ARA El Plata was the first of two El Plata-class monitors built in Britain in the 1870s for the Argentine Navy.
 Watercolor of El Plata
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Argentina | |
| Name | ARA El Plata |
| Builder | Laird Brothers, Birkenhead |
| Launched | 29 August 1874 |
| Stricken | 16 November 1927 |
| Fate | Sold, 1927 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Type | El Plata-class monitor |
| Displacement | 1,535–1,677 long tons (1,560–1,704 t) |
| Length | 180 ft (54.9 m) (p/p) |
| Beam | 44 ft (13.4 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 1 in (2.8 m) |
| Installed power | 750 ihp (560 kW) |
| Propulsion | 2 shafts, 2 compound steam engines |
| Speed | 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
| Range | 1,400 nmi (2,600 km; 1,600 mi) |
| Complement | 120 |
| Armament |
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| Armor |
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Description
editEl Plata was 186 feet (56.7 m) long overall, with a beam of 44 feet (13.4 m) and a draft of 9.5–10.5 feet (2.9–3.2 m). She displaced 1,535–1,677 long tons (1,560–1,704 t), and her crew numbered 120 officers and enlisted men.[1]
The ship had two compound steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft, rated at a total power of 750 indicated horsepower (560 kW). This gave her a maximum speed of 9–9.5 knots (16.7–17.6 km/h; 10.4–10.9 mph). El Plata carried 120 long tons (122 t) of coal which gave her a range of approximately 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km; 1,600 mi).[1]
History
editARA El Plata was ordered by President Sarmiento in 1872, along with her sister ship Los Andes.[2] She was intended to serve as a river monitor, due to concerns regarding the use of low-freeboard turret ships at sea following the HMS Captain disaster.[2] Despite the Argentine Navy's concerns, she spent much of her service life on seagoing expeditions, and she also served as a guard ship for the mouths of major rivers.
See also
editReferences
editNotes
edit- ^ a b Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 401; Ironclads Vasco da Gama and Andes, p. 108; Silverstone, p. 11
- ^ a b Branfill-Cook, Roger (30 August 2016). River Gunboats: An Illustrated Encyclopaedia. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84832-380-3.
Bibliography
edit- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-133-5.
- Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-907-3.
- "Ironclads Vasco da Gama and Andes". Warship International. X (1). Toledo, Ohio: Naval Records Club: 106–08. 1973.
External links
edit- "MONITOR A.R.A. "EL PLATA" 1875". Histarmar - Historia y Arqueologia Marítima (in Spanish). FUNDACION HISTARMAR. Retrieved 3 July 2014.