Chilean battery ship Almirante Cochrane
Encyclopedia
The armored frigate Almirante Cochrane was a ship of the Chilean Navy
Chilean Navy
-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...
in the late nineteenth century. She was built, like her twin, the armored frigate Blanco Encalada
Chilean frigate Blanco Encalada (1875)
Blanco Encalada was an armored frigate built by Earle's Shipbuilding Co. in England for the Chilean Navy in 1875. She was nicknamed El Blanco...
, in the UK in 1875. She participated in the War of the Pacific
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
, with her most prominent action being her defeat of the Peruvian monitor Huáscar
Huáscar (ship)
Huáscar is a 19th century small armoured turret ship of a type similar to a monitor. She was built in Britain for Peru and played a significant role in the battle of Pacocha and the War of the Pacific against Chile before being captured and commissioned with the Chilean Navy. Today she is one of...
in the Angamos naval battle
Battle of Angamos
The Battle of Angamos was fought on October 8, 1879, during the naval stage of the War of the Pacific . The Chilean Navy, commanded by Captain Galvarino Riveros and Captain Juan Jose Latorre surrounded and captured the ironclad Huáscar, commanded by Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario, who died in...
. The Cochrane was part of the forces that defeated President José Manuel Balmaceda
José Manuel Balmaceda
José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández was the 11th President of Chile from September 18, 1886 to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile...
in the Chilean Civil War
Chilean Civil War
The Chilean Civil War of 1891 was an armed conflict between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the sitting President, José Manuel Balmaceda. The war saw a confrontation between the Chilean Army and the Chilean Navy, which had sided with the president and the congress, respectively...
in 1891.
Background
In 1871 the president of ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Federico Errázuriz Zañartu
Federico Errázuriz Zañartu
Federico Marcos del Rosario Errázuriz Zañartu was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1871 and 1876. He was born in Santiago in 1825 and died there in 1877. Errázuriz was of Basque descent....
, initiated a bill in the Chilean congress to authorize the executive to purchase two armored vessels. The bill passed with only with a single opposing vote (that of the former president Jose Joaquin Perez Mascayano), and provided for two medium sized ships (frigates) and that the total cost of the purchase would be 2,000,000 pesos
Pesos
Pesos may refer to** Peso, the currency, in plural form* Fenfluramine, by the trade name Pesos...
.
Construction and operation
The Chilean ambassador to the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Alberto Blest Gana
Alberto Blest Gana
Alberto Blest Gana was a Chilean novelist and diplomat, considered the father of Chilean novel. Blest Gana was of Irish and Basque descent....
, was placed in charge of the project. Blest Gana hired the British ship designer E.J. Reed
Edward James Reed
Sir Edward James Reed , KCB, FRS, was a British naval architect, author, politician, and railroad magnate. He was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870...
, a former naval architect to the British admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, as technical adviser.
The order was placed at Earle's Shipbuilding
Earle's Shipbuilding
Earle's Shipbuilding was an engineering company that was based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England from 1845 to 1932.-Earle Brothers:...
Co. in Hull, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. The frigates were to be named Almirante Cochrane and Valparaiso (the Valparaiso was subsequently renamed Blanco Encalada). The construction of the Cochrane began in April 1872. The ship was launched and sailed to Chile in 1874, before having been completed, because of fears of a potential conflict with neighboring Argentina and Bolivia. The Cochrane arrived at the port of Valparaiso
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...
on December 26, 1874, commanded by Captain Coneyin and returned to the UK to be completed in January 1877, after her sister, the Valparaiso had arrived.
In January 1878, once the dispute with Argentina had been settled, President Aníbal Pinto
Aníbal Pinto
Aníbal Pinto Garmendia was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1876 and 1881.-Early life:...
instructed Alberto Blest Gana to arrange for the sale of the two frigates in order to alleviate the economic crisis that had prevailed in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
for several years. On behalf of Blest Gana, E. J. Reed offered Cochrane to the UK for the sum of 220,000 pounds sterling, but the British declined. Reed then tried to sell the two ships to Russia, but again without success.
Principle dimensions
Armament
The Cochrane also had a steam boat which was equipped with a torpedo on a bowsprit. The only time this boat was used was on the expedition to Callao, where it was used to try to sink Peruvian ships.
Armor
The ship was protected under the waterline by an armored belt which stretched from around 1.2m (4 feet) under the waterline up to the battery cover. The maximum thickness was 230 mm (9 inches) at the waterline, the center of the ship, and 115 mm (4.5 inches) at the bow and stern. The hull and armor plating were separated by a layer of teak 254 mm (10 inches) thick to reduce the impact of hits. The battery cover, which was flush with the armored belt, was protected by a 76 mm (3 inches) armour in the center of the ship, reducing to 50 mm (2 inches) at the bow and stern. The battery, which had a height of between 2 and 2.5 m, was protected in bands and on the front face by two plates, the lower one 203 mm (8 inches) and the top one 152 mm (6 inches) thick. The back of the battery was protected by armor plating 115 mm (4.5 inches) thick. Like the armor of the hull, this was bolted to a metal structure with an inner lining of teak 304-355 mm (12-14 inches) thick.Propulsion
Cochrane was fitted with both steam and sail propulsion, being rigged as a barquentineBarquentine
A barquentine is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts.-Modern barquentine sailing rig:...
. The power plant, provided by the company John Penn & sons, consisted of two compound steam engines, six boilers and two propellers. The machines had two horizontal cylinders, one high and one low pressure. The high pressure cylinder had a diameter of 1.16 meters (46 inches) while the low pressure cylinder had a diameter of 1.93 meters (76 inches). The race was two cylinders of 762 mm (2 feet 6 inches).
The machines were capable of a maximum total output of 1.23 MW (2,920 HP), providing 90 revolutions per minute. These two machines span propeller blades of four to 4.8 meters (15 feet 9 inches) in diameter and 4.72 meters (15 feet 6 inches) of way.
The steam was supplied by six cylindrical tube boilers with a maximum working pressure of 413.6 kPa (60 psi). The total area of 836.12 sq meters of heating era (9000 ft ²).
This propulsion system allowed the Cochrane, during tests over a measured mile, a top speed of 12.8 knots. However, the maximum operating speed was 12 knots. At this speed fuel consumption was 45 tons of coal per day, with consumption of 35 tons per day at the reduced speed of 10 knots.
Pacific War (1879-1883)
The Cochrane participated in the Pacific War, most prominently being taking part in the defeat and capture of Peruvian monitorMonitor (warship)
A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
Huáscar in the Naval Battle of Angamos
Battle of Angamos
The Battle of Angamos was fought on October 8, 1879, during the naval stage of the War of the Pacific . The Chilean Navy, commanded by Captain Galvarino Riveros and Captain Juan Jose Latorre surrounded and captured the ironclad Huáscar, commanded by Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario, who died in...
, on October 8, 1879. At the start of the war the Cochrane was commanded by Captain Enrique Baeza Simpson and since April 5 was present at the blockade of Iquique
Iquique
Iquique is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census...
.
At the end of June 1879 the Cochrane was the 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...
of the 2nd Naval Division, in charge of the blockade of Iquique with the gunboat Magellan, the corvette Abtao and the Matias Cousiño. On July 16, the Cochrane and Matias Cousiño were relieved by the Blanco Encalada and Lamar, respectively, and withdrew to Antofagasta
Antofagasta
Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 296,905...
.
In August 1879, the Cochrane sailed to Valparaiso
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...
and underwent maintenance for the next month. Captain Juan Jose Latorre
Juan José Latorre
Juan José Latorre Benavente Chilean Vice Admiral, one of the principal actors of the War of the Pacific, and hero of the Battle of Angamos.-Early life:...
then took command. Latorre was also head of the 2nd Naval Division, which also consisted of the Loa and O'Higgins. Cochrane then went on to participate in the decisive naval battle of Angamos
Battle of Angamos
The Battle of Angamos was fought on October 8, 1879, during the naval stage of the War of the Pacific . The Chilean Navy, commanded by Captain Galvarino Riveros and Captain Juan Jose Latorre surrounded and captured the ironclad Huáscar, commanded by Rear Admiral Miguel Grau Seminario, who died in...
. The Cochrane was also present in 1880 when the Peruvian corvette Union broke the blockade of Arica.
Civil War of 1891
During the Civil War of 1891Chilean Civil War
The Chilean Civil War of 1891 was an armed conflict between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the sitting President, José Manuel Balmaceda. The war saw a confrontation between the Chilean Army and the Chilean Navy, which had sided with the president and the congress, respectively...
Cochrane was part of the forces that defeated President José Manuel Balmaceda
José Manuel Balmaceda
José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández was the 11th President of Chile from September 18, 1886 to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile...
.
At dusk on January 7, 1891, the Cochrane towed the Huáscar
Huáscar (ship)
Huáscar is a 19th century small armoured turret ship of a type similar to a monitor. She was built in Britain for Peru and played a significant role in the battle of Pacocha and the War of the Pacific against Chile before being captured and commissioned with the Chilean Navy. Today she is one of...
, which had had her machines dismantled, from the Bay of Valparaiso
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...
to Las Salinas, where the Huáscar was prepared for service. On August 23, 1891, she participated in the battle against the forces at Valparaiso, along with the Esmerelda and under the command of Jorge Montt
Jorge Montt
Jorge Montt Álvarez was vice-admiral of the Chilean Navy and president of Chile from 1891 to 1896.-Early life:...
. The Cochrane took between 10 and 12 hits, whilst the Esmeralda took between 6 and 8.