Paraguay's historic navy and the comeback of the CAÑONERO

Paraguay - The country, which is only accessible via the Rio Paraguay and is cut off from the open sea, has a very small but illustrious navy. The units are all quite old. The headlines are therefore usually only made by the traditional ship of the Paraguayans, the HUMAITÁ, a 70-metre-long, 850-tonne gunboat that has been moored firmly on the banks of the Bahía de Asunción since December. That is why, as the commander of the Paraguayan navy assured us, it cannot really run aground and possibly sink as the navy's pride and joy, despite its heavy list. Waves whipped up by the storm and pressed against the hull on all sides allowed the water to penetrate into the engine room.

Fortunately, there is also its sister ship, the CAÑONERO PARAGUAY, also built in Italy in the early 1930s. The CAÑONERO made itself immortal when it made a decisive contribution to victory during the Guerra del Chaco (1932 to 1935) with Bolivia by transporting over 50,000 soldiers on countless journeys to the harbour of Puerto Casado, 400 miles upstream on the Rio Paraguay. September 1955 should also be mentioned, when the CAÑONERO transported the ousted Argentinian President Juan Domingo Perón from Buenos Aires to Asunción.

The CAÑONERO has always been the flagship of the Paraguayan fleet, which today consists of only two units with a displacement of more than 100 tonnes in addition to a handful of motorboats. Although it was taken out of service in 1975, the CAÑONERO serves as a training platform for all ranks of this small navy. Recently, however, it was decided in Puerto Sajonia to refurbish and re-motorise the ship after 55 years of lay-up. The intention was to have the ship sail again on its own keel and with a crew of 270 people on the Rio Paraguay about 100 nautical miles upriver to Puerto Rosario on the 88th anniversary of the end of the Guerra del Chaco. This happened as a national event in mid-June. A navy with much more history than firepower!