I recently wrote a short review of Osprey Publication’s SOUTH AMERICAN BATTLESHIPS 1908–59: BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, AND CHILE'S GREAT DREADNOUGHT RACE. The book concentrates on the period from 1908 to 1959, but the rivalry - and an associated naval arms race - went much further back, and saw the Argentinian, Brazilian, and Chilean Navies acquire a number of warships in the period up 1908, some of which were ground-breaking designs at the time.
The Chilean victory in the War of the Pacific (1879 to 1883) was in no small part due to her navy, which in 1883 comprised the following vessels:
- Abtao (Steam Corvette): Originally ordered for the Confederate Navy as the CSS Texas (later Cyclone) and built by Dennis Brothers of Glasgow. She was completed but not delivered by the end of the American Civil War and sold to Chile in time to just to miss service during the Chinchas Islands War. (1866 to 1922)
- Chacabuco (Steam Corvette) (1868 to 1890)
- O’Higgins (Steam Corvette) (1868 to 1895)
- Magallanes (Steam Corvette) (1874 to 1906)
- Huascar (Turreted Ironclad): Captured from the Peruvians at the Battle of Angamos on 8th October 1879 and incorporated into the Chilean Navy. (1864 to the present)
- Almirante Cochrane (Central Battery Ironclad) (1874 to 1933)
- Blanco Encalada (Central Battery Ironclad) (1875 to 1891)
- Janequeo (Torpedo Boat) (1881 to 1891)
- Lauca (Torpedo Boat) (1881 to 1891)
- Rucumilla (Torpedo Boat) (1881 to 1902)
- Quidora (Torpedo Boat) (1881 to 1902)
- Tegualda (Torpedo Boat) (1891 to 1901)
- Guale (Torpedo Boat) (1881 to 1899)
- Glaura (Torpedo Boat): Sold to Japan (1881 to 1885)
- Fresia (Torpedo Boat) (1882 to 1884)
- Guacolda (Torpedo Boat) (1882 to ?)
Note: The dates in brackets show the year when the ship was ordered/bought and when is was scrapped/discarded.
Huascar
Almirante Cochrane
Blanco Encalada
Soon the war with Peru and Bolivia was over, a simmering dispute between Chile and Argentina about Patagonia intensified. The border was ill-defined and this led to growing tension between the two countries, and this manifested itself as a naval arms race.
In 1883, the Argentinian Navy had the following ships in service:
- Los Andes (Coastal Defence Turret Ship) (1875 to 1927)
- El Plata (Coastal Defence Turret Ship) (1875 to 1927)
- Almirante Brown (Central Battery Ironclad) (1882 to 1932)
- Maipú (Paddle Torpedo Boat) (1871 to 1902)
- Paraná (Gunboat) (1874 to 1900)
- Uraguay (Gunboat) (1874 to 1903)
- Pilcomayo (Flatiron Gunboat) (1876 to 1896)
- Bermejo (Flatiron Gunboat) (1876 to 1898)
- República (Flatiron Gunboat) (1876 to 1911)
- Constitución (Flatiron Gunboat) (1876 to 1915)
Los Andes
El Plata
Almirante Brown
The 1879 naval war is pivotal to the outcome of the overall land war, due to the nature of the terrain. Moving by sea was much quicker than moving by land, and gave Chile strategic surprise. The Peruvians had another ironclad as well as the Huascar, the Independencia, which they ran aground in a pursuit. I think that the Chilean naval victory was greatly aided by Peruvian incompetence. The "It's Getting a Bit Chile at Sea" naval war project is on the backburner.
ReplyDeleteTrebian,
DeleteBack in the early 1980s I ran a participation wargame of the Battle of Angamos at a Games Day in London. It marked the beginning of a long interest in the naval side of the War of the Pacific. As a result, I’m now looking forward to seeing your ‘It’s Getting a Bit Chile at Sea’ project come to fruition.
All the best,
Bob
Me too. At least I've painted the ships.
DeleteTrebian,
DeleteDavid Crook considered using naval battles from the War of the Pacific as examples in his forthcoming book, DEVELOPING THE PORTABLE NAVAL WARGAME. Instead, he chose to pitch the Royal Navy against the Turks in an imaginary conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean.
All the best,
Bob