The first Blanco Encalada, central battery ironclad of 1875, built by Earle's Shipbuilding at Hull, England.
Her sister, the Almirante Cochrane, was completed 1874 and served until 1908; was scrapped 1934.
One of the big three navies of Latin America, the Chilean fleet contained one of the most interesting assortments of Victorian warships in South America. As will be clear from a cursory glance at the menu, Chile was an excellent customer of Sir George Armstrong's Elswick Works. In the final chapter of the Latin arms race, Chile ordered two full-on, 14" armed superdreadnoughts to outdo the other Latin American powers, the Brazilians and Argentines. Unfortunately for Chile, delivery date coincided with the start of WWI. Both ships were commandeered for the Royal Navy, the Latorre to serve in the battle line as HMS Canada, the second (Almirante Cochrane II) for completion as the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. After being returned safe and sound by the British in 1920, the Almirante Latorre entered a long and peaceful career as the Chilean flagship and the most potent dreadnought in the Southern hemisphere. She was also distinguished as the only Latin American veteran of the Battle of Jutland.
* R O S T E R * |
|---|
Chile's Central Battery Ships: Almirante Cochrane & Blanco Encalada - 1874/1875 |
Captured Ironclad: Turret Ship Huáscar - 1865 |
Presidente Erraruiz & Presidente Pinto - 1890 French-Made Protected Cruisers |
French-Built Armored Cruiser - Another View |
Elswick-Built Armored Cruiser - Flagship Another View |
The Esmeralda - The Prototype Elswick Cruiser - 1884 Sold to Japan - 1894; Another View |
Laird-Built Torpedo Gunboat - Sank Blanco Encalada in 1891 Civil War |
Class of Six - Yarrow Type |
Ex-HMS Canada - Flagship 1920-1959 Schematic from Brassey's Naval Annual |
A small fleet of sailing warships had been in service during the Chilean War of Independence (1812-1817) and this was transformed into a national navy during the Chincha Islands War against Spain in 1864-66. At this time, Perú had the dominant navy on the Pacific coast of South America; Chile and Perú fought as allies against Spain in that war, successfully protecting their territory when a Spanish fleet swooped down to capture guano-rich offshore islands and claim them for Spain, in a reprise of the Conquista of Pizarro. During the war Perú augmented its ironclad fleet with the Scottish-built ironclad frigate Independencia; the turret ironclad Huáscar, built at Laird's in Birkenhead, England; and two American-made Civil War monitors.
Looking ahead, the Chilean government approved a buildup of the modest Chilean fleet -- one wooden corvette, one steam schooner, three brigs, two gunboats, and two steam tugs -- with two modern central battery ships. Custom built in England and named the Almirante Cochrane and Blanco Encalada for heroes of the Chilean War of Independence, these two ironclads eventually proved their worth by capturing the Huáscar in 1879, blunting Perú's ability to defend her mineral-rich southern provinces, which Chile succeeded in conquering (map). Chile gained most of these lands in perpetuity, but occupied still others until 1929 when the bottom fell out of the nitrates market. Since 1884, the Atacama Desert region has been one of the engines of the Chilean economy, rich in copper and nitrates -- and Perú has been relegated to second-class status by South America's big powers.
Artist's conception of the Chilean battle fleet at Angamos, October 8, 1879, when they took the then-Peruvian ironclad Huáscar (foreground). In this rendering, the Chilean gunners have not yet found the range and begun meting out punishment to the Lairds-built Peruvian ship. Her captain was killed by a shell that swept the bridge clean. After fighting to the last shell, the decimated Peruvian defenders were too weak to resist boarding parties, and their attempt to scuttle was foiled. The ship is now preserved at Concepción, Chile, a memorial to the navies of both nations, and the two captains who died on her decks. Our sources in country confirm that the old ironclad survived the 2010 earthquake without damage, although some nearby facilities did not fare so well.
At left, Chile's iconic naval hero, Capt. Arturo Prat, patriot and martyr. When his ship, the corvette Esmeralda, was under ramming attack from the Huáscar, he leaped to the latter's deck, thinking to lead a boarding party and carry her, thus reversing the odds on the engagement. Prat was cut down with all his men and died in the encounter, providing the drama necessary to confer near-sainthood upon him. His ship, despite her crushing defeat, has become the iconic Chilean warship in the way Old Ironsides is for the U.S. or HMS Victory is for Britain. Through all the long years since Iquique, there has seldom been a gap in the Chilean Navy roster between commissioned ships named Esmeralda or Arturo Prat.
More broadly, the conflict of 1879 embedded itself deeply in Chilean national consciousness. The national coat of arms shows a vicuña and a condor flanking the national shield, and each wearing a crown -- the crown of glory won by the Chilean navy in the wars of the 1860s and 70s. Meanwhile, a new national naval academy was founded in 1866 aboard the schooner Covadonga; the tradition of sail training has become a permanent part of the naval program upheld by the school ship General Baquedano and extending to today's Esmeralda. In the 1880s, Chile's first period of national prosperity, a beautiful naval academy building in classical style was built atop one of the hills of Valparaíso; the building serves as the National Naval and Maritime Museum today.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Sed ut perspiciatis, unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam eaque ipsa, quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt, explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem, quia voluptas sit, aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos, qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt, neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum, quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci[ng] velit, sed quia non numquam [do] eius modi tempora inci[di]dunt, ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit, qui in ea voluptate velit esse, quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum, qui dolorem eum fugiat, quo voluptas nulla pariatur?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Visitors to Chile today will find a wealth of historic naval material. Atop Cerro Artilleria in Valparaíso, housed in the old Naval Academy, is the Chilean Naval and Maritime Museum. A tour of the museum is one of the highlights of a visit to this classic seaport, often likened to San Francisco. The Huáscar is berthed at Talcahuano, not far south of Valparaíso; and a new attraction opened at Iquique in 2011: a full-size replica of the corvette Esmeralda, displayed on the waterfront within sight of the spot where the original ship sank in 1879 after a relentless ramming attack by the Huáscar. Some Chileans attribute their victory in the War of the Pacific to the heroic example set by Esmeralda's Capt. Arturo Prat (above left). The second Chilean warship to bear that name, the 1852 Esmeralda was a beauty. The name is now carried by the country's sail training vessel, a steel 4-mast barquentine modeled on Spain's Juan Sebastián de Elcano.
Chile's lone dreadnought, the mighty Almirante Latorre, brought the handsome proportions of the British Iron Duke class to the South Pacific. Largest South American dreadnought was armed with ten 14" guns, provided a source of national pride for Chile as it outgunned anything in South America. By the time she appeared in 1920, however, the prewar dreadnought race was seeming rather removed from present reality. The only Battle of Jutland veteran homeported in the New World, Latorre remained the Chilean flagship until 1959. This photo shows her on maneuvers after commissioning in Chilean service, looking very much the 1920s dreadnought. By the time she was retired in 1959, the Latorre appeared almost as an intruder from a quaint former age peeping into a time of satellites, radar, and ICBMs. Enlarge
