Chilean destroyer Ministro Portales

Destroyer Ministro Portales ready to combat the Argentinians in 1978.
History
United States
Name	USS Douglas H. Fox
Namesake	Douglas H. Fox
Builder	Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle
Laid down	31 January 1944
Launched	30 September 1944
Commissioned	26 December 1944
Decommissioned	15 December 1973
Stricken	December 15, 1973
Fate	To Chile 8 January 1974
Chile
Name	Ministro Portales
Acquired	8 January 1974
Identification	DD-17
Fate	Used as a target ship off Cape Horn on 11 November 1998
General characteristics
Class and type	Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer
Displacement	2,200 tons
Length	376 ft 6 in (114.76 m)
Beam	40 ft (12 m)
Draft	15 ft 8 in (4.78 m)
Propulsion	60,000 shp (45,000 kW); 2 propellers
Speed	34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Range	6,500 nmi (12,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement	336
Armament	6 × 5 in/38 guns 12 × 40 mm AA guns, 11 × 20 mm AA guns, 10 × 21 in torpedo tubes, 6 × depth charge projectors, 2 × depth charge tracks

Ministro Portales was a Allen M. Sumner-class destroyer purchased by Chile in 1974 from the United States that had been upgraded to FRAM II. Built and commissioned as USS Douglas H. Fox (DD-779) in 1944, the ship saw service during World War II and the Korean War. Between 1975 and 1976, the vessel was refitted with an extension on the flight deck for Alouette-III Helicopters.

Ministro Portales participated in the counteractive measures to the Operation Soberanía during the Beagle conflict in 1978. In this period, all the Chilean navy ships were camouflaged.

The vessel served the navy of Chile until it was taken off active duty and towed from Talcahuano to Puerto Williams, arriving at the wharf on 18 September 1991. There, it was a static support vessel for the local torpedo boat fleet until their replacement by missile boats.

On 11 November 1998, Ministro Portales was used as a target and sunk during a practice exercise.

External links

• navsource.org: USS Douglas H. Fox
• armada.cl: Destructor Ministro Portales (In Spanish)