuguese). Área Militar.
• "Ocean Revival".