 Coronel Bolognesi in Valparaiso, Chile | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Peru | |
| Name | Coronel Bolognesi |
| Namesake | Francisco Bolognesi |
| Ordered | 1905 |
| Builder | Vickers Limited,Barrow |
| Laid down | 1905 |
| Launched | 24 September 1906 |
| Commissioned | 1907 |
| Decommissioned | 1958 |
| Fate | Stricken 1958 |
| General characteristics (As built) | |
| Type | Scout cruiser |
| Displacement | 3,100 long tons (3,150 t) Normal |
| Length | 115.82 m (380 ft)oa |
| Beam | 12.34 m (40 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 4.34 m (14 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power | 14,000 ihp (10,000 kW) |
| Propulsion | 2 shafts,triple-expansion steam engines |
| Speed | 24 kn (44 km/h; 28 mph) |
| Range | 3,276 nmi (6,067 km; 3,770 mi) at 10 km (6.2 mi) |
| Complement | 320 |
| Armament |
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| Armour |
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BAPCoronel Bolognesi was ascout cruiser of thePeruvian Navy, thelead ship ofits class. Along with hersister shipAlmirante Grau,Coronel Bolognesi was one of Peru's two most powerful warships for the first half of the twentieth century. The ship was named forFrancisco Bolognesi, a hero of the country for his service in theWar of the Pacific.
In the time ofGrand MarshalRamón Castilla, the Peruvian Navy was considered one of the most powerful in America, but as a consequence ofthe guano and saltpeter war, the remaining warships of the Peruvian Navy were sunk by their crews to prevent them from being captured by the enemy.
To put an end to this situation, Peru acquired a pair of transports: theVilcanota (1884) and thePerú (1885). in 1888, theLima arrived inCallao, acquired during the conflict with Chile and retained by Great Britain. In the following years, theIquitos,Chalaco,Santa Rosa andConstitución transports were incorporated; However, as the 20th century began, several of these units were decommissioned. Also at this time, Peru had to face conflicts with Chile andEcuador, which motivated the patriotic boards to raise money to acquire new naval units.
in 1904, the Peruvian presidentJosé Pardo y Barreda authorized the acquisition of the two twin cruisers, which would bear the names ofAlmirante Grau and Coronel Bolognesi, commissioning the English companyVickers Sons Armstrong & Maxim Limited to construct them, which was carried out at theBarrow-in-Furness shipyards.
Colonel Bolognesi was launched on September 24, 1906, and set sail in convoy with theAdmiral Grau to the port ofCallao, arriving on August 10, 1907.
Colonel Bolognesi and her twin were for many years the pride of the Peruvian Navy. Their construction had been supervised byRear Admiral Melitón Carvajal Ambulodegui, who would be the architect of the reconstruction of the Peruvian fleet. The two units still featured many elements of theprotected cruiser, but they were stronger, better gunned and had greater autonomy than the slightly slower contemporary British scouts.
TheGrau turned out to be excellent units, although they periodically had to undergo inspection and maintenance work, and for half a century they were the most representative ships of the Peruvian Navy. Of the various partial modernizations to which they were subjected during their operational life, the most significant was the one carried out in 1935 with the installation of several anti-aircraft weapons. DuringWorld War II, the bridge was rebuilt and the forward mast was replaced with a tripod one.
In 1930, she was part of the delegation that would leave together with the cruiserAlmirante Grau and the submarinesR-1,R-2,R-3 andR-4 towards the Chilean port ofValparaíso, on an official visit on the occasion of the signing of theTreaty of Lima between Peru and Chile.
Northeast military campaign of 1932
In 1932, the cruiser would receive its baptism of fire, intervening in theColombia–Peru War, along with the submarines R-2 and R-3, blocking the Pacific coast ofColombia, forcing this country to create aseaplane base inBuenaventura, Valle del Cauca, and another inCartagena de Indias. There she also faced mercenaries hired by the Colombian State.
Northern and northeastern military campaign of 1941
When theEcuadorian–Peruvian War broke out in 1941, this cruiser, along with thedestroyerAlmirante Villar, was anchored in the port ofCallao, heading on July 7 towards the port ofSalaverry, joining the theater of operations on the 9th, and then, between July 10 and 13, escort, together with the destroyer Almirante Villar, the convoy made up of theMantaro and Ireland transports of theCompañía Peruana de Vapores, and theoil tankerPariñas (which had joined the Squadron), which since Callao was heading north, transporting troops and supplies for thePeruvian Army that was in the northern Theater of Operations.
With her base inPuerto Pizarro, she carried out patrols in front of theJambelí channel and bombardedPunta Jambelí andPuerto Bolívar to prepare for the Peruvian advance onEl Oro.
Due to the complete withdrawal of the Ecuadorian ships towards Guayaquil, and considering that there was no longer any threat to the seafront, the Squadron decided to progressively withdraw its units to Callao, with Colonel Bolognesi arriving at port on August 24.
After more than 50 years of service, she was decommissioned in 1958 along with her twin,Admiral Grau.