What does /k/ think of the oldest active-duty warship in the world - the river patrol boat Capitán Cabral of the Paraguay navy? It was built in Holland in 1903 as a tugboat, was overhauled into a warship in 1908 and shipped across the Atlantic. It remains in ACTIVE service today - not just symbolic "service," or as a museum ship.
The ship is 33.90m (111ft) long and has a displacement of 206 tons, sailing on a Caterpillar 3408 diesel engine installed in 1980 to replace the original steam engines. It is armed with a Bofors 40 mm gun, two Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, and two 12.7mm machine gun emplacements.
It last saw heavy combat in 1989, during a coup in the capital Asunción. Since then, it has mainly been used for river patrol/anti-smuggling operations and disaster relief. It typically carries a complement of 25, though it can carry an additional 55 passengers during disaster evacuations (Paraguay has a lot of floods).
>>34679939
Nice boat. How much does one of those run for?
>>34679939
Notice the ancient-looking vintage wooden doors.
>>34679939
That is a pretty decent armament for a river patrol boat.
If it works no reason to replace it.
>>34679956
The government could probably get a decent amount of money if they auctioned the ship. It's a rare antique - the shipbuilder that made it (Werf Conrad from Haarlem, Netherlands) doesn't even exist anymore. I'm sure most of their pre-war ships were scrapped a long time ago.
This thing makes my dick throb.
>>34680053
Apparently they last a long time because they only sail in freshwater rivers. That's one advantage of having a landlocked country I guess.
>>34680204
Well, don´t forget the cripling lack of funds, ie. the uruguayan navy ship is on average 50 years old.