Chilean battleship Almirante Latorre

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Almirante Latorre in 1921
History
United Kingdom
NameCanada
Builder
Elswick
Laid down27 November 1911
Launched27 November 1913, as Almirante Latorre
Acquired9 September 1914
Commissioned15 October 1915
DecommissionedMarch 1919
FateResold to Chile, April 1920
Chile
NameAlmirante Latorre
AcquiredApril 1920
Commissioned1 August 1920
DecommissionedOctober 1958
Refit1929–1931
FateSold for scrap, 1959
General characteristics
Class and typeAlmirante Latorre-class battleship
Displacement28,600 long tons (29,059 t)
Length625 ft (190.5 m)
Beam92 ft 6 in (28.2 m)
Draught33 ft (10.1 m)
Installed power
Propulsion4 shafts; 2 steam turbine sets
Speed22.75 knots (42.1 km/h; 26.2 mph)
Complement834
Armament
  • 5 × twin
    14 in (356 mm)
    guns
  • 16 × single
    6 in (152 mm) guns
  • 2 × single
    AA guns
  • 4 × single 47 mm (1.9 in) guns
  • 4 ×
    21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
Armor
  • Belt: 9 in (230 mm)
  • Deck: 1.5 in (38 mm)
  • Barbette: 10 in (254 mm)
  • Turret: 10 in (254 mm)
  • Conning tower: 11 in (280 mm)

Almirante Latorre, named after

Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne soon after the ship was ordered in November 1911, and was approaching completion when it was bought by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy for use in the First World War. Commissioned in September 1915, it served in the Grand Fleet as HMS Canada for the duration of the war and saw action during the Battle of Jutland
.

Chile repurchased Canada in 1920 and renamed it Almirante Latorre. The ship was designated as Chile's flagship, and frequently served as a presidential transport. It underwent a thorough modernization in the United Kingdom in 1929–1931. In September 1931, crewmen aboard Almirante Latorre instigated a mutiny, which the majority of the Chilean fleet quickly joined. After divisions developed between the mutineers, the rebellion fell apart and the ships returned to government control. Almirante Latorre was placed in reserve for a time in the 1930s because of the Great Depression, but it was in good enough condition to receive interest from the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Chilean government declined the overture and the ship spent most of the Second World War on patrol for Chile. Almirante Latorre was scrapped in Japan beginning in 1959.

Background

In the 1880s, an

pre-dreadnought battleships that were being built for Chile, and Argentina sold its two Rivadavia-class armored cruisers under construction in Italy to Japan.[1][2]

After

asking for tenders from American and European countries that would give the country the most powerful battleships afloat.[8]

Construction

Almirante Latorre's launch, November 1913.

On 6 July 1910, the

New York Tribune reported on 2 November 1913 that Greece had reached an accord to purchase Almirante Latorre during a war scare with the Ottoman Empire,[14] but despite a developing sentiment within Chile to sell one or both of the dreadnoughts, no deal was made.[15][16][B]

Almirante Latorre was

christened by the ambassador's wife, Olga Budge de Edwards.[10]

British purchase and First World War service

Plans of HMS Canada

After the

fitting-out on 20 September 1915,[9][20] and was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 15 October.[18]

She initially served with the

4th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. Canada saw action in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916 under Captain William Nicholson. She fired 42 rounds from her 14-inch guns and 109 6-inch shells during the battle, and suffered no hits or casualties.[18] During the battle, it got off two salvoes at the disabled cruiser Wiesbaden at 18:40, and fired five more at an unknown ship around 19:20.[22] It fired its 6-inch guns at German destroyers at 19:11.[23]

Canada was transferred to the

superfiring turrets fore and aft. Canada was put into the reserve fleet in March 1919.[18]

Chilean service

Early career

Almirante Latorre in a Balboa, Panama, drydock on 17 January 1921, while voyaging from the United Kingdom to Chile

After the end of the war in Europe, Chile began to seek additional ships to bolster its fleet. The United Kingdom offered many of its surplus warships, including the two remaining Invincible-class battlecruisers.[D] The news that Chile could possibly acquire those two capital ships started an uproar in the country, with naval officers publicly denouncing such an action and instead promoting the virtues of submarines and aircraft on the basis of lower costs and their performance in the First World War.[24] Other nations of South America worried that an attempt to regain the title of "the first naval power in South America", as The New York Times put it, would start another naval arms race.[25][26]

In the end, Chile purchased only Canada and four destroyers in April 1920, all of which had been ordered by Chile prior to the war's outbreak and requisitioned by the British.

Luis Gomez Carreño.[10] They arrived in Chile on 20 February 1921, where they were welcomed by Chile's president, Arturo Alessandri. Almirante Latorre was made the flagship of the navy.[10]

In its capacity as flagship of the Chilean Navy, Almirante Latorre was frequently utilized by the president for various functions. In the aftermath of the

naval mission, which arrived in the following year.[31]

Almirante Latorre was sent to the United Kingdom for a modernization at the

tug boats, acquired for use in the harbors of Punta Arenas and Valparaíso, were carried on the battleship's deck during its voyage back to Chile.[32]

1931 mutiny

Almirante Latorre from the bow, date unknown.

Despite the goodwill brought on by the removal of the authoritarian

civil servants making over 3,000 pesos a year were cut by 12–30 percent to reduce government expenditures. This triggered a severe reaction among the sailors of the navy, who had already suffered a 10 percent salary cut and 50 percent loss in overseas bonuses. Various members of the crew on board Almirante Latorre, but no officers, met on 31 August and decided that a mutiny was the best course of action.[34][35][36]

Shortly after midnight on 1 September, the junior crew members of Almirante Latorre, an armored cruiser (O'Higgins), seven destroyers, and a few submarines took over their ships while many of their shipmates were watching a boxing tournament in La Serena. They imprisoned the officers, most without conflict, and secured the ships by about 02:00. They elected a committee, the Estado Mayor de Tripulacion, to take control of the mutiny. Later that day, at 16:55, the mutineers radioed the minister of the navy, declaring that they were acting on their own accord, as opposed to acting in concert with a militant political party or communist insurgents. They asked for their full salaries to be restored and the punishment of those who had plunged Chile into a depression, while also stating that they would not use force to achieve these goals.[36][37]

Just before midnight on 2 September, the mutineers messaged the Chilean government with a more "sophisticated"[38] list of twelve demands.[E] Meanwhile, further south, junior members of the navy in the main naval base of Talcahuano joined the mutiny, taking several vessels in the process. Several of these sailed north to join the other rebels, while two cruisers, a few destroyers and submarines remained to guard the base. Other bases joined the now-full-fledged rebellion as well, including the Second Air Group based in Quintero. With so many rebels appearing, it was feared by many that the plethora of unemployed workers would join.[F] The government attempted to solicit aid from the United States in the form of military intervention or war materiel (including two submarines and bombs capable of penetrating the armor of Almirante Latorre), but they were rebuffed both publicly and privately. Acting Vice President Manuel Trucco now found himself in an undesirable position; he had to defeat the rebels before more units joined and bolstered their forces, but if he was too harsh, there was a risk that the populace would think that his policies were too similar to the former dictator Ibáñez del Campo. Trucco decided on a path of reconciliation. He sent a naval admiral, Edgardo von Schroeders, to negotiate with the mutineers. They met on board Almirante Latorre, where von Schroeders, seeing a potential split between sailors angry over their pay versus others with a more political agenda, tried to divide them along these lines and get them to surrender. However, a plea from the approaching southern fleet, asking for them to wait before any possible settlement, sealed the matter for the time being and von Schroders flew back to the capital.[41]

September marked a turn in the rebels' fortunes, despite the arrival of the southern fleet on 4 September. All of their land gains were taken by government forces, leaving only the fleet in the mutineers' hands. By the next day, an air strike was mounted by government forces. The only damage done was to the submarine H4, which was unable to dive, but at least one bomb landed about 50 yards (46 m) from Almirante Latorre. Despite the scant damage, the attack broke the mutineers' spirits; they quickly offered to send a delegation to Santiago to discuss terms, but the government, bolstered by its land victories, refused. While the mutiny devolved into arguing and anarchy, individual ships began leaving the bay and setting sail for Valparaíso, and the rest soon followed. Almirante Latorre ended up in the Bay of Tongoy with Blanco Encalada. Seven crewmen on the dreadnought received death sentences, later commuted to life in prison.[42][43][44]

Later career

Looking down from Almirante Latorre's bridge on the bow turrets, date unknown.

Still in the midst of the depression, Almirante Latorre was deactivated at Talcahuano in 1933 to lessen government expenditures,

neutrality patrols during the Second World War.[18]

After a 1951 accident in Almirante Latorre's engine room killed three crewmen, the ship was kept moored in Talcahuano as a storage hulk for fuel oil.

decommissioned in October 1958, and was sold to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in February 1959 for $881,110 to be broken up for scrap.[9][10] On 29 May 1959, to the salutes of the assembled Chilean fleet, the old dreadnought was taken under tow by the tug Cambrian Salvos,[10][32] and reached Yokohama, Japan, at the end of August,[18][32][51][H] though the scrapping process did not begin immediately on arrival.[18] A substantial amount of parts from Almirante Latorre were used in the restoration of the Mikasa, badly deteriorated after World War II, until 1961.[52]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Almirante Latorre was originally named Valparaíso, after the Chilean city, but was renamed to Libertad, Spanish for "freedom".[9] After the death of the famed admiral Juan José Latorre, it was renamed Almirante Latorre in July 1912.[10] Sources are not specific as to when the ship was renamed for the first time.
  2. Henry Prather Fletcher, commented to Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan: "Since the naval rivalry began in 1910, financial conditions, which were none too good then, have grown worse; and as time approaches for the final payment, feeling has been growing in these countries that perhaps they are much more in need of money than of battleships."[17]
  3. ^ Scheina gives 17 November as the launching date.[9]
  4. ^ Prior to the Invincible offer, Chile asked for HMS Eagle, which had been Almirante Cochrane but was in the process of being converted into an aircraft carrier. Chile, however, would not accept Eagle unless it was reconstructed into the original battleship configuration. This was found to be "impractical".[12]
  5. ^ These demands included:[39]
    • [A reinstatement of] full pay for enlisted men.
    • The millionaires of Chile loan 300 million pesos to the government.
    • That all Government-owned uncultivated land be divided among the workmen.
    • That the government continue all public works.
    • That employment be provided for the unemployed.
    • That sailors be given a free clothing allowance.
    • That rations be improved.
    • That the ration include more sugar.
    • That navy-yard watchmen be replaced by sailors.
    • That contract pilots no longer be employed.
    • That service trade [officer] schools be closed for two years.
    • That retirement for enlisted men be optional at 15 years but compulsory at 20 years of service.
  6. ^ Indeed, massive strikes—led by the Communist Party's candidate for president, Elías Lafertte—were held in Valparaíso, and "the city appeared deserted" by 4 September.[40]
  7. ^ It is not clear when Almirante Latorre was reactivated. Scheina gives two possible years, 1935 or after the 1937 refit.[47]
  8. ^ Sources disagree as to the exact date. Whitley, The New York Times, and Burt give 28, 29, and 30 August, respectively.[18][32][51]

Endnotes

  1. ^ Scheina, Naval History, 45–52.
  2. ^ Garrett, "Beagle Channel Dispute", 86–88.
  3. ^ a b Whitley, Battleships of World War Two, 24.
  4. ^ "Germany may buy English warships", The New York Times, 1 August 1908, C8.
  5. ^ Scheina, "Argentina", 400.
  6. ^ Scheina, "Argentina", 401.
  7. ^ Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy", 33.
  8. ^ Scheina, Naval History, 84.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Scheina, Naval History, 322.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Acorazado Almirante Latorre", Armada de Chile, archived 8 June 2008.
  11. ^ Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy", 42.
  12. ^ a b Scheina, "Chile", 408.
  13. ^ Gill, "Professional Notes", 493.
  14. New York Tribune
    , 2 November 1913, 12.
  15. ^ a b Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy", 45.
  16. ^ Kaldis, "Background for Conflict", D1135.
  17. ^ Quoted in Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy", 45.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Burt, British Battleships, 240.
  19. ^ Gill, "Professional Notes", 193.
  20. ^ a b c Preston, "Great Britain", p38.
  21. ^ "British Navy Gains", The New York Times, 7 December 1918, 14.
  22. ^ Campbell, Jutland, 157, 206–07.
  23. ^ Campbell, Jutland, 210.
  24. ^ Somervell, "Naval Affairs", 389–90.
  25. ^ Graser Schornstheimer, "Chile as a Naval Power", The New York Times, 22 August 1920, X10.
  26. ^ a b Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy", 48.
  27. ^ "Chile's War Fleet Sails", The New York Times, 28 November 1920, 12.
  28. ^ "More Earthquakes Hit Northern Chile", The New York Times, 16 November 1922, 3.
  29. ^ "Armament Limitation at Santiago", The New York Times, 21 March 1923, 16.
  30. ^ Somervell, "Naval Affairs", 393.
  31. ^ Somervell, "Naval Affairs", 393–94.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g Whitley, Battleships of World War Two, 33.
  33. ^ Sater, "Kronstadt", 241.
  34. ^ Scheina, Naval History, 107.
  35. ^ Scheina, Latin America's Wars, 74.
  36. ^ a b Sater, "Kronstadt", 241–43.
  37. ^ Scheina, Naval History, 107–09.
  38. ^ Quote from an "observer" given in Sater, "Kronstadt", 245.
  39. ^ Quoted in Scheina, Naval History, 108.
  40. ^ Sater, "Kronstadt", 248.
  41. ^ Sater, "Kronstadt", 244, 247–50.
  42. ^ Scheina, Naval History, 112–14.
  43. ^ Scheina, Latin America's Wars, 76.
  44. ^ Sater, "Kronstadt", 252–53, 255–56.
  45. ^ "Chile Lays Up All Battleships in Drastic Economy Measure", The New York Times, 19 January 1933, 7.
  46. ^ Scheina, Naval History, 86, 359.
  47. ^ a b Scheina, Naval History, 359.
  48. ^ Worth, Fleets of World War II, 7.
  49. ^ National Archives, File 1930–1939: 711.00111 Armament Control (Military Secrets)/723 – 711.00111 sub no. 1651, 1692
  50. ^ Scheina, Naval History, 164.
  51. ^ a b "Chilean Warship in Japan", The New York Times, 30 August 1959, S13.
  52. ^ "偶然か運命か 復元中だった戦艦「三笠」と鉄くずとして来日したチリ戦艦の奇妙な縁" (in Japanese). 乗りものニュース. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2021.

References

Further reading

External links