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Libertad circa 1893 | |
History | |
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Argentina | |
Name | Libertad |
Namesake | Libertad, the Spanish word for "freedom" |
Ordered | 1889 |
Builder | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, United Kingdom |
Laid down | 1890 |
Launched | 1892 |
Completed | 1892 |
Commissioned | 26 November 1892 |
Decommissioned | 1947 (Navy) 1968 (Coast Guard) |
Fate | Scrapped |
General characteristics | |
Type | Coastal defense ship |
Displacement | 2336 tons |
Length | 73.15 m (240.0 ft) |
Beam | 13.55 m (44.5 ft) |
Draft | 3.96 m (13.0 ft) |
Propulsion | 2-shaft, 2 Vertical Compound steam engines, 3,000 ihp (2,200 kW), 4 boilers, 340 tons coal (maximum) |
Speed | 11 knots (13 mph; 20 km/h) |
Range | 3000 nautical miles @ 10kn |
Complement | 225 |
Armament |
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Armour |
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ARA Libertad was a coastal defense ship that served in the Argentine Navy between 1892 and 1947, and with the Argentine Coast Guard as a pilot station ship from 1947 to 1968. It was the seventh Argentine naval ship with this name.
Libertad was a coastal defense ship designed mainly for coastal and riverine use, being classified by the Argentine Navy as "Riverine Battleship" (Spanish: Acorazado de Río); in the 1902 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships it was listed as "Coast Service Battleship".
The ship was 73.15 metres (240 ft) long overall and 70.10 metres (230 ft) between perpendiculars, [1] with a beam of 13.11 metres (43 ft) and a draft of 3.96 metres (13 ft). Displacement was 2,370 tonnes (2,330 long tons). [2] It had a steel hull subdivided by transverse and longitudinal bulkheads, with a ram at its bow. [3] A 203 millimetres (8 in) thick armoured belt of compound armour, backed by 229 millimetres (9 in) of teak ran over two-thirds of the ship's length. The belt was 1.52 metres (5 ft) deep, with its upper edge just above the waterline. Armoured transverse bulkheads were at the fore and aft end of the belt, with the forward bulkhead being 203 millimetres (8 in) thick and the aft bulkhead 152 millimetres (6 in). An armoured deck ran the length of the ship, and was 25 millimetres (1 in) thick over the belt and 51 millimetres (2 in) thick at the ends of the ship. The ship's conning tower was protected by 102 millimetres (4 in) of armour, while the main guns were protected by 203–127 millimetres (8–5 in) thick barbettes topped by a 127 millimetres (5 in) armoured hood.44 millimetres (1+3⁄4 in) thick gunshields were fitted to the ship's secondary armament. [2] [3]
The ship was propelled by two four-cylinder vertical compound steam engines, rated at 2,070 kilowatts (2,780 ihp), fed by steam from four cylindrical boilers. This gave a speed of 14.2 knots (26.3 km/h; 16.3 mph). [2] [3] The ship had a single mast and funnel. [2] The mast differed slightly from the one in its sister Independencia.
As designed, its main battery had two 240mm Krupp guns (one at the bow and the other at the stern) on Vavasseur mountings protected with armoured shields, and two quick-firing 120mm Elswick guns on each side. The secondary battery had four 47 mm quick-firing Nordenfelt/Hotchkiss guns, and two 25mm Nordenfelt guns.
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In July 1889, the Argentine Naval Commission in London signed a contract with the shipyard Cammell Laird of Birkenhead ordering the construction of "two twin-shaft, ram-equipped battleships for riverine service" (Spanish: dos acorazados de espolón de doble hélice para servicio de ríos) at a unit cost of £ 176.000; this transaction was approved in September of that year by the Ministry.
The first ship, then known as Nueve de Julio and later renamed Libertad when a new cruiser was assigned that name, started construction in 1890 and was launched in 1892; its construction was completed that year. After finalizing trials, in November 1892 the ship was formally accepted by the Argentine Navy, under command of Captain Atilio Barilari. It departed Liverpool on December 20, 1892 and arrived at Buenos Aires on January 25, 1893.
In mid-1894 the ship participated in the naval exercises as part of the 1st Division; later that year it joined its sister ship, Independencia, and the ironclad Almirante Brown.
In 1905 it was assigned to the hydrographic survey of the Río de la Plata (English: River Plate); after that it was reassigned to the Training Division. In 1914, Libertad was assigned to train the crews for the new dreadnought battleships being built in the United States (Rivadavia and Moreno). In 1915 the ship was reclassified as a "coast guard ship". In 1918–19 Libertad was maintained in reserve, and by 1922–23 was assigned as training ship. In 1924-25 the ship was again in reserve, being upgraded to use oil fuel rather than coal. In 1927 Libertad was reclassified as a gunboat, and was assigned to the Gunboat Division in 1930.
In December 1946 Libertad was discharged from the Argentine Navy (decree 22.556) and in 1947 transferred to the Coast Guard, to be used as station ship for pilots in the River Plate. In 1968 the ship was discharged from the Argentine Coast Guard.
Almirante Brown was a Veinticinco de Mayo-class heavy cruiser in service with the Argentine Navy. The ship was named in honour of Admiral Guillermo Brown, the Father of the Argentine Navy.
The two Veinticinco de Mayo-class heavy cruisers served in the Argentine Navy through World War II. They were the only post-Washington Naval Treaty heavy cruisers built for a South American navy. Both ships of the class were built in Italy by the OTO company, and commissioned into the Argentine Navy in 1931.
ARA Veinticinco de Mayo was a cruiser which served in the Argentine Navy. The English translation of the name is May 25, which is the date of Argentina's May Revolution in 1810.
ARA La Argentina was a light cruiser, designed for training naval cadets, built for the Argentine Navy. The ship was authorised in 1934, and the contract was put out to tender in 1935, being won by the British company Vickers-Armstrongs at a cost of 6 million pesos.
ARA General Belgrano was a Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armoured cruiser of the Argentine Navy. The ship was built in Italy, along with three sister ships also for Argentina. The vessel was the first to have been named after the Argentine founding father Manuel Belgrano (1770–1820). The ship was laid down in 1896 and served on the Argentine Navy until she was stricken on 8 May 1947.
ARA Garibaldi was one of four Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruisers purchased by the Argentine Navy from Italy.
ARA Pueyrredón was one of four Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruisers purchased by the Argentine Navy from Italy in the 1890s.
ARA San Martín was one of four Giuseppe Garibaldi-class armored cruisers purchased by the Argentine Navy from Italy.
ARA Almirante Brown was a central battery ironclad of the Argentine Navy built in the 1880s by Samuda Brothers in London. Almirante Brown displaced 4,200 long tons (4,300 t) and had a top speed of 14 knots. The ship was protected by a belt of nine-inch (230 mm) steel-faced armor and she carried a main battery of eight breech-loading guns. She was among the first major warships in the world to use steel armor, and remained the largest vessel in the Argentine fleet for over 15 years. Almirante Brown had a peaceful career in the fleet during the 1880s and 1890s. By the 1920s, she was reduced to a coastal defense ship, and remained in service until the early 1930s. She was stricken from the naval register in November 1932 and sold for scrapping.
ARA Buenos Aires was a protected cruiser of the Argentine Navy. It was built by the British shipyard of Armstrong Mitchell and Co, being launched in 1895 and completing in 1896. Buenos Aires continued in use until 1932.
ARA Veinticinco de Mayo was a protected cruiser that served in the Argentine Navy between 1891 and 1921.
ARA Patagonia was an armoured cruiser that served in the Argentine Navy between 1886 and 1927.
ARA Independencia was a coastal defense ship that served in the Argentine Navy between 1893 and 1948, and with the Argentine Coast Guard as a pilot station ship from 1949 to 1968. It was one of nine Argentine naval ships bearing this name.
ARA La Argentina was a steam corvette that served as a training ship with the Argentine Navy between 1884 and 1895, and in other roles until decommissioned in 1899.
ARA Azopardo was a steam transport of the Argentine Navy, built in the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino and sold to Argentina in 1884. It was based, among others, in the port of Buenos Aires and later Ushuaia, and was decommissioned in 1922 after being sunk in an accident; it was refloated and sunk in 1924 as a target. The vessel was named after the Juan Bautista Azopardo, a Maltese privateer and officer of the Argentine Navy during the Independence and Cisplatine wars, and was the first Argentine naval ship with this name.
The Rosario-class gunboats were a class of two pre-World War I warships, designed and built in England in 1907–1909 as armoured riverine gunboats, to patrol the rivers Paraná and Uruguay. They were in service with the Argentine Navy from the late 1900s to the early 1950s. The lead ship of the class was named after Rosario, one of the major cities in Argentina.
ARA Catamarca was the lead ship of her class of two destroyers built for the Argentine Navy during the 1910s in Germany. They were constructed there as Argentina lacked the industrial facilities needed to build them. Completed in 1912, the ship often served as a flotilla leader. She was modernized and rearmed during the mid-1920s. Catamarca spent 1932 in reserve, but was reactivated the following year. The ship conducted Neutrality Patrols during the Second World War before being transferred to the River Squadron in 1942. She was permanently reduced to reserve in 1947, discarded in 1956 and sold for scrap three years later.
ARA Jujuy was one of two Catamarca-class destroyers built for the Argentine Navy during the 1910s in Germany. They were constructed there as Argentina lacked the industrial facilities needed to build them. Completed in 1912, the ship often served as a training ship. She was modernized and rearmed during the late 1920s. Jujuy was assigned to the active fleet upon the completion of her modernization in 1931 before being transferred to the River Squadron in 1942. She was permanently reduced to reserve in 1947, discarded in 1956 and sold for scrap four years later.