The La Plata class was a pair of torpedo boat destroyers operated by the Argentine Navy between 1911 and 1957. Ordered from a German shipyard as part of a larger effort to expand the Navy, the two ships had an uneventful service life throughout World War I, World War II, and the early Cold War.

Development and design In 1910, Argentina ordered a dozen torpedo boat destroyers in response to a major expansion of the Brazilian Navy. As the nation lacked a major shipbuilding industry, it ordered the ships from experienced foreign shipyards in Europe. All twelve featured a similar design and identical armament. The four destroyers built in France were requisitioned by the French Navy start of World War I and operated as the , and the four built in the United Kingdom were purchased by the Greek Navy in 1912 as the and served as the . Only the four built in Germany reached Argentina, with the order equally split between two shipyards. Those ordered from Schichau-Werke in Elbing were named La Plata and Cordoba. The two destroyers had an overall length of with a beam of and a maximum draught of . They displaced at normal load and at full load and carried a complement of 150. Propulsion was provided by two propellers powered by Curtis AEG steam turbines supplied by five Schulz-Thornycroft boilers, which produced and a maximum speed of . The destroyers carried of coal and of fuel oil, which enabled a range of at . Armament consisted of four caliber main guns, two anti-aircraft guns, and four torpedo tubes. The design featured three funnels and cost 124,360.

Service history Both ships were completed in 1912. During the speed trials, La Plata reached and Cordoba . As World War I disrupted the Navy's ability to procure warships in Europe, the La Plata-class made up half the Argentine destroyer fleet until 1927. By the mid 1950s, the Navy acquired American destroyers built during World War II, and the duo were decommissioned by 1957.

Ships in class +DataNameLaunchedCompletedFate191130 March 1912Stricken 10 January 195719128 July 1912Stricken 10 January 1956

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