ARA Rivadavia"ARA" is an acronym for Armada de la República Argentina

Argentine Navy

The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....

was a battleship of the Argentine Navy

Argentine Navy

The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....

. Named after the first Argentine president, Bernardino Rivadavia

Bernardino Rivadavia

Bernardino de la Trinidad Gónzalez Rivadavia y Rivadavia was the first president of Argentina, from February 8, 1826 to July 7, 1827 . He was a politician of the United Provinces of Río de la Plata, Argentina today...

, she was the lead ship

Lead ship

The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...

 of her class

Rivadavia class battleship

The Rivadavia class was a two-ship group of battleships designed by the American Fore River Shipbuilding Company for the Argentine Navy...

 and the third dreadnought built during the South American dreadnought race

South American dreadnought race

A South American dreadnought race between Argentina, Brazil, and Chile was kindled in 1907 when the Brazilian government announced their intention to purchase three dreadnoughts—powerful battleships whose capabilities far outstripped older vessels in the world's navies—from the British company...

. Moreno

ARA Moreno

ARA Moreno was a dreadnought battleship designed by the American Fore River Shipbuilding Company for the Argentine Navy...

 was Rivadavias only sister ship

Sister ship

A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...

.

In 1907, Brazil placed an order for two of the powerful new "dreadnought

Dreadnought

The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...

" warships as part of a larger naval building program. Argentina quickly responded, as Brazil's ships outclassed anything in the Argentine fleet. After an extended bidding process, contracts to design and build Rivadavia and Moreno were given to the American Fore River Shipbuilding Company. During their construction, there were rumors that Argentina might sell them to a country engaged in the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, but the ships were not sold. Rivadavia was commissioned on 27 August 1914 but saw no combat in the war, as Argentina remained neutral. She underwent extensive refits in the United States in 1924 and 1925. She saw no active duty during the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

; Argentina remained neutral until March 1945 when the country declared war on the Axis powers

Axis Powers

The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...

, and Rivadavia did not become involved in the soon-to-end conflict. Stricken from the naval register in 1957, Rivadavia was sold later that year and was broken up for scrap in 1959.

Background

Rivadavias genesis can be traced to the naval arms races between Chile and Argentina which were spawned by territorial disputes over their mutual borders in Patagonia

Patagonia

Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...

 and Puna de Atacama

Puna de Atacama

The Puna de Atacama or Atacama Plateau is an arid high plateau averaging about above sea level and spanning an area of , in the Andes of northern Chile and Argentina and southwest Bolivia. Before the War of the Pacific , the region belonged to Bolivia. In 1898 it was ceded to Argentina in...

, along with control of the Beagle Channel

Beagle Channel

thumb|right|300px|Aereal view of Beagle Channel. The Chilean [[Navarino Island]] is seen in the top-right while the Argentine part of [[Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego]] is seen at the bottom-left....

. These arms races flared up in the 1890s and again in 1902; the latter was eventually stopped through British mediation. Provisions in the dispute-ending treaty imposed restrictions on both countries' navies. The United Kingdom's Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 bought the two Constitución-class

Swiftsure class battleship

The Swiftsure class was a class of two British pre-dreadnought battleships. Originally ordered by Chile, they were purchased by the United Kingdom prior to completion.-Background:...

 pre-dreadnought

Pre-dreadnought

Pre-dreadnought battleship is the general term for all of the types of sea-going battleships built between the mid-1890s and 1905. Pre-dreadnoughts replaced the ironclad warships of the 1870s and 1880s...

 battleships that were being built for Chile, and Argentina sold its two Rivadavia-class

Kasuga class cruiser

The was a class of two armored cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy based on the developed by Italy at the end of the 19th century.-Background:...

 armored cruiser

Armored cruiser

The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...

s under construction in Italy to Japan.

After was commissioned by the United Kingdom, Brazil decided in early 1907 to halt the construction of three obsolescent pre-dreadnoughts and begin work on two dreadnought

Dreadnought

The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...

s (the Minas Geraes class

Minas Geraes-class battleship

The Minas Geraes class, spelled Minas Gerais in some sources, consisted of two battleships built for the Brazilian Navy which began a South American dreadnought race. The ships were named Minas Geraes, after the Brazilian state, and São Paulo, honoring both the state and city...

). These ships, which were designed to carry the heaviest battleship armament in the world at the time, came as a shock to the navies of South America, and Argentina and Chile quickly canceled the 1902 armament-limiting pact. Argentina in particular was alarmed at the possible power of the ships. The Minister of Foreign Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship is the Argentine government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Argentina.The current Chancellor is Héctor Timerman.-External links:...

, Manuel Augusto Montes de Oca, remarked that even one Minas Geraes-class ship could destroy the entire Argentine and Chilean fleets. While this may have been hyperbole, either one was much more powerful than any single vessel in the Argentinian fleet. Debates raged in Argentina over whether to spend more than two million pounds sterling

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

 to acquire dreadnoughts. With further border disputes, particularly with Brazil near the Río de la Plata

Río de la Plata

The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...

 (River Plate), Argentina made plans to contract for their own dreadnoughts. After an extended bidding process, Rivadavia and were ordered from the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in the United States.

Construction and trials

Laid down

Keel

In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...

 on 25 May 1910, Rivadavia was launched and christened

Ship naming and launching

The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...

 on 26 August 1911 by Isabel, the wife of the Argentine Minister to the United States Rómulo Sebastián Naón

Rómulo Sebastián Naón

Rómulo Sebastián Naón Peralta Martínez , was the Argentine Ambassador to the United States from 1910 to 1919.-Biography:He was born in 1876 to Julio César Naón Capanegra and Felisa Peralta Martínez de Oliden. He married Isabel Rodríguez Marcenal. In 1914 he attended the Niagara Falls peace...

. Thousands of people were present to witness the event, including representatives from the Argentine Navy and the country's legation

Legation

A legation was the term used in diplomacy to denote a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an Ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary....

 in Washington. The United States sent the assistant chief of the Latin American Division in the State Department

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

, Henry L. James, to be its official representative. Two United States Navy bureau chiefs also attended.

In mid-September 1913, Rivadavia conducted trials off Rockland

Rockland, Maine

Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,297. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination...

, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, after a two-week delay due to turbine malfunctions. During speed trials

Sea trial

A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...

 on the 16th, the dreadnought was able to obtain a maximum speed of 22.567 kn (27.5 mph; 44.2 km/h). On a 30-hour endurance trial starting the next day, Rivadavia damaged one of her turbines and had to put in at President Roads, one of Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor

Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...

's deep-water anchorages. The turbines were still a problem as late as August 1914. One was dropped by a crane in July and had to be removed for repairs in August.

Attempted sale

Over the course of their construction, Rivadavia and Moreno had been the subject of rumors that Argentina would accept the ships and then sell them to Japan, a fast-growing military rival to the United States, or to a European country. The rumors were partially true; some in the government were looking to get rid of the battleships and devote the proceeds to opening more schools, and The New York Times reported in late 1913 that the country had received several offers from interested parties. This angered the American government, which did not want its warship technology offered to the highest bidder. Neither did they want to exercise a contract-specified option that gave the United States first choice if the Argentines decided to sell, as naval technology had already progressed past the Rivadavia class, particularly in the adoption of the "all-or-nothing" armor scheme. Instead, the United States and its State Department and Navy Department

United States Department of the Navy

The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...

 put diplomatic pressure on the Argentine government.

After socialist gains in the legislature, the Argentine government introduced several bills in May 1914 which would have put the battleships up for sale, but the bills were all defeated by late June. Following the commencement of the First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the German and British ambassadors to the United States both complained to the US State Department; the former believed that the British were going to be given the ships as soon as the ships reached Argentina, and the latter considered it the responsibility of the United States to ensure that the ships never left Argentina's possession. International armament companies attempted to get Argentina to sell to one of the smaller Balkan countries and expected that the ships would then find their way into the war.

Service

Rivadavia was commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 into the Armada de la República Argentina

Argentine Navy

The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....

 on 27 August 1914 at the Charlestown Navy Yard

Boston Navy Yard

The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...

, although she was not fully completed until December. On 23 December 1914, Rivadavia left the United States for Argentina. She arrived in its capital, Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, on 19 February 1915. Over 47,000 people came out to see the new ship over the next three days, including the President

President of Argentina

The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...

 Victorino de la Plaza

Victorino de la Plaza

Victorino de la Plaza y Palacios was President of Argentina from 9 August 1914 to 11 October 1916.Second son of José Roque Mariano de la Plaza Elejalde and Manuela de la Silva Palacios; his older brother, Rafael de la Plaza, was also a politician and acted as governor of Santiago del Estero...

. In April 1915, Rivadavia was put into the training division of the Navy; she remained there until 1917, when she was moved into the First Division. In 1917, the ship sailed to Comodoro Rivadavia

Comodoro Rivadavia

Comodoro Rivadavia is a city in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina, located on the San Jorge Gulf, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of the Chenque Hill. Comodoro Rivadavia is the most important city of the San Jorge Basin....

 when communist oil workers went on strike.

Later in 1917, Rivadavias activities were sharply curtailed because of a fuel shortage. In 1918, she voyaged to the United States with the Argentine Ambassador; he disembarked at Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

, Virginia. Rivadavia then took on a load of gold bullion and brought it back to Argentina, docking in Puerto Belgrano

Puerto Belgrano

Base Naval Puerto Belgrano is the largest naval base of the Argentine Navy, situated next to Punta Alta, near Bahía Blanca, about south of Buenos Aires...

 on 23 September 1918. In December 1920, Rivadavia participated in ceremonies that marked the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the Strait of Magellan

Strait of Magellan

The Strait of Magellan comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego...

. On the 2nd, the ship called on Valparaíso

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

 in Chile; 25 days later, she took part in an international naval review

Naval Review

A Naval Review is an event, where the whole of the US Navy is paraded to be reviewed by the president or the Secretary of the Navy. It often includes delegates from other national navies. It is more regular and frequent than its British equivalent, the Fleet Review, and often occurs on a Navy...

. Two years later, Rivadavia was berthed in Puerto Belgrano and placed into reserve

Reserve fleet

A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....

.

In 1923, the Navy decided to send Rivadavia to the United States for a full modernization. It took a year before the ship departed on 6 August 1924, and she reached Boston on the 30th. The refit took two years. Rivadavia was converted to use fuel oil instead of coal and had "a general machinery overhaul". A new fire-control system

Fire-control system

A fire-control system is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director, and radar, which is designed to assist a weapon system in hitting its target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more...

 was fitted with rangefinders on the fore and aft superfiring turrets, and the aft mast was replaced by a tripod. A funnel cap was installed so that smoke from the funnels did not interfere with accurate rangefinding of enemy ships. The 6-inch secondary armament was retained, but the smaller 4-inch guns were taken off in favor of four 3 inches (76.2 mm) anti-aircraft

Anti-aircraft warfare

NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...

 guns and four 3-pounders

Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers

The Ordnance QF 3 pounder Vickers was a British artillery piece first tested in Britain in 1910. It was used on Royal Navy warships. It was more powerful than and unrelated to the older QF 3 pounder Hotchkiss, with a propellant charge approximately twice as large, but it initially fired the same...

.

After sailing back to Argentina in March and April 1926, Rivadavia spent the remainder of the year undergoing sea trial

Sea trial

A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...

s. The dreadnought joined the training division once again in 1927. After Rivadavia made four training cruises, the division was disbanded. As a result, the ship remained docked in Puerto Belgrano for the entire year; it was not until 1929 that she moved again. Although she was active in both 1929 and 1930, Rivadavia was placed in reserve again on 19 December 1930. Activated shortly thereafter in 1931, she was designated as the fleet's flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 for exercises held that year, and put into reserve once more in 1932. Activated yet again in January 1933, Rivadavia remained in full commission for most of the rest of the decade as part of the Battleship Division, along with her sister Moreno.
In January 1937, the ship called on Valparaíso and Callao

Callao

Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...

 in Peru. In company with Moreno, Rivadavia left Puerto Belgrano on 6 April and set course for Europe. She visited the French port of Brest

Brest, France

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

 and was joined by her sister there after Moreno had taken part in the Coronation Review in Spithead

Spithead

Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...

. The two ships then put in at the German port of Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...

 for a goodwill visit. When the two dreadnoughts departed, they split up once more; Rivadavia visited Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 and Moreno visited Bremen

Bremen

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

. They returned to Argentina on 29 June.

Rivadavia made an official visit to Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, Brazil, in 1939. Argentina remained neutral for the majority of the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, and Rivadavia saw no active service. Her next cruise was from 29 October to 22 December 1946, after the close of the war; she called on countries in the Caribbean and northern South America, including Trinidad

Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...

, Venezuela, and Colombia. This was the last time the ship would be in service under her own power, as she was moored in Puerto Belgrano from 1948 on, was rendered inoperable in 1951, and was cannibalized over many years for useful arms and equipment. On 18 October 1956, the ship was listed for disposal, and she was stricken from the Navy on 1 February 1957. Three months later on 30 May, Rivadavia was sold to an Italian ship breaking

Ship breaking

Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...

 company for . Beginning on 3 April 1959, the ship was towed by two tugboat

Tugboat

A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...

s to Savona

Savona

Savona is a seaport and comune in the northern Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea....

, Italy, where they arrived on 23 May. She was thereafter broken up in Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

.

External links

• ARA Rivadavia at Flickr
  Flickr
  Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
  
  
• "Historia y Arqueología Marítima" (HistArMar) Battleship ARA Rivadavia (1914) – Pictures (in Spanish)
• "Historia y Arqueología Marítima" (HistArMar) Battleships ARA Moreno & Rivadavia – History and pictures (in Spanish)