 Stern quarter view of ARAFournier | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Argentina | |
| Name | Fournier |
| Namesake | César Fournier, an Italian-Argentine privateer during theCisplatine War[1] |
| Builder | Sanchez Shipyard,San Fernando |
| Launched | 1939 |
| Commissioned | 1940 |
| Identification | Pennant number M-5 |
| Fate | Capsized in a gale and sank, 22 September 1949 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Bouchard-classminesweeper |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 59.00 m (193 ft 7 in)oa |
| Beam | 7.30 m (23 ft 11 in) |
| Draught | 2.27 m (7 ft 5 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 15knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Range | 3,000nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Endurance | 50 long tons (51 t)fuel oil |
| Complement | 62 |
| Armament |
|
ARAFournier (M-5) was aBouchard-classminesweeper of theArgentine Navy. As the rest of her class,Fournier was basically designed for coastal or riverine service; notwithstanding, the Argentine Navy deployed theBouchards to the South Atlantic in patrol and resupply missions, The weight of her armament and the low upper works resulted in the ships' unstability in open seas.Fournier was in service from 1940 until her sinking during a gale in 1949 while crossing from the Atlantic to the Pacific through theMagellan Straits, with heavy loss of life.
TheBouchard-class minesweepers were the first largewarships built in Argentina. They were intended to complement and eventually replace the ArgentineBathurst-class ships purchased from Germany afterWorld War I.[2]TheBouchard class was based on theBathurst-class design, withdiesel engines instead of steam engines and largercalibre main armament. Mainly as a consequence of her heavy armament, the ships had poor stability, which eventually led to the loss ofFournier in 1949.[3]
The minesweepers were 59.00 m (193 ft 7 in)long overall and 49.99 m (164 ft 0 in)between perpendiculars with abeam of 7.30 m (23 ft 11 in) and adraught of 2.27 m (7 ft 5 in). TheBouchard-class had astandard displacement of 450 long tons (457 t) and 520 long tons (528 t) at full load. They were powered by 2-cycleMAN diesel engines turning twoshafts rated at 2,000brake horsepower (1,500 kW). They had a capacity for 50 long tons (51 t) offuel oil, a maximum speed of 15knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), and had a range of 3,000nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[4][5][n 1]
The ships were armed with twosingle-mounted 99 mm (3.9 in)/47 calibre guns.[n 2] Foranti-aircraft defence, the minesweepers were equipped with one twin40 mm (1.6 in) mount. They also carried two 7.65 mm (0.301 in) machine guns and were initially equipped with twodepth charges.[4][6] TheBouchard class had a complement of 62.[5]
Fournier was built at the Sánchez shipyard inSan Fernando.[7] She waslaunched in 1939, and handed over from the shipyard on 13 October 1940.[7][8]
The port of call ofFournier wasPuerto Belgrano naval base, where she served in the Mine Warfare Squadron.[9]Fournier joined the Antarctic campaigns of 1943 and 1944, annual expeditions to theAntarctic Peninsula carried out by the Argentine Navy.[1] In the course of these missions,Fournier rescued the tugboatOlco and the Chilean sailboatCondor.[1] Since 1948, the ship was part of theDivisión Rastreadores de la Zona Marítima (Minesweeper Oceanic Division). The following year,Fournier was assigned toUshuaia naval base.[9] Her mission was to supply provisions and mail to lighthouses and small settlements along theBeagle Channel, patrol jurisdictional waters and search for illegal fishing and hunting. In April 1949, six months before her sinking,Fournier assisted a submarine which had run aground atMar del Plata naval base. It's reported that on this occasion the minesweeper tilted dangerously.[3]
On 17 September 1949Fournier reachedRio Gallegos in a round trip from Ushuaia, carrying doctor Raul Wernicke and his son on a scientific expedition through theFuegian channels.[10] On 21 September, on her way back, the ship departed Río Gallegos for Ushuaia through the Magellan Straits: most of the journey would be across Chilean waters.[8]Fournier radioed a message to Ushuaia at 4:30 pm and never made contact again. A massivesearch and rescue operation was launched on 23 September when the ship failed to arrive,[1] led byFournier's sister ship ARASpiro.[11] TheChilean NavySotoyomo-class tugboatLautaro joined the search after Chilean authorities were put on alert by the Argentine Navy.[11]
On 3 October[9] floating debris was spotted by aChilean Air ForceA-24 Banshee[11] reconnaissance aircraft off Punta Cono, southwest ofDawson Island. The Argentine transport shipsBahía Blanca andSanavirón were immediately dispatched to the area, where they found a boat, a lifejacket and later the body of a crewmember ofFournier.[9] Following a tip from a local fisherman, theSpiro recovered two more bodies at Caleta Zig-Zag, a cove adjacent to Punta Cono. The man, a half-Alacaluf who resided in the island, had buried the remains on a beach after finding a lifeboat with the dead seamen aboard. TheLautaro, sweeping the same zone, found another lifeboat with the bodies ofFournier's commander, the second in command and three non-commissioned officers aboard. Sometime later a ChileanCatalina flying boat found a patch of oil in what was the probable spot where theFournier sank. The hour of sinking was established from the wrist watches of the rescued bodies, all of which struck 5:25 pm.[11]
At first, it was believed thatFournier sank on or around 22 September, apparently afterstriking a rock about 60 nautical miles (110 km) south ofPunta Arenas,[7][12] but experts eventually concluded that the ship had capsized in rough sea after being hit by a northwesterly storm.[13][3] All hands on board, initially reported as 60[8] but later ascertained to be 77,[12] including doctor Wernicke and his son,[14] were lost.[12] Only nine bodies were recovered[3] found either in Caleta Zig-Zag or near the mouth of Canal Gabriel, a channel south of Dawson Island.[11] The sinking ofFournier was publicly announced on 4 October.[15]
The bodies of the deceased sailors were received by a mourning crowd at theport of Buenos Aires, where they arrived transported by the frigateARAHeroína. The funeral rites took place at theNavy Mechanics School.[16]
According to various sources, two of theFournier's crewmembers survived because they were not on board when the ship sank. José Aristir Juan, the ship's electrician, had been left ashore due to a sinus infection.[3] It's also been reported that Ismael Castro, a telegraph operator, was similarly disembarked for an undisclosed illness.[17] Later in life, Juan wrote a book about his experiences aboard theFournier.[18] Castro, who became a photographer for a newspaper in his hometown ofTres Arroyos, died while covering aTurismo Carretera race in the town ofNueve de Julio on 22 July 1984, after a racing car spun out and hit him.[17]
The loss ofFournier stirred controversy between Argentina and Chile over the unannounced passage of Argentine Navy vessels through Chilean territorial waters, a usual practice long beforeFournier's sinking. The Argentines often took the western route to Ushuaia to avoid the more dangerous eastern journey on the open sea.[11] The Chilean government, due to the dispute, declined the Argentine invitation to the funeral extended to the Chilean crews involved in the rescue:[1] they were instead received and decorated by the Argentine government at the Argentine embassy inSantiago de Chile.[19]
On 24 October 1949, barely one month after the loss ofFournier, a street inMar del Plata was namedTripulantes del Fournier in hommage to the ship's crew.[20][15]
54°06′26″S70°57′21″W / 54.10722°S 70.95583°W /-54.10722; -70.95583
 Argentine Navy | |
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 Paraguayan Navy |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1949 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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