Chilean cruiser Chacabuco (1898)

The Chilean cruiser Chacabuco was a protected cruiser of the Chilean Navy. Built at the end of the 19th Century, the Chacabuco had a remarkably long and varied career spanning nearly half a century.

For other ships with the same name, see Chilean ship Chacabuco.
Chilean cruiser Chacabuco, 1898
History
Chile
NameChacabuco
NamesakeBattle of Chacabuco
BuilderArmstrong Whitworth
Launched4 July 1898
Acquired1902
Out of serviceDecember 1950
Stricken15 December 1959
FateScrapped
General characteristics
Class and typeProtected cruiser
Displacement4,160 long tons (4,230 t)
Length360 ft (109.7 m)
Beam46 ft 6 in (14.2 m)
Draught17 ft (5.2 m)
Installed power15,700 ihp (11,700 kW)
Propulsion
Speed23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Complement400
Armament
Armour

History

The Chacabuco was built as a private venture by Armstrong Whitworth to a typical Elswick cruiser design, and was launched on 4 July 1898, under the provisional name of Fourth of July; she was acquired by Chile in 1902, just before the end of the Argentine–Chilean naval arms race. The Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser Takasago was the sister ship of the Chacabuco.

During her lengthy career the Chacabuco performed numerous tasks: apart from routine patrol and hydrographic duties, she was notable for her role in maintaining order in the aftermath of the 1906 Valparaíso earthquake; her involvement in the Santa María School massacre in 1907;[1]: 340  her visit to Britain for the fleet review to mark the coronation of King George V in 1911; and her relief effort to the victims of the 1922 Vallenar earthquake. The Chacabuco was put into reserve in 1928.

In 1941, as Chile strove to maintain its neutrality during World War II, the Chacabuco was brought out of reserve despite her age: by then there were no other cruisers available to the Chilean Navy. She underwent modernization, with her armament changed to six 6 inch/50 guns and ten 20 mm anti-aircraft guns. Thereafter she served as the flagship of the Chilean Navy on several occasions, before becoming a midshipmen training cruiser from 1949 to 1950.

The Chacabuco went out of service in December 1950; she was struck on 15 December 1959, and was sold to the Compañía de Acero del Pacífico for scrapping.

Chilean cruiser Chacabuco

See also

Media related to Chilean cruiser Chacabuco (1898) at Wikimedia Commons

References
  1. Carlos López Urrutia (1969). Historia de la Marina de Chile. Andres Bello. GGKEY:9XDHU6QU6DA. Retrieved 9 January 2013.


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