Fourth Battle of Topolobampo
Encyclopedia
The Fourth Battle of Topolobampo was a single ship action fought during the Mexican Revolution
and the last naval battle of the Topolobampo Campaign. In June 1914, a Huerista
gunboat
sank a Constitutionalist
gunboat off Topolobampo, Sinaloa in the Gulf of California
.
and the first sinking of the Constitutionalist gunboat Tampico, the rebel sailors under Captain
Hilario Malpica raised their ship which was patially submerged behind Shell Point
, at the mouth of Topolobampo Bay. Several United States Navy
ships were in the area, observing the campaign. Flagship
USS California, , and were all present and were under the Pacific Fleet
commander Rear Admiral
Thomas B. Howard
in California. was also in the area. Much of the campaign is remembered by Rear Admiral Howard's and his officer's reports of the battles.
On June 11, 1914, the Tampico was sighted by Howard when off Mazatlán
while commanding his flagship. On Sunday, June 14, 1914, Howard received a report that Tampico was steaming away from Topolobampo to Altata
. Rear Admiral Howard ordered destroyer
USS Preble, under Lieutenant Junior Grade Vance Duncan Chapline, to find the Tampico and follow her. The Preble immediately got under way at about 3:30 pm. From Mazatlán she steamed north toward Topolobampo. The destroyer Perry, which was off La Paz
, was ordered to head for Topolobampo and report to the Preble for further instructions with her radio. Prebles commander, did not know what course or speed the Tampico was making so he slowly proceeded to Topolobampo, hoping to sight Tampico at around daylight the next morning.
At roughly 7:30 am on June 15, Tampico was sighted to the west. The position was latitude 25° 14' north, and Longitude 109° 01' west. Preble approached to within two miles of Tampico and stopped. Tampicos crew spotted Preble and also stopped. A few moments later a lifeboat was dropped and a Mexican officer, named Rebatet, boarded Preble and issued compliments from Captain Malpica. Rebatet also told the Lieutenant Chapline about how Tampico was under water for two months, as result of the third action off Topolobampo. On June 14, Tampico left Topolobampo under one boiler and proceeded to sea en route to Altata, Mexico. There Captain Malpica expected to retube Tampicos boilers and improve the quality of her machinery.
From there Malpica's mission would be to attack the Huerista gunboat Guerrero, operating out of Guaymas
. After destroying the Guerrero, Tampico would begin a commerce raiding
campaign against targets along the west coast of Mexico. The Tampico had steamed only thirty miles when her one remaining boiler had burned out of action, rendering the Constitutionalist saliors stranded with no means of propulsion. Repairs to the boiler were attempted but proved fruitless, eventually Captain Malpica requested that the American destroyer tow Tampico into Altata, eighty miles away. By this time, USS Perry had arrived, Lieutenant Chapline was forced to deny Malpica's request for a tow, as doing so would violate American neutrality. The Mexicans then asked Lieutenant Chapline to send a radio message to Rear Admiral Howard. Captain Malpica also asked if Prebles commander would come to see him.
Prebles radioman sent the message to the Rear Admiral, as Malpica requested; at about 5:30 pm Lieutenant Chapline boarded the Tampico. At the time Malpica's leg was covered in bandages; a week or so earlier he had accidentally fired his revolver
into his foot and could barely walk during the final battle. Captain Malpica was happy to learn that a message was sent to Rear Admiral Howard and invited the Americans to inspect the poor condition Tampico was in. The U.S. Navy officers inspected the Mexican gunboat which was armed with two 4 inch guns, two 6-pounders and one machine gun
on the bridge. The Tampico had a raised deck forward and aft, on each of which was mounted one of the 4 inch rapid-fire guns. Four other 6-pounder guns were originally part of Tampicos armament but they were removed before the campaign. The rebels expected trouble with the 4 inch guns; upon examination, the Americans discovered that their breech block hinges were loose, the rifling badly eroded, and much movement was lost as a result of the training- and elevating-gears, covered in filth from being underwater. Furthermore, the rear gun sights could not be lined up with the front sights.
The two 6-pounders appeared to be in fine condition. About 100 to 200 4 inch armor-piercing, blind and shrapnel shells were available, but most were weathered though due to exposure to the elements or from being submerged in Topolobampo Bay. The 6-pounders had plenty of ammunition but again the shells were in bad shape and dangerous to fire. Crates of small arms ammunition littered the vessel, some whole and filled with ammo, others splintered to pieces. The whole crates were stacked on the bridge and inside the captain's quarters. Among the debris three cows roamed the hold, adding to the mess. The engines were in a bad state, covered in rust. The generator was destroyed by salt water, meaning no lights could be used and Tampicos crew had to use lanterns at night. The two boilers were "dead"; the fronts of the casings were missing along with the hand-hole plates. Tubes inside the boilers were visible; salt crystals hung from them – the steam piping, the fresh-water piping, and the gauges. About 500 tubes needed plugging according to the Mexican engineers. The rebels improvised with wooden table legs to plug the holes.
Many of the Tampicos crew wore bandages over their wounds from previous engagements. The crew consisted of Captain Malpica, an executive officer
, a chief engineer
, and an assistant engineer with three machinist
s. Twenty-nine sailors were aboard with a reinforcement of twenty-five rebel soldiers, to make up for the missing Tampico crew members. Sixty-one men in total. The American captain informed Malpica that a radio response from Rear Admiral Howard was not likely to happen that day so the U.S. sailors went back to their ship. Tampico would be sunk before the Americans received a response from their rear admiral. Guerrero was armed with six 4 inch guns and had an unknown number of crew, she was commanded by Captain Navio Torres of the Mexican Navy
. When the American commander asked Malpica what he would do when he encountered the Guerrero, he replied:
"I'll fight her and sink her if she will only come within range of my guns."
During the same night the Lieutenant Chapline intercepted a radio communique from USS New Orleans, under Commander
Noble E. Irwin
, to Rear Admiral Howard. The 8:00 pm message stated that the New Orleans was shadowing the Guerrero as she headed south from Guaymas and straight for Tampico. With this information the Americans were able to estimate a reasonable time period for Guerrero and New Orleans arrival, which was around 7:00 am the following morning. Tampico was in terrible shape for her last battle; also, sometime during the same night of June 15, she drifted over a shoal
and ran aground. It was at this position, latitude 25° 28' 30" North, Longitude 109° 18', that the Guerrero would sink Tampico for a final time. Perry and Prebbles commanders were ordered to simply wait for Guerrero and New Orleans and to report every event of the battle but assist neither side. This meant that the Americans were not able to warn Tampico of the incoming Guerrero as it apparently would violate neutrality.
Tampicos shots fell 400 yards short and Guerrero fired back with one gun; her shots hit the water 1,000 yards over Tampico. A gunnery battle at a range of 8,000 yards continued for many moments. The crews of the American vessels were very excited according to Lieutenant Chapline and predominantly in favor of Tampico, not because of the political situation but because the Americans knew of Tampicos poor condition. The Americans covered the decks of their ships and climbed onto the rigging to observe with binoculars. Whenever one of Tampicos shells fell near Guerrero, the Americans would cheer and whenever Tampico was hit they would groan and criticize the bad gunnery of both the Tampico and Guerrero. The battle initially continued for about an hour before either side made any hits. The American quartermaster
aboard Preble joked by saying that
"Those boobs on the Tampico will starve to death before the Guerrero hits her."
Throughout the engagement, Preble steamed back and forth, in between the two fighting Mexican gunboats. Whenever the Guerrero came about the Americans would follow each of her movements but never interfered as they remained one to two miles away from Guerrero at all times. Eventually most of Tampicos guns were in action, her two 4 inch guns and starboard 6-pounder. The machine gun mounted on the bridge was never used, as was the same for the portside 6-pounder. Guerrero never came within range of small arms and never maneuvered to Tampicos port; she used all of her 4 inch guns. Lieutenant Chapline ordered a yeoman
to stand near him during the action, with a stopwatch, pad and pencil. The yeoman's orders were to write down every event and the times in which they occurred. The gunnery of both Mexican gunboats was reported as being very "erratic". Later during the battle, while observing the Tampico, the crew of Preble discovered that the Constitutionalist gunners would actually line up for a shot on Guerrero, then lie down and pull the firing lanyard, making no attempt to properly aim the guns.
The same procedure was used by the gunners of Guerrero according to Prebles crew but this was contradicted by the Lieutenant Chapline's, who said he could see the gun pointers just before the Guerrero fired. At 7:51 am the range reduced a little so the Guerrero changed course to starboard and away from the Tampico. At 8:02 the Guerrero stopped for a moment with her starboard broadside aimed at Tampico and fired; the range was around 6,000 yards; still neither Mexican gunboat inflicted a hit on the other. Many of the Tampicos shells were falling about 3,000 yards in front of Guerrero, the Americans deemed this as result of water damaged ammunition or the dirty elevating gears on the 4 inch guns. When at 8:20 am, Guerrero came about again, presented her port broadside to the Tampico before firing another. The Americans reported that the rate of firing increased at that time but all shells were falling short of target. At 8:22 am the Guerrero began advancing toward the Tampico slowly, at 8:24 am she made her first hit after well over a half an hour of fighting. The round hit the main deck between the poop
and the main mast
. A big cloud of white smoke confirmed the hit, but Tampico appeared to have suffered no serious damage. This shell was shrapnel, after the sea action, the Americans learned that Guerrero fired primarily shrapnel rounds during the combat.
The rate of fire decreased a little at this point and no further hits were made by either side for some moments. At 8:34 one of the life boats, attached to Tampicos starboard, came loose and went adrift. A minute later, the Guerrero advanced to a range of 4,000 yards and then changed course to port, away from the Tampico. This was the closest the two warships came to each other; it is believed that at this range, Tampico scored two hits on Guerrero. Both hits inflicted no major damage though. Guerrero came about once more at 8:40 am and a few minutes later, scored her second hit. This shell struck the Tampicos gafif which pulled down the large Mexican flag. Again there was no major damage to the ship but morale was indeed hurt aboard Tampico. Two minutes later, at 8:50 am, Guerrero turned around, away from Tampico, then came back around and presented her portside battery at a range of 5,000 yards. Guerrero fired and from this point on, several additional rounds struck the Tampico. The Americans noted that at this time the Guerrero was firing at the rate of two shots per minutes with her 4-guns and Tampico fired at the rate of one shot every two minutes with three of her guns.
As Tampico only had 100 to 200 4 inch rounds at he start of hostilities, they concluded that Captain Malpica may have been preserving his armour piercing shells for when Guerrero came within close range. Two additional life boats went adrift at 9:01 am, a few minutes later Guerrero began to fire salvo
s. One of the salvos was sighted as hitting the water 500 yards over Tampico, another 1,000 yards over and a final, 2,000 yards over target. None of the shots hit. The Guerrero was still heading for Tampico at 9:14 am when she slowed down and fired some more before coming about to port again at 9:17 am. Lieutenant Chapline, after the action, discovered that Tampico was hit more often than what he and his crew were able to observe. One hit at the starboard bow, close to the unused 6-pounder gun, and exploded within the forecastle
. Another struck near the portside 4-inch gun, which apparently damaged the weapon as it was not fired again after about 9:10. When 9:18 am came, a shrapnel shell exploded just in front of the Tampico. This shell did not seem to harm Malpica's gunboat but the metal fragments killed some of the crew members, standing on deck.
A couple minutes later smoke and fire was seen on Tampicos quarterdeck. No attempt was made to extinguish the flames, Tampicos boilers were broken so no pressure was available to push water out of the fire-mains. At 9:42, Captain Malpica ordered his crew to abandon ship. At 9:45 the flames on Tampicos quarterdeck grew larger and much smoke began to cover Tampico. Men aboard the rebel gunboat continued to fire the remaining 4 inch gun as the others left their ship. One of the gunners took up the large Mexican ensign and held it up with his hand until all of the other crew members were safely in life boats. Guerrero continued shooting until 9:50 am when the battle ended. The Tampicos crew, in their boats, began to head for shore so Guerrero proceeded at full speed for the life boats in order to capture the rebels before they could reach shoal water and escape. The Preble took the time to proceed to Tampico to give aid to the crewmen that remained aboard the ship.
The Preble came within fifty yards of Tampico, there her crew witnessed several Mexicans running around on deck waving white rags as a sign of surrender. The men climbed all the way down the anchor cable but refused to jump into the water in order to swim to the American destroyer. During all of this, the fire was spreading aboard Tampico and began to start setting off the crates of small arms ammunition. A moment after that the fire reached the powder magazine
; a large explosion ensued and 4 inch shells were launched in "every direction" according to Lieutenant Chapline. Some of the shots passed through Prebles rigging. USS New Orleans lowered two boats and sent them to pick up the rest of Tampicos crew, six men. The last man rescued was Tampicos paymaster, Rebatet, who was found by Guerrero, severely wounded and holding onto a wooden plank of wreckage.
months earlier. Malpica had served with many of Guereros crew members, prior to his mutiny. Captain Torres sent a radio message to Commander Irwin of New Orleans, thanking the United States Navy warships for half-masting their colors for the sake of Malpica. After taking an unknown number of prisoners, Guerrero returned to a position 400 yards south of the burning Tampico. Guerrero anchored and boats were sent to Tampico with the intention of investigating her condition.
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A tow-line was passed from the stern of Guerrero to Tampicos bow but Tampico was in no condition to be salvaged so the tow-line was later cut and Tampico finished sinking to the bottom. By 12:00 am, Tampico was fully submerged under twenty-two fathoms of water. A U.S. Navy medic helped tend to an unknown number of wounded crewmen aboard Guerrero; two shot-holes were also observed by the Americans when they went aboard Guerrero. Captain Torres also informed Lieutenant Chapline that he ordered his crew to fire high, in hopes of killing Tampicos crew without damaging the gunboat. Tampico was hit a total of twelve times during the fight, five shells struck above the waterline and seven underneath. Five men were killed during the battle, excluding Captain Malpica, and another died the following day. Around thirty rebel sailors were wounded, twelve of them seriously. Captain Torres did not request that the New Orleans surrender the six men she picked up; they were later transported to the United States and escaped becoming prisoners of war.
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
and the last naval battle of the Topolobampo Campaign. In June 1914, a Huerista
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
sank a Constitutionalist
Constitutionalists in the Mexican Revolution
Constitutionalists, or Carranzistas were the third faction in the Mexican Revolution consisting of mainly middle-class urbanites, liberals, and intellectuals who desired a constitution under the guidelines “Mexico for Mexicans”...
gunboat off Topolobampo, Sinaloa in the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
.
Background
After the Third Battle of TopolobampoThird Battle of Topolobampo
The Third Battle of Topolobampo was a single ship action during the Mexican Revolution. At the end of March 1914, a Constitutionalist gunboat attempted to break the blockade of Topolobampo, Sinaloa after failing in the First and Second Battles of Topolobampo...
and the first sinking of the Constitutionalist gunboat Tampico, the rebel sailors under Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Hilario Malpica raised their ship which was patially submerged behind Shell Point
Shell Point
Shell Point can refer to:* Shell Point, Sinaloa* Shell Point, Florida* Shell Point, South Carolina...
, at the mouth of Topolobampo Bay. Several United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
ships were in the area, observing the campaign. 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...
USS California, , and were all present and were under the Pacific Fleet
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...
commander Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Thomas B. Howard
Thomas B. Howard
*...
in California. was also in the area. Much of the campaign is remembered by Rear Admiral Howard's and his officer's reports of the battles.
On June 11, 1914, the Tampico was sighted by Howard when off Mazatlán
Mazatlán
Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...
while commanding his flagship. On Sunday, June 14, 1914, Howard received a report that Tampico was steaming away from Topolobampo to Altata
Altata
Altata is a small town connected to the Pacific Ocean, located about 45 miles west of Culiacán, Sinaloa in Mexico. It has a very nice beach and much wildlife: octopus, toninas, starfish, jellyfish, shark, birds, and many fish species. El Tambor and Nuevo Altata are nearby beaches. The area would...
. Rear Admiral Howard ordered destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
USS Preble, under Lieutenant Junior Grade Vance Duncan Chapline, to find the Tampico and follow her. The Preble immediately got under way at about 3:30 pm. From Mazatlán she steamed north toward Topolobampo. The destroyer Perry, which was off La Paz
La Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...
, was ordered to head for Topolobampo and report to the Preble for further instructions with her radio. Prebles commander, did not know what course or speed the Tampico was making so he slowly proceeded to Topolobampo, hoping to sight Tampico at around daylight the next morning.
At roughly 7:30 am on June 15, Tampico was sighted to the west. The position was latitude 25° 14' north, and Longitude 109° 01' west. Preble approached to within two miles of Tampico and stopped. Tampicos crew spotted Preble and also stopped. A few moments later a lifeboat was dropped and a Mexican officer, named Rebatet, boarded Preble and issued compliments from Captain Malpica. Rebatet also told the Lieutenant Chapline about how Tampico was under water for two months, as result of the third action off Topolobampo. On June 14, Tampico left Topolobampo under one boiler and proceeded to sea en route to Altata, Mexico. There Captain Malpica expected to retube Tampicos boilers and improve the quality of her machinery.
From there Malpica's mission would be to attack the Huerista gunboat Guerrero, operating out of Guaymas
Guaymas
Guaymas is a city and municipality located in the southwest part of the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. The city is located 117 km south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and 242 miles from the U.S. border, and is the principal port for the state. The municipality is located in the...
. After destroying the Guerrero, Tampico would begin a commerce raiding
Commerce raiding
Commerce raiding or guerre de course is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt the logistics of an enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a blockade against them.Commerce raiding was heavily criticised by...
campaign against targets along the west coast of Mexico. The Tampico had steamed only thirty miles when her one remaining boiler had burned out of action, rendering the Constitutionalist saliors stranded with no means of propulsion. Repairs to the boiler were attempted but proved fruitless, eventually Captain Malpica requested that the American destroyer tow Tampico into Altata, eighty miles away. By this time, USS Perry had arrived, Lieutenant Chapline was forced to deny Malpica's request for a tow, as doing so would violate American neutrality. The Mexicans then asked Lieutenant Chapline to send a radio message to Rear Admiral Howard. Captain Malpica also asked if Prebles commander would come to see him.
Prebles radioman sent the message to the Rear Admiral, as Malpica requested; at about 5:30 pm Lieutenant Chapline boarded the Tampico. At the time Malpica's leg was covered in bandages; a week or so earlier he had accidentally fired his revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
into his foot and could barely walk during the final battle. Captain Malpica was happy to learn that a message was sent to Rear Admiral Howard and invited the Americans to inspect the poor condition Tampico was in. The U.S. Navy officers inspected the Mexican gunboat which was armed with two 4 inch guns, two 6-pounders and one machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
on the bridge. The Tampico had a raised deck forward and aft, on each of which was mounted one of the 4 inch rapid-fire guns. Four other 6-pounder guns were originally part of Tampicos armament but they were removed before the campaign. The rebels expected trouble with the 4 inch guns; upon examination, the Americans discovered that their breech block hinges were loose, the rifling badly eroded, and much movement was lost as a result of the training- and elevating-gears, covered in filth from being underwater. Furthermore, the rear gun sights could not be lined up with the front sights.
The two 6-pounders appeared to be in fine condition. About 100 to 200 4 inch armor-piercing, blind and shrapnel shells were available, but most were weathered though due to exposure to the elements or from being submerged in Topolobampo Bay. The 6-pounders had plenty of ammunition but again the shells were in bad shape and dangerous to fire. Crates of small arms ammunition littered the vessel, some whole and filled with ammo, others splintered to pieces. The whole crates were stacked on the bridge and inside the captain's quarters. Among the debris three cows roamed the hold, adding to the mess. The engines were in a bad state, covered in rust. The generator was destroyed by salt water, meaning no lights could be used and Tampicos crew had to use lanterns at night. The two boilers were "dead"; the fronts of the casings were missing along with the hand-hole plates. Tubes inside the boilers were visible; salt crystals hung from them – the steam piping, the fresh-water piping, and the gauges. About 500 tubes needed plugging according to the Mexican engineers. The rebels improvised with wooden table legs to plug the holes.
Many of the Tampicos crew wore bandages over their wounds from previous engagements. The crew consisted of Captain Malpica, an executive officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
, a chief engineer
Chief Engineer
In marine transportation, the chief engineer is a licensed mariner in charge of the engineering department on a merchant vessel. "Chief engineer" is the official title of someone qualified to oversee the entire engine department; the qualification is colloquially called a "chief's...
, and an assistant engineer with three machinist
Machinist
A machinist is a person who uses machine tools to make or modify parts, primarily metal parts, a process known as machining. This is accomplished by using machine tools to cut away excess material much as a woodcarver cuts away excess wood to produce his work. In addition to metal, the parts may...
s. Twenty-nine sailors were aboard with a reinforcement of twenty-five rebel soldiers, to make up for the missing Tampico crew members. Sixty-one men in total. The American captain informed Malpica that a radio response from Rear Admiral Howard was not likely to happen that day so the U.S. sailors went back to their ship. Tampico would be sunk before the Americans received a response from their rear admiral. Guerrero was armed with six 4 inch guns and had an unknown number of crew, she was commanded by Captain Navio Torres of the Mexican Navy
Mexican Navy
The Mexican Navy is the naval branch of the Mexican military responsible for conducting naval operations. Its stated mission is "to use the naval force of the federation for the exterior defense, and to help with internal order". The Navy consists of about 56,000 men and women plus reserves, over...
. When the American commander asked Malpica what he would do when he encountered the Guerrero, he replied:
"I'll fight her and sink her if she will only come within range of my guns."
During the same night the Lieutenant Chapline intercepted a radio communique from USS New Orleans, under Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
Noble E. Irwin
Noble E. Irwin
Noble Edward Irwin was a United States Navy Rear Admiral and Navy Cross recipient.-Biography:He was born at Greenfield, Ohio on September 29, 1869. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in June 1891, and was wounded in action 1 May 1898 while aboard the USS Baltimore in the Battle of...
, to Rear Admiral Howard. The 8:00 pm message stated that the New Orleans was shadowing the Guerrero as she headed south from Guaymas and straight for Tampico. With this information the Americans were able to estimate a reasonable time period for Guerrero and New Orleans arrival, which was around 7:00 am the following morning. Tampico was in terrible shape for her last battle; also, sometime during the same night of June 15, she drifted over a shoal
Shoal
Shoal, shoals or shoaling may mean:* Shoal, a sandbank or reef creating shallow water, especially where it forms a hazard to shipping* Shoal draught , of a boat with shallow draught which can pass over some shoals: see Draft...
and ran aground. It was at this position, latitude 25° 28' 30" North, Longitude 109° 18', that the Guerrero would sink Tampico for a final time. Perry and Prebbles commanders were ordered to simply wait for Guerrero and New Orleans and to report every event of the battle but assist neither side. This meant that the Americans were not able to warn Tampico of the incoming Guerrero as it apparently would violate neutrality.
Battle
Just before daylight, June 16, 1914, The two American destroyers and Tampico sighted two fast-approaching vessels to the north. The weather was well, clear skies and warm air with just a slight breeze; the California Gulf was very calm. At around 5:30 am the two ships were identified as Guerrero and USS New Orleans. The Guerrero came to a halt and cleared for action and at about 7:00 am, began her advance towards Tampico. Tampicos huge Mexican National Ensign was hoisted and life boats lowered on the unengaged starboard side, reportedly the only preparations the rebels made before the action. The Huerista gunboat raised her flag, which was identical to Tampicos but a little smaller. Tampico commenced the action at 7:47 am by firing her 4 inch guns at the now stationary Guerrero.Tampicos shots fell 400 yards short and Guerrero fired back with one gun; her shots hit the water 1,000 yards over Tampico. A gunnery battle at a range of 8,000 yards continued for many moments. The crews of the American vessels were very excited according to Lieutenant Chapline and predominantly in favor of Tampico, not because of the political situation but because the Americans knew of Tampicos poor condition. The Americans covered the decks of their ships and climbed onto the rigging to observe with binoculars. Whenever one of Tampicos shells fell near Guerrero, the Americans would cheer and whenever Tampico was hit they would groan and criticize the bad gunnery of both the Tampico and Guerrero. The battle initially continued for about an hour before either side made any hits. The American quartermaster
Quartermaster
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
aboard Preble joked by saying that
"Those boobs on the Tampico will starve to death before the Guerrero hits her."
Throughout the engagement, Preble steamed back and forth, in between the two fighting Mexican gunboats. Whenever the Guerrero came about the Americans would follow each of her movements but never interfered as they remained one to two miles away from Guerrero at all times. Eventually most of Tampicos guns were in action, her two 4 inch guns and starboard 6-pounder. The machine gun mounted on the bridge was never used, as was the same for the portside 6-pounder. Guerrero never came within range of small arms and never maneuvered to Tampicos port; she used all of her 4 inch guns. Lieutenant Chapline ordered a yeoman
Yeoman
Yeoman refers chiefly to a free man owning his own farm, especially from the Elizabethan era to the 17th century. Work requiring a great deal of effort or labor, such as would be done by a yeoman farmer, came to be described as "yeoman's work"...
to stand near him during the action, with a stopwatch, pad and pencil. The yeoman's orders were to write down every event and the times in which they occurred. The gunnery of both Mexican gunboats was reported as being very "erratic". Later during the battle, while observing the Tampico, the crew of Preble discovered that the Constitutionalist gunners would actually line up for a shot on Guerrero, then lie down and pull the firing lanyard, making no attempt to properly aim the guns.
The same procedure was used by the gunners of Guerrero according to Prebles crew but this was contradicted by the Lieutenant Chapline's, who said he could see the gun pointers just before the Guerrero fired. At 7:51 am the range reduced a little so the Guerrero changed course to starboard and away from the Tampico. At 8:02 the Guerrero stopped for a moment with her starboard broadside aimed at Tampico and fired; the range was around 6,000 yards; still neither Mexican gunboat inflicted a hit on the other. Many of the Tampicos shells were falling about 3,000 yards in front of Guerrero, the Americans deemed this as result of water damaged ammunition or the dirty elevating gears on the 4 inch guns. When at 8:20 am, Guerrero came about again, presented her port broadside to the Tampico before firing another. The Americans reported that the rate of firing increased at that time but all shells were falling short of target. At 8:22 am the Guerrero began advancing toward the Tampico slowly, at 8:24 am she made her first hit after well over a half an hour of fighting. The round hit the main deck between the poop
Poop
Poop may refer to: * Feces, waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus** Defecation, the act or process by which organisms eliminate feces** Pooper-scooper, used by pet owners to pick up their pet's fecal matter...
and the main mast
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
. A big cloud of white smoke confirmed the hit, but Tampico appeared to have suffered no serious damage. This shell was shrapnel, after the sea action, the Americans learned that Guerrero fired primarily shrapnel rounds during the combat.
The rate of fire decreased a little at this point and no further hits were made by either side for some moments. At 8:34 one of the life boats, attached to Tampicos starboard, came loose and went adrift. A minute later, the Guerrero advanced to a range of 4,000 yards and then changed course to port, away from the Tampico. This was the closest the two warships came to each other; it is believed that at this range, Tampico scored two hits on Guerrero. Both hits inflicted no major damage though. Guerrero came about once more at 8:40 am and a few minutes later, scored her second hit. This shell struck the Tampicos gafif which pulled down the large Mexican flag. Again there was no major damage to the ship but morale was indeed hurt aboard Tampico. Two minutes later, at 8:50 am, Guerrero turned around, away from Tampico, then came back around and presented her portside battery at a range of 5,000 yards. Guerrero fired and from this point on, several additional rounds struck the Tampico. The Americans noted that at this time the Guerrero was firing at the rate of two shots per minutes with her 4-guns and Tampico fired at the rate of one shot every two minutes with three of her guns.
As Tampico only had 100 to 200 4 inch rounds at he start of hostilities, they concluded that Captain Malpica may have been preserving his armour piercing shells for when Guerrero came within close range. Two additional life boats went adrift at 9:01 am, a few minutes later Guerrero began to fire salvo
Salvo
A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute.Troops armed with muzzleloaders required time in which to refill their arms with gun powder and shot...
s. One of the salvos was sighted as hitting the water 500 yards over Tampico, another 1,000 yards over and a final, 2,000 yards over target. None of the shots hit. The Guerrero was still heading for Tampico at 9:14 am when she slowed down and fired some more before coming about to port again at 9:17 am. Lieutenant Chapline, after the action, discovered that Tampico was hit more often than what he and his crew were able to observe. One hit at the starboard bow, close to the unused 6-pounder gun, and exploded within the forecastle
Forecastle
Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
. Another struck near the portside 4-inch gun, which apparently damaged the weapon as it was not fired again after about 9:10. When 9:18 am came, a shrapnel shell exploded just in front of the Tampico. This shell did not seem to harm Malpica's gunboat but the metal fragments killed some of the crew members, standing on deck.
The Preble came within fifty yards of Tampico, there her crew witnessed several Mexicans running around on deck waving white rags as a sign of surrender. The men climbed all the way down the anchor cable but refused to jump into the water in order to swim to the American destroyer. During all of this, the fire was spreading aboard Tampico and began to start setting off the crates of small arms ammunition. A moment after that the fire reached the powder magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
; a large explosion ensued and 4 inch shells were launched in "every direction" according to Lieutenant Chapline. Some of the shots passed through Prebles rigging. USS New Orleans lowered two boats and sent them to pick up the rest of Tampicos crew, six men. The last man rescued was Tampicos paymaster, Rebatet, who was found by Guerrero, severely wounded and holding onto a wooden plank of wreckage.
Aftermath
After about thirty minutes of pursuit, the Guerrero caught up with the two boats filled with the Tampicos crew. There were no more chances to escape so Captain Malpica ordered his boats to Guerreros side for a surrender. While the rebel sailors were climbing up the Guerreros ladder, Captain Hilario Malpica, stood up within his launch, removed his revolver from his side, placed it calmly to his head and fired. Immediately Captain Torres of Guerrero ordered his flag at half mast to honor the now dead Captain Malpica, the American vessels did the same. When the fighting was well over, Lieutenant Chapline learned from Captain Torres that Malpica was a well-respected man, despite his mutinyMutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
months earlier. Malpica had served with many of Guereros crew members, prior to his mutiny. Captain Torres sent a radio message to Commander Irwin of New Orleans, thanking the United States Navy warships for half-masting their colors for the sake of Malpica. After taking an unknown number of prisoners, Guerrero returned to a position 400 yards south of the burning Tampico. Guerrero anchored and boats were sent to Tampico with the intention of investigating her condition.
See also
- single ship action
- First Battle of TopolobampoFirst Battle of TopolobampoThe First Battle of Topolobampo was a bloodless engagement and one of the few naval battles of the Mexican Revolution. The small action occurred off Topolobampo, Mexico and involved three gunboats, two from the Mexican Navy and another which mutinied from the armada and joined the rebel...
- Second Battle of TopolobampoSecond Battle of TopolobampoThe Second Battle of Topolobampo was a bloodless naval engagement during the Mexican Revolution. In March of 1914, a rebel Constitutionalist gunboat attempted to break the blockade of Topolobampo, Sinaloa in Mexico...
- Third Battle of TopolobampoThird Battle of TopolobampoThe Third Battle of Topolobampo was a single ship action during the Mexican Revolution. At the end of March 1914, a Constitutionalist gunboat attempted to break the blockade of Topolobampo, Sinaloa after failing in the First and Second Battles of Topolobampo...