Brazilian training ship Brasil

Brasil
History
Brazil
Name	Brasil
Namesake	Brasil
Ordered	June 1981
Builder	Arsenal de Marinha do Rio de Janeiro
Launched	2 September 1983
Christened	18 September 1981
Commissioned	21 August 1986
Homeport	Rio de Janeiro
Identification	MMSI number: 710429000 Callsign: PWBL Pennant number: U-27
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	Niterói-class frigate
Displacement	3.355 t (3.302 long tons)
Length	129.2 m (423 ft 11 in)
Beam	13.5 m (44 ft 3 in)
Draught	5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
Propulsion	CODOG, two shafts 2 × Rolls-Royce Olympus TM-3B gas turbines 42,000 kW (56,000 hp) combined 4 × MTU 16V 956 TB91 diesel engines 13,000 kW (17,000 hp) combined
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) (maximum) 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) (diesels only)
Range	5,300 nmi (9,800 km; 6,100 mi)
Endurance	45 days
Complement	442
Armament	2 × single 40 mm Bofors L70 cannons 2 × MV 508 mm light-emitting rocket launchers, 2 × Schermully 51 mm light-emitting rocket launchers
Aircraft carried	Westland Super Lynx Mk.21B helicopter
Aviation facilities	Helipad and hangar

Brasil (U27) is a training ship of the Brazilian Navy ordered in June 1981 at Rio de Janeiro Marine Arsenal Yard, with a budget of US$124.2 million, as a modified version of the Niteroi class of frigates without weapons or sensors. The ship carries 442 midshipmen (officers in training) from the Brazilian Naval and Merchant Marine Academies.[1]

History

The ship was one of the last to be built at the Arsenal docks in Rio de Janeiro with steel plates from CSN or Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional, during the last Military Presidency of Brazil under President João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo.^[clarification needed]

Brasil regularly makes a worldwide trip every two years, starting in Rio de Janeiro and visiting ports such as Lisbon, Hamburg and London. At Hamburg it holds the record for the naval ship most often visiting the city, with 28 calls at least. In London, it usually moors alongside HMS Belfast, passing under Tower Bridge. The round trip is during the autumn in Europe, mainly at end of September and middle of October, each time with new students or cadets on board. Most of time it held an Open Ship to local visitors and even souvenirs like a coin, caps, shirt and catalogue. Since the Government of President Jair Bolsonaro, the souvenirs were cancelled, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the visits as well.[2][3]

References

1. Jane's Fighting Ships. London: Jane's Publishing Company Limited. 1983. p. 56.
2. "U27 Brasil" (in German). 2019-10-09.
3. "Hamburger Hafen: Besonderes Schiff kommt heute – mit Rekord". 29 September 2021.