{{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=NRP LIMA 1933-1965.JPG |image_caption=''Lima'' }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/class overview |name=''Douro''-class destroyer |builders=*Yarrow Shipbuilders *Lisbon Naval Arsenal |operators=*{{naval|Portugal}} *{{naval|Colombia}} |class_before={{sclass|Guadiana|destroyer|4}} |class_after= |subclasses={{sclass|Antioquia|destroyer|4}} |cost= |built_range= |in_service_range= |in_commission_range=1933–1967 |total_ships_completed=5 |total_ships_retired=5 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption=(as built) |type=Destroyer |displacement=*{{convert|1219|LT|t|lk=on}} (standard) * {{convert|1563|LT|t}} (full load) |length={{convert|323|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|31|ft|1|abbr=on}} |draught={{convert|11|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} |power=*3 × Yarrow boilers *{{cvt|33,000|shp|lk=on}} |propulsion=2 shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines |speed={{convert|36|kn|lk=in}} |range={{cvt|5400|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}} |complement=147 |armament=*4 × single 4.7 in (120 mm) guns *3 × single 2 pdr ({{cvt|40|mm|in|1}}) AA guns *2 × quadruple {{cvt|21|in|0}} torpedo tubes *2 × depth charge throwers; 12 depth charges *20 × mines |notes= }} }}

The '''''Douro''-class destroyers''' consisted of five ships used by the Portuguese Navy (''Marinha Portuguesa'') and two used by the Colombian Navy (''Armada de la República de Colombia''), all built during the 1930s. Note that in Portugal, this class of destroyers is usually referred to as the '''''Vouga'' class''', with the term ''Douro'' class being usually employed to designate the previous class of Portuguese destroyers also known as {{sclass|Guadiana|destroyer|4}}.

==Design and construction== In 1930, the Portuguese navy drew up a 10 year shipbuilding programme to replace its aging fleet, with planned purchases including two cruisers, twelve destroyers and a number of submarines and sloops.<ref name="Whitley p221">Whitley 1988, p. 221.</ref><ref name="conways22 p396">Roberts 1980, p. 396.</ref> The competition for the design for destroyers was won by Yarrow Shipbuilders beating bids from Thornycroft and Italian shipyards.<ref name="Friedman p185">Friedman 2009, p. 185.</ref> An order was placed for four ships on 12 June 1931, with two ships, ''Vouga'' and ''Lima'' to be built by Yarrows in the UK and the remaining ships, ''Tejo'' and ''Douro'' to be built at Lisbon with machinery to be supplied by Yarrow. A fifth ship, ''Dão'', again to be built in Lisbon using Yarrow-supplied machinery, was ordered on 18 January 1933.<ref name="Whitley p222">Whitley 1988, p. 222.</ref>

Yarrow's design was based on {{HMS|Ambuscade|D38|2}}, a prototype destroyer built for the Royal Navy in 1926.<ref name="conways22 p397">Roberts 1980, p. 397.</ref> The ships were {{convert|323|ft|m|2}} long overall, with a beam of {{convert|31|ft|m|2}} and a draught of {{convert|11|ft|m|2}}. The ship displaced {{convert|1219|LT|t}} at standard load and {{convert|1563|LT|t}} at full load.<ref name="Whitley p221-2">Whitley 1988, pp. 221–222.</ref> They were powered by two Parsons-Curtis geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by three Yarrow boilers that operated at a pressure of {{convert|400|psi|kPa kg/cm2|0|abbr=on|lk=on}}. The turbines, rated at {{convert|33000|shp|lk=on}}, were intended to give a maximum speed of {{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}. The destroyers carried a maximum of {{convert|345|LT|t}} of fuel oil that gave them a range of {{convert|5400|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}}.<ref name="Whitley p221-2"/><ref name="straits 15732 p3">{{cite news|title=Portuguese Navy: Keels of Two Destroyers Laid|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Page/straitstimes19320715-1.1.3.aspx|newspaper=The Straits Times|date=15 July 1932|page=3}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|''Vouga'' made an average speed of {{convert|36.17|kn}} at {{convert|32255|shp}} during sea trials while ''Lima'' reached {{convert|36.36|kn}} at {{convert|31110|shp}} during trials.<ref name="Whitley p222"/>|group=lower-alpha}}

Armament was similar to contemporary Royal Navy destroyers, with a gun armament of four 4.7 in (120&nbsp;mm) Vickers-Armstrong Mk G guns, and three 2-pounder ({{cvt|40|mm|in|1}}) Mk VIII "pom-pom" anti-aircraft guns. Two quadruple banks of 21-inch (533&nbsp;mm) torpedo tubes were carried, while two depth charge throwers and 12 depth charges constituted the ships' anti-submarine armament. Up to 20 mines could be carried. The ships complement was 147 officers and men.<ref name="Whitley p221-2"/>

The two Yarrow-built ships were laid down in October 1931,<ref name="straits 15732 p3"/> and commissioned in 1933,<ref name="Whitley p221"/> while the first two Lisbon-built ships, ''Douro'' and ''Tejo'', laid down in 1932,<ref name="straits 15732 p3" /> were sold to the Colombian Navy before completion in response to the Leticia Incident between Columbia and Peru, and Peru's purchasing of two ex-Russian destroyers ({{ship|BAP|Almirante Guise|1933|2}} and ''Villar'') from Estonia. Renamed {{ship|ARC|Antioquia|1932|2}} and {{ship|ARC|Caldas|1933|2}}, respectively, they served the Colombians as the {{sclass|Antioquia|destroyer|4}}.<ref name="Whitley p222"/><ref name="armada">{{cite web |url=https://www.armada.mil.co/eng/node/680 |website=Armada de Colombia |title=Aniversario No.26 del ARC "Antioquia" |language=Spanish |access-date=18 March 2026}}</ref> Two further ships were ordered by the Portuguese Navy to replace them.<ref name="Whitley p222"/>

==Service== [[File:Lisboa, Miradouro de Santa Luzia, azulejo Classe Vouga contratorpedeiros (2015).jpg|thumb|upright=1|Azulejo panel in Lisbon showing three of the ships on the Tagus River, ''Tejo'' in the left foreground, ''Douro'' in the right center and ''Vouga'' in the right background, just above the sailboat]] The five destroyers carried out patrols to defend Portugal's neutrality during the Second World War. Their anti-aircraft armament was revised during 1942–43, with the three pom-poms and one of the banks of torpedo tubes replaced by six 20&nbsp;mm cannon.<ref name="Whitley p222"/><ref name="conways22 p397"/> They were refitted by Yarrow from 1946–49, with the machinery refurbished, anti-aircraft armament again revised to three Bofors 40 mm gun in powered mounts and three 20&nbsp;mm cannon, and sonar and radar (British Type 285 and Type 291) fitted. ''Douro'' reached a speed of {{convert|34.05|kn}} at {{convert|28085|shp}} during post-refit trials.<ref name="conways47 p317"/><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Refitting of the Portuguese Destroyer "Duoro"|magazine=The Engineer|date=30 January 1948|volume=185|page=121|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/b/b2/Er19480130.pdf}}</ref>

Four of the five destroyers were refitted and modernised again in 1957, (''Douro'' was not refitted, and was disposed of in 1959<ref name="jfs60 p251">Blackman 1960, p. 251.</ref>) with two 4.7 inch guns removed, allowing a Squid anti-submarine mortar to be fitted and the anti-aircraft armament to be increased to five 40&nbsp;mm Bofors guns and three 20&nbsp;mm cannon.<ref name="conways47 p317"/> The last of the class, ''Vouga'', was discarded in 1967.<ref name="conways47 p317"/>

==Ships in class== {|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |+ Construction data !scope="col"|Name !scope="col"|Builder<ref name="Whitley p221"/> !scope="col"|Launched<ref name="Whitley p221"/> !scope="col"|Commissioned<ref name="Whitley p221"/> !Fate |- |scope="row"|{{ship|NRP|Dão||2}} |scope="row"|Lisbon Shipyard |scope="row”|30 July 1934 |scope="row”|5 January 1935 |scope="row”|Stricken, 29 November 1960<ref name="Whitley p221"/> |- |scope="row”|''Douro'' (i) |scope="row”|Lisbon Shipyard |scope="row”|18 November 1933 | |scope="row”|Sold to Colombia, 1934<br>Renamed {{ship|ARC|Antioquia|1933|2}}<ref name="armada"/><ref name="conways1980">{{cite book |last1=Chesneau |first1=Roger |title=Conway's All the World's Fghting Ships, 1922-1946 |date=1980 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |isbn=9780851771465}}</ref> |- |scope="row”|{{ship|NRP|Douro|D332|2}} (ii) |scope="row”|Lisbon Shipyard |scope="row”|16 August 1935 |scope="row”|11 February 1936 |scope="row”|Stricken, December 1959<ref name="conways47 p317">Lyon & Chumbley 1995, p. 317.</ref> |- |scope="row”|{{ship|NRP|Lima|D333|2}} |scope="row”|Yarrow Shipbuilders |scope="row”|29 May 1933 |scope="row”|12 October 1933 |scope="row”|Discarded, 16 October 1965<ref name="conways47 p317"/> |- |scope="row”|''Tejo'' (i) |scope="row”|Lisbon Shipyard |scope="row”|10 May 1933 | |scope="row”|Sold to Colombia, 1934<br>Renamed {{ship|ARC|Caldas|1933|2}}<ref name="conways1980"/> |- |scope="row”|{{ship|NRP|Tejo|D335|2}} (ii) |scope="row”|Lisbon Shipyard |scope="row”|4 May 1935 |scope="row”|12 October 1935 |scope="row”|Stricken, 9 February 1965<ref name="Whitley p221"/> |- |scope="row”|{{ship|NRP|Vouga|D334|2}} |scope="row”|Yarrow Shipbuilders |scope="row”|25 January 1933 |scope="row”|24 June 1933 |scope="row”|Discarded, 3 June 1967<ref name="conways47 p317"/> |}

==Notes== {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==Citations== {{Reflist}}

==Sources== *{{cite book|editor-last=Blackman|editor-first=Raymond V. B.|title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1960–61|year=1960 |publisher=Sampson Low, Marston & Co.|location=London}} * {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War |year=2009|location=Barnsley, UK|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|isbn=978-1-84832-049-9|author-link=Norman Friedman}} * {{cite journal|last1=Griffith|first1=Frank G.|year=1988|title=Cover Photo and Miscellaneous comments|journal=Warship International|volume=XXV|issue=2 |page=116|issn=0043-0374}} * {{cite book|editor1-last=Chumbley|editor1-first=Stephen|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995 |year=1995 |publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=1-55750-132-7 |chapter=Portugal |author-last1=Lyon |author-first1=Hugh |pages=317–322|author-last2=Chumbley|author-first2=Stephen|name-list-style=amp}} *{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau |editor1-first=Roger |publisher=Mayflower Books|location=New York|year=1980|isbn=0-8317-0303-2 |chapter=Portugal |last1=Roberts |first1=John|pages=396–398}} * {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}

{{Douro-class destroyer}}

Category:Douro-class destroyers Category:Military history of Portugal Category:Portugal–United Kingdom military relations