The ARM Guanajuato (C-07), also known as Cañonero Guanajuato, was a gunboat that served for the Mexican Navy until 2001.[1] It has been located at the shore of the Jamapa River, in the municipality of Boca del Río, Veracruz, as a museum ship.
Cañonero Guanajuato in Boca del Río, 2021
| |
History | |
---|---|
Mexico | |
Name | Guanajuato |
Builder | Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval del Ferrol |
Laid down | May 1934 |
Launched | 1936 |
Out of service | 2001 |
Status | Museum in Boca del Río, closed due to maintenance |
Notes | The museum is currently named Museo Naval Interactivo Cañonero Guanajuato C-07 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Gunboat |
Displacement | 1,300 t (1,300 long tons) |
Length | 80.5 m (264 ft) |
Beam | 11.5 m (38 ft) |
Draft | 4 m (13 ft) |
Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
Armament |
|
The ship was commissioned by the Mexican government between 1931 and 1933 from the Spanish shipyard Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval del Ferrol (also known as Astillero El Ferrol),[2] along with the transport ship Durango, gunboats Querétaro and Potosí and ten coastguards.[3] The Guanajuato was laid down in May 1934 and delivered into service in 1936. Although it was initially planned as a warship, during the Second World War the Guanajuato served as a convoy escort in Central America.[4]
During 1966 and 1967, the gunboat was used as sail training for the Heroica Escuela Naval Militar.[4][5] Along the two years, the ship travelled to Mexico, Brasil, Argentina, Chile and Peru.[5] The Guanajuato's last navigation with the Navy was in 1997,[2] being retired from service in 2001.[4]
In 2007, the Guanajuato was opened to the public as the Museo Naval Interactivo Cañonero Guanajuato C-07 (Naval Interactive Museum Cañonero Guanajuato C-07), the first floating museum of Veracruz and Latin America.[4] The museum included 16 different exhibits, presenting how the ship looked and worked during the 1920s and 1930s.[1]
Lack of maintenance and a possible sinking of the Guanajuato led to the closing of the museum and the beginning of a maintenance project of the gunboat.[6] Among the proposed repairs were the installation of concrete base that would settle the Guanajuato in the river, rather than floating in the shore. The maintenance came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
According to some reports, the ship, in worsening condition, was scrapped in December 2022.[8]
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
19°06′02″N 96°06′15″W / 19.10045°N 96.10423°W