Shipbucket

Thanks for your input, B and Hood!

The first high sea vessel built at SIMA slips at Callao was BAP Zorritos in the mid 1950s. Zorritos was a British design able of on-going replenishment in 2 side stations, and from the stern. When not used by the Fleet, she was used by Oficina Naviera Comercial (a commercial branch of the Navy) shipping oil derivatives along the Peruvian coast harbours. As soon as Zorritos was launched, her slip was occupied by the keel of her twin, Lobitos ATP-159, which was launched some years later.

Cheers.

Good morning, guys.

After the severe rout of the War of the Pacific, Peruvian Navy had no ships. During the war, Peru ordered a pair of ship to Howaldt shipyards in Germany, which were twin screw steel mercantile vessels with powerful machinery and high top speed. They were armed in Thames Iron Works, but were reteined in Britain until the war´s end. Only Lima arrived (the sister-ship was sold to USA in wake of the Spanish-American war, renamed Topeka and used as gunboat). In Peruvian Navy Lima had a long career, and until the arrival of the twin Elswick scout cruisers in 1907 was the only "warship" of the fleet (despite being only an auxiliary cruiser) and was the flagship of the Navy´s C in C. Originally armed with two BL 6 inch Armstrong gun in waist shielded positions, in 1906 was rearmed with 4 x 4 inch guns, and 4 x 3 pounder Maxim Nordenfeldt 47 mm guns. During the 1920s she was classified as gunboat (a much more near to reality category than "cruiser") painted in Navy gray, a new superstructure in the pilothouse and a wireless comunication gear were given, and for her last sortie in 1932, a pair of 20 mm Oerlikons were added. Lima was paid off in 1940.





In the 1960s, after building a pair of British designed oilers, the Navy´s shipyard SIMA, begun the construction of a pair of Japanese designed oilers, which were bigger than the first pair made there. Named Pariñas and Pimentel, they were used mainly by Oficina Naviera Comercial, a commercial branch of the Navy, but reteined a stern refueling station for fleet use.



Cheers.

PS: I am trying to find some pictures of Topeka.