Английская Википедия:Battle of Caldera Bay

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Good article Шаблон:Infobox military conflict

The Battle of Caldera Bay, or the Sinking of Blanco Encalada, was a naval engagement fought in the Caldera Bay during the 1891 Chilean Civil War between Balmacedist and Congressional naval forces on 23 April 1891. It involved two Balmacedist torpedo boats of the Шаблон:Sclass, and the Congressional armored frigate Шаблон:Ship.

After both torpedoes from Шаблон:Ship had missed, Blanco Encalada was hit by a torpedo from Шаблон:Ship and sank in minutes, with the loss of 182 men. The loss of Blanco Encalada hindered the Congressional forces, but they ultimately defeated the Balmacedist forces that August. Blanco Encalada was the first ironclad warship lost to a self-propelled torpedo. The engagement prompted countries to rapidly grow both their torpedo boat and torpedo boat destroyer forces (the latter commonly referred to as destroyers).

Background

In 1891, after a series of struggles about multinational nitrate interests, Chilean President José Manuel Balmaceda refused to sign the national budget passed by the Chilean National Congress. Balmaceda then dissolved Congress.Шаблон:Sfn The dissolution split both the Chilean Army and Navy, with some forces remaining loyal to Congress and others to the President. An armed conflict ensued after a mutiny by the navy, which at that time was docked at Valparaíso.[1]

Supporters of those forces loyal to Congress, including members of the dissolved parliament and their backers among multinational nitrate interests, bought weaponry from Europe and the United States. Better equipped than the forces loyal to the President, they rapidly captured Chile's northern provinces, which had recently been conquered from Bolivia and Peru during the War of the Pacific.Шаблон:Sfn

Since the Congressionalists controlled all of the current ships in the Chilean Navy, the Balmacedists commandeered vessels that were nearing completion in England and France, including the torpedo boats Almirante Condell and Almirante Lynch.Шаблон:Sfn They were built by Laird Brothers, the same firm that built the Confederate raider Alabama thirty years before.[1] Both Almirante Lynch and Almirante Condell carried an armament of five Whitehead torpedoes, two Шаблон:Cvt guns in echelon on the forecastle and one on the poop, four Шаблон:Cvt guns and two machine guns. Their maximum speed was around Шаблон:Cvt.[1]

The two ships arrived at Valparaíso on 21 March. Both ships docked at Quintero Bay on 18 April. While at Quintero, their commanding officers, Commander Carlos E. Moraga of Almirante Condell and Commander Juan Fuentes of Almirante Lynch, were informed of the possibility that Blanco Encalada, a Congressionalist frigate, was going to be in Caldera Bay in five days. The two commanders consulted with one another and sent their proposal to attack Blanco Encalada to the Balmacedist government, which was approved.[1]

Blanco Encalada arrived at Caldera Bay on 22 April, under the command of Captain Goñi, escorting several transports. The troops on these ships landed and captured the surrounding railroad and town of Copiapó.[1] At about 01:20, Goñi returned to Blanco Encalada. Although it was known that Balmacedist torpedo boats were nearby, the Congressionalists believed that they would not attack the transports.[1] Because of this, torpedo nets were left onshore, and watertight bulkheads which would have isolated a hull breach were left open. Шаблон:Sfn

Battle

A three-masted black and white ship at port.
Blanco Encalada in 1879
Файл:Torpedero Patricio Lynch.jpg
Patricio Lynch torpedo gunboat

At 04:00 on 23 April, Almirante Condell set out toward Caldera Bay about Шаблон:CvtШаблон:Sfn away, with Almirante Lynch Шаблон:Cvt behind her.Шаблон:Sfn The armed steamer Imperial traveled with the torpedo boats, taking up a position to the left of both boats. It was to wait some distance off Caldera, in order to escort the ships back home when the attack ended. Both torpedo boats entered Caldera at roughly 3:30.Шаблон:Sfn When they were Шаблон:Cvt from Blanco Encalada, both boats came under fire by rapid-fire guns on board the frigate, which only had seven men stationed as guards.Шаблон:Sfn About Шаблон:Cvt from Blanco Encalada, Almirante Condell fired her bow torpedo at the Congressional frigate. It missed and landed on the shore, unexploded.Шаблон:Sfn Moraga then turned the torpedo boat into the direct fire of the frigate and fired both his starboard torpedoes. The front torpedo hit, but failed to explode, and the rear torpedo passed clear under the frigate.[1]

As all of Blanco EncaladaШаблон:'s guns were occupied by Almirante Condell, the crew did not notice Almirante Lynch approaching from the opposite direction of Almirante Condell.[1] From Шаблон:Cvt out, Almirante Lynch fired her bow torpedo, which missed, and then fired her forward starboard torpedo after executing a turning maneuver like Almirante Condell had done. The second torpedo struck Blanco Encalada, creating a hole roughly Шаблон:Cvt.[1] The ship sank within minutes, taking 182 men with it. Several of the men who escaped, including Captain Goñi, did so by clinging to animals in Blanco EncaladaШаблон:'s cargo hold, including a llama and a cow.Шаблон:Sfn

As she was sinking, the torpedo boats fired their 3-pounder Hotchkiss guns at the survivors, killing about forty.Шаблон:Sfn The torpedo boats also fired at the transport Biobio, which had been trying to rescue the surviving crew.Шаблон:Sfn Including Captain Goñi, 106 men survived out of the 288 aboard.Шаблон:SfnThe entire engagement lasted nine minutes, and Blanco Encalada sank two minutes after the torpedo hit.Шаблон:Sfn As Almirante Lynch and Almirante Condell left the harbor, they spotted the transport Aconcagua, which they attacked with their 14-pounder guns (after ruling out their Gatling guns due to their potential for overkill).Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Aconcagua surrendered after an hour and a half battle, but the torpedo ships were unable to seize her due to an approaching ship which they thought was the Шаблон:Ship. It turned out to be the neutral Шаблон:HMS.Шаблон:Sfn Almirante Lynch was slightly damaged in the battle, suffering hits to her steam-pipe and flooding in her aft compartment, but besides that, the two torpedo boats were undamaged.Шаблон:Sfn

Aftermath and impact on torpedo use

The sinking of Blanco Encalada led to an attack by Almirante Condell and Almirante Lynch on her sister ship, Шаблон:Ship, at that time moored at Iquique.Шаблон:Sfn Almirante Cochrane retreated before any torpedoes were fired.Шаблон:Sfn On 28 August, the Balmacedist army was defeated at the Battle of La Placilla. Their army lost about 1,000 men, and three days later Congressional forces marched into Santiago, effectively ending the Chilean Civil War.Шаблон:Sfn Blanco Encalada underwent some re-floating attempts after the war, which were ultimately unsuccessful, and she was left in Caldera Bay until being demolished in 1954 when a new bridge was under construction.Шаблон:Sfn The Chilean government launched another Blanco Encalada, a cruiser, in 1894.Шаблон:Sfn

The battle had a wider impact on naval weapons development because Blanco Encalada was the first ironclad warship sunk by a self-propelled torpedo.Шаблон:Sfn News of the attack spread and as a result of the action, navies of several major powers realized the potential of torpedoes as a cheap counter to expensive pre-dreadnoughts,Шаблон:Sfn which led to the acceleration of submarine and torpedo boat production, the addition of torpedo nets to ships for use when they were moored in port, and the addition of torpedo tubes to surface ships. During the Russo-Japanese War, over 300 self-propelled torpedoes were fired, in one instance finishing off the already seriously damaged Russian flagship Шаблон:Ship at the Battle of Tsushima.Шаблон:Sfn Torpedo boats also sank two armored cruisers and two destroyers during the course of the war.Шаблон:Sfn By the start of World War I, torpedo boats and submarines were in widespread use in many navies.

Notes

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References

Шаблон:Commons category Шаблон:Refbegin

Шаблон:Refend

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  1. ↑ 1,0 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,6 1,7 1,8 Шаблон:Cite news
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