Baptista de Andrade-class corvette

NRP Baptista de Andrade (F 486), 1998
Class overview
Name:	Baptista de Andrade
Builders:	Bazan, Ferrol (Spain)
Operators:	Portuguese Navy
Preceded by:	João Coutinho class
Succeeded by:	Viana do Castelo-class patrol vessel
Built:	1972-76
In commission:	1974-present day
Completed:	4
Active:	2
Retired:	2
General characteristics Source: Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-95
Type:	Corvette
Displacement:	1,252 tons standard, 1,401 tons full load
Length:	81 m (266 ft)
Beam:	10.3 m (34 ft)
Draught:	3.3 m (11 ft)
Propulsion:	2 shaft, 2 OEW Pielstick diesel engines, 10,560 hp (7,870 kW)
Speed:	24 knots (44 km/h)
Range:	5,000 nautical miles (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement:	113
Sensors and processing systems:	Former: Radar: AWS-2 air search, TM-626 navigation, Pollux fire control Sonar: Diodon Current: Radar: Kelvin Hughes KH5000, Racal Decca RM316P
Armament:	1 × 100 mm (4 in) gun 2 × single 40 mm/L70 Bofors guns 2 × triple 12.75-inch (324 mm) ASW torpedo tubes
Aviation facilities:	1 helicopter pad

The Baptista de Andrade class were a class of four Portuguese designed corvettes, built for the Portuguese Navy by BAZAN in Spain in the 1970s. They are an updated version of the João Coutinho class - designed by the Portuguese naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira - with more modern armament and sensors.

Like the João Coutinho ships, the Baptista de Andrade corvettes were intended to operate in the Portuguese overseas territories. Allegedly, the ships would originally be intended to the South African Navy, the delivery being canceled after the Portuguese Carnation Revolution in 1974. After Portugal withdrew from its colonies, the four ships were due to be sold to the Colombian Navy in 1977 but the deal was not completed.

One ship, NRP Oliveira e Carmo, was decommissioned in 1999 and was officially scrapped on 1st November 2007 and later sunk as an artificial reef on 30 October, 2012. NRP Afonso Cerqueira was decommissioned on 13 February 2015 and is slated to be sunk as an artificial reef off Madeira. The other two remained in limited service but will be retired and replaced by Viana do Castelo-class patrol vessels.