WesWorld

Quoted from "Brockpaine"

Interesting. Trucks, or passenger cars?

Eventually motor buses. Public transportation is a priority. CKD trucks are likely to be imported and marketed. Initial sales of motors are likely to be for industrial use.

Ah, yup, makes sense.

Iquitos, Loreto, 8 October 1949

Felix Wankel had breathed a sigh of relief when the freighter Henry Horn dropped anchor in the port of Iquitos, for she bore the bulk of the remaining components required to complete the assembly of the modular floating dry dock his team had worked on for nearly a year. The vessel carrying the pumps, motors, and ancillary gear was due to arrive in only a few weeks. They were due to turn the dock over to the Peruvian Navy at the end of December, and it would be a race to keep that deadline.


The State Department, Washington DC, 18 October 1949

Ambassador Pawley’s recommendation regarding the Peruvian Government’s request for permission to contract for Lockheed’s P-80 fighter had been batted back and forth between the Latin American and the European Desks for more than a week, nearly two. There was a distinct difference of opinion as to whether granting it would offend the Iberians, upset the Brazilians, or add fuel to an arms race in the southern hemisphere. The realist faction maintained that if the United States turned down the request that the Peruvians would merely turn to Europe, and it would be better to have some increased influence with them. The idealist faction wished that the Europeans would keep their noses out of the western hemisphere on general principles, despite the fact that the Iberians were still there. The pragmatic faction, to which The Secretary belonged, wished to counterbalance European influence while at the same time reminding the Iberians that the sun was fast setting on their Federation. After discussions with the White House, the Peruvians got their approval to open negotiations; it would be up to them to come to terms with Howard Hughes and his friends.

The Peruvian Times (Lima), 20 October 1949

The corvettes Huancabamba and Zarumila, having completed their operational training, were formally commissioned into the Peruvian Navy today at ceremonies at Callao. It is reported that they will embark on a good will visit to Guayaquil and Panama in the near future.


El Popular (Lima), 24 October 1949

The corvettes Tahuamanu and Inambari were completed today at the Callao shipyards of the Servicios Industriales de la Marina. They will undergo a period of trials and operational training before joining their sisters in commission.

The Burbank Daily Review, 26 October 1949

A delegation of officials of the Peruvian Government arrived here yesterday to open discussions with the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. Led by Colonel Juan Velasco Alvarado the Peruvians are reportedly interested in acquiring several dozen of the firm’s P-80 fighter aircraft; sources also indicate that Peru has evinced interest in other aviation equipment vital to modernizing its air defenses and its aviation industry in general.

The Peruvian Times (Lima), 29 October 1949

The corvettes Ayabaca and Chulucanas were launched today at the Callao dockyard of the Servicios Industriales de la Marina, and transferred to the fitting out wharf to complete their construction, which is anticipated in the spring of next year. The fifth and sixth ships of the Huancabamba-class it is anticipated that two additional vessels will follow.

Diario Oficial El Peruano (Lima), 6 November 1949

The logistics support vessel Pacamayo was completed today in the Callao shipyard of the Servicios Industriales de la Marina, Callao. The Pacamayo is intended to transport heavy, outsized loads in support of development projects in the north of the country, particularly in the Lambayeque, Piura, and Tumbes regions. A sister vessel, the Alcamarina, is presently under construction with the expectation of completing next year.

El Comercio (Lima), 15 November 1949

The salvage tug Morales was launched today in the shipyard at Callao. When complete she will supplement the elderly Consuela-class tugs present used for offshore work.

Iquitos, Loreto, 20 November 1949

Consul Joaquim Nabuco looked down from the window of the consulate with a modicum of disdain on the newly arrived freighter Chimu as she loaded at the wharf along the river. She flew the Nordish flag but she was under charter to the Peruvian Naviera Amazonica – inaugurating its direct service to the upper Amazon from the United States. In a few months the Naviera Amazonica would take delivery of the first of its own freighters and the flag of Peru would bring the produce of the Tres Fronteras to the wider world. His report to the Ministry would note the facts but draw no conclusions – they would not be welcome.

The freighter’s presence was not the only indication that the Peruvians were serious about the development of the border region. The Banco de Crédito del Perú, one of the largest in the country, had just last week opened a branch in Iquitos – confirming the solidity of the local economy – and it was doing land office business in financing the hopes of the city’s business community – some of his countrymen included. In the business district new construction was fast erasing the many small shops in favor of the company-owned hyperbodegas that sold a wide variety of goods – like a Woolworths – under one roof. Traffic at the city’s airport was increasing by leaps-and-bounds, with flights not only to Lima but to Piura and Chimbote. On his desk sat a request from a Peruvian airline to extend its services to Manaus – he had no idea how the Ministry would react to that!

Things, he told himself, move slowly – though the Peruvians seemed to disagree.

The Peruvian Times (Lima), 28 November 1949

The destroyers Bolognesi and Garcia were launched today at the Callao dockyard of the Servicios Industriales de la Marina, and transferred to the fitting out wharf to complete their construction, which is anticipated in the late spring of next year. The lead ships of what was expected to be a multi-unit class the indications at the present time suggest that they will not be followed, the decision having been made to expand naval facilities at Chimbote in Ancash Province. Suggestions from far Left deputies so sell the battlecruiser Almirante Villar to reduce the tax burden on the nation have been quickly and firmly rejected by the Government.

Servicios Industriales de la Marina, Mollendo-Matarani, 3 December 1949

Captain Hernán Larraín had arrived in the southern port city the afternoon before from Lima, a circumstance that afforded him an opportunity to assess the tenor of this border city. He found its night life abounding, the markets filled with produce and preparations in full swing for the forthcoming Christmas season. But that was not what had brought him; he had been invited to attend the launch of some of the latest vessels building for the Peruvian Navy – an opportunity that required him as the Chilean naval attaché to make the pilgrimage south.

And he had observed enough to make his trip worthwhile. The yard itself was large and well appointed, and its workforce busy – but the ships under construction offered no threat to his country. Today he witnessed the launch of what his hosts called civilian support ships – small craft intended to aid coastal settlements suffering from disaster. Elsewhere in the yard work was progressing on two small coastal freighters and salvage tug – a case of turning swords into plowshares. True – in the yards at Callao the Peruvians were building combatant vessels, but the diminution of the Peruvian fleet in the last two years had significantly reduced any threat to Chilean security. His report to Santiago would emphasize this point.

Diario Oficial El Peruano (Lima), 6 December 1949

The destroyers Ferre and Valdes were completed today at the Callao shipyard of the Servicios Industriales de la Marina. Following there builders’ trials they will undergo training for the next six months, becoming operational next June.

Iquitos, Loreto, 12 December 1949

Felix Wankel, along with his team of German and Peruvian engineers and technicians had been working flat out since the freighter bearing the last components for the modular dry-dock had arrived. Their project was due for completion in but days but he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. The sections had been fitted together, their connections made, and the pumps that would raise and lower the dock had been installed. Testing would come next – first the pumps alone, and then the integrity of each section of the dock. He had advised the Peruvian naval authorities that the test dock itself could be scheduled for Christmas Day, if they wished.

The Peruvian Times (Lima), 16 December 1949

The Peruvian Air Force has concluded a contract with the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation of Burbank, California, in the United States, to purchase twenty-five examples of the firm’s P-80 fighter aircraft. The first of these aircraft is expected to be delivered early next year.

El Comercio (Lima), 18 December 1949

Iquitos, Loreto, 25 December 1949

Consul Joaquim Nabuco was among the throng that gathered at the city’s river port to witness the first test of the newly completed modular dry dock that the Peruvian Navy had constructed with German technical assistance. Under the watchful eye of engineer Wankel the dock was flooded down to admit the Peruvian river monitor Bagua Grande while winches hauled the vessel into position and hawsers secured her. Then pumps began to expel the water from the pontoons that formed the dock’s walls and slowly the bulk of the dry dock rose from the waters of the river and the Bagua Grande settled onto the keel blocks that would hold her secure. It took time for the dock to completely empty but after two hours the floor of the dock stood forty centimeters above water level and the first group of artificers swarmed over the monitor to begin scraping away its accumulation of underwater growth and checking the hull for any defects. Nabuco would include these developments in his next report to the Ministry. He hoped that it would come to someone’s notice.