River Gunboats
Page 8
For the Passage of Humaitá on 18 February 1868, the three shallow-draught river monitors had been lashed alongside a larger ironclad to ensure their safe passage, Rio Grande attached to Barroso, Alagôas to Bahia, and Pará to Tamandaré. A shot cut the lashings between Alagôas and Bahia, and the former drifted back downstream, before turning and making a solo attempt at the passage. When she was passing Timbó, several hundred Paraguayan troops in canoes attempted to board her, but they were driven off. The Paraguayans made several such attempts to capture an enemy ironclad.
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Unless otherwise attributed, many of the line drawings which follow were prepared by George A. Gratz, and appeared in his article ‘The Brazilian Imperial Navy Ironclads, 1865-1874’, in WARSHIP 1999-2000.
Bahia
Bahia was laid down as the Minerva for Paraguay, but was sold to Brazil when Paraguay was unable to make the payment. She had an iron hull and a complete waterline belt. For the Passage of Humaitá Bahia was flagship.
River Monitor Bahia. (Photo from Website: http://www.naval.com.br/ngb/B/B005/B005.htm)
Launched:
11 June 1865 as Minerva by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead, Yard No 326.
Dimensions:
Displ: 928 tons; L: 53.5m/175ft 8in; B: 10.7m/35ft 2in; D: 2.4m/7ft 9in.
Crew:
125.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × horizontal trunk steam engines, total 1,640ihp; barque-rigged with 3 masts/10 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × twin 120-pounder Whitworth MLR/Belt 114mm amidships, 76mm at the ends; Turret 114mm.
Fate:
Stricken 1894.
Barroso
Barroso was a wooden-hulled central battery ironclad, the largest of three similar vessels (the others being Rio de Janeiro and Tamandaré). Her hull was built of three layers of timber each 203mm (8in) thick at the waterline, sheathed in Muntz metal to reduce fouling. She had a complete waterline armour belt of wrought iron 1.52m (5ft) high, which extended below the water-line in an attempt to counter floating mines. For ocean navigation her masts were stepped, and her freeboard could be increased by fitting bulwarks 1.1m (3ft 7in) high. On the evening of 9 July 1868 Barroso was missed by the Paraguayan boarders who climbed on the deck of Rio Grande. Barroso drove them off with grapeshot.
Central battery river ironclad Barroso. (Engraving after a painting by Adolfo Methfessel)
Barroso rigged for riverine combat.
Launched:
4 November 1865 by the Arsenal de Marinha da Côrte, Rio de Janeiro.
Dimensions:
Displ: 960 tons (1,333 tons full load); L: 61.44m/201ft 7in; B: 10.97m/36ft; D: 2.74m/9ft.
Crew:
149–230.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 2-cyl 420ihp horizontal trunk steam engine/9 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 120-pounder (7in) Whitworth MLR; 2 × 70-pounder Whitworth MLR; 2 × 68-pounder SB; 2 × 12-pounder SB; 1.8m (5ft 11in) bronze ram/Belt 102mm alongside the magazines and machinery spaces, 51mm elsewhere; Casemate sides 102mm; Deck and casemate roof 12.7mm.
Fate:
Stricken in 1882 but not finally scrapped until 1937.
Brasil
The first Brazilian ironclad, Brasil had an iron hull and a large central battery. During the Passage of Curupayti, she was the flagship of Admiral Joaquim José Inácio. On 2 March 1868 she was one of the two ironclads engaged in clearing the decks of Cabral and Lima Barros of Paraguayan boarders.
Launched:
23 December 1864 by Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, La Seyne, France.
Dimensions:
Displ: 1,518 tons; L: 63.41m/208ft; B: 10.75m/35ft 3in; D: 3.5m/11ft 6in (bow), 3.81m/12ft 6in (aft).
Crew:
210.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; Single-expansion 250 nominal hp steam engine/10.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
4 × 70-pounder Whitworth MLR; 4 × 68-pounder SB; 1 × 12-pounder SB/Waterline belt 114mm amidships tapering to 90mm at bow and stern; Casemate: 102mm.
Damage suffered by Brasil during the battle of Curupayti. Note her typical French tumblehome, and the fastenings for her dismounted ratlines. (Engraving after a painting by Adolfo Methfessel)
Brasil showing her full sailing rig, which was removed for riverine work.
Cabral and Colombo
These two ironclads for river and coastal operations were ordered by Brazil as a reaction to the powerful ships on order for Paraguay. Their hulls were of iron, and they had a full-length waterline armour belt of wrought iron backed by wood. For ocean navigation they could be fitted with high freeboard bow and stern extensions, and full sailing rig. The space between the two casemates was left unarmoured.
On the morning of 2 March 1868, near Humaitá, Cabral and Lima Barros were boarded by some 300 Paraguayan troops in twenty-four canoes in an attempt to seize both ironclads. Their crews shut themselves inside the armoured casemates and turrets respectively, while the nearby ironclads Brasil and Herval raked the decks of their compatriots with gunfire. The Paraguayans lost some 200 men, and the survivors made off in their canoes, while the Brazilian crews lost forty men killed and wounded.
Launched:
1865 by J&G Rennie, Millwall.
Dimensions:
Displ: 1,033 tons; L: 48.8m/160ft; B: 10.8m/35ft 6in; D: 3.7m/12ft 1in.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × steam engines, total 750ihp/10.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
Cabral: 2 × 70-pounder Whitworth MLR; 2 × 68-pounder SB; Colombo: 4 × 120-pounder Whitworth MLR/Waterline belt 114mm amidships tapering to 76mm at bow and stern; Casemates: 102mm.
Fate:
Both stricken 1885.
Cabral in 1866. (From an old print dated 1870)
Cabral in her cut-down form for riverine operations.
Paraguayan troops boarding Lima Barros (right). To the right of centre is Cabral. On the left is Herval, and Brasil is behind the gunsmoke in the centre. (From a painting by Julio Raison)
Lima Barros
Lima Barros was the second Paraguayan ironclad ordered from Laird Brothers, with the Paraguayan name Bellona. She was an enlarged version of Bahia (Paraguayan name Minerva), with two twin Coles turrets. Lima Barros had high freeboard forecastle and sterncastle. She was built of iron and had a full-length waterline belt of wrought iron. She could be barque-rigged for ocean navigation. Taken over by Brazil, she was heavily engaged in the riverine war. Lima Barros was the second ironclad involved in the Paraguayan boarding attempt near Humaitá on 2 March 1868. An observer after the engagement noted ‘her bulwarks converted into lace-work by the grape of her consort, which relieved her of Paraguayan boarders’.
Launched:
21 December 1865 by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead.
Dimensions:
Displ: 1,705 tons; L: 61m/200ft 2in (between perpendiculars); B: 11.6m/38ft 2in; D: 3.9m/12ft 8in.
Crew:
170.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × horizontal trunk steam engines, total 2,100ihp/12 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × twin 120-pounder Whitworth MLR/Waterline belt 114mm amidships tapering to 76mm at bow and stern; Turret sides 114mm.
Fate:
Stricken in May 1884, finally scrapped in 1905.
Mariz E Barros and Herval
Laid down as the Paraguayan Triton and Meduza respectively, these two central battery ironclads were purchased for Brazil when Paraguay, cut off from communications with Europe, defaulted on the payments. Both saw extensive service during the riverine operations, and Herval helped repel the Paraguayan boarders on Cabral on 2 March 1868.
Mariz E Barros class profile.
Launched:
1856 by J & G Rennie, Millwall.
Dimensions:
Displ: 1,196 tons (1,353 tons full load); L: 58.2m/191ft; B: 11m/36ft; D: 2.5m–2.9m/8ft 2in–9ft 6in.
125.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × horizontal trunk steam engines, total 600ihp/9 knots.
Guns/Armour:
Mariz E Barros: 2 × 120-pounder Whitworth MLR; 2 × 68-pounder SB; Herval: 4 × 120-pounder Whitworth MLR/Waterline belt 114mm amidships tapering to 76mm at bow & stern; Casemates: 102mm.
Fate:
Herval stricken 1879; Maria E Barros used as a floating battery from 1884, finally scrapped in 1897.
Pará Class
The Pará class of six ironclad monitors was specially designed for riverine operations, and in fact they had to be towed up the Paraguay River to the combat zone. They never carried sails, but just two signal masts which could be lowered if necessary. Meant to resist heavy fire, they had a very low freeboard of just 0.3m (1ft), and a twelve-sided revolving turret with its thickest armour protection on the front faces. Turned by four men through a system of gears, one complete rotation took 2 minutes 15 seconds. To minimise the size of the gunport for their single large cannon, the mounting was arranged to elevate and depress the cannon at the trunnions, keeping the muzzle at the level of the opening. Their wooden hulls were built of three layers of timber laid alternately for strength, covered in Muntz metal to reduce fouling. The monitors had a full waterline belt of wrought iron armour 0.91m (3ft) deep. Because of their small size and limited horsepower, the three vessels of the class attempting the Passage of Humaitá were lashed alongside larger ironclads.
Two of the class were attacked by Paraguayan ‘bogabantes’: On 18 February 1868, as she passed the batteries at Timbó, Alagôas was attacked by dozens of Paraguayans in canoes, who were driven off with grapeshot, several canoes being rammed and sunk. On the evening of 9 July 1868, Rio Grande was boarded by Paraguayan soldiers, but her companion iron-clad Barroso drove them off with grapeshot.
In a brave but suicidal attack near the batteries at Timbó, Paraguayans in canoes attempt to board the monitor Alagôas, which sank several loaded canoes by ramming. (Engraving by Angelo Agostini in A Vida Fluminense No 11, 1868)
Class leader Pará.
Launched:
1867 by the Arsenal de Marinha da Côrte, Rio de Janeiro.
Dimensions:
Displ: 490 tons; L: 39m/127ft 11in; B: 8.54m/28ft; D: 1.51m–1.54m/4ft 11in–5ft 1in.
Crew:
43.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × steam engines, total 180ihp/8 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 70-pounder Whitworth MLR; Bronze ram/Waterline belt 102mm amidships tapering to 76mm at bow and 51mm at stern; Turret faces 152mm; sides 102mm; rear 76mm; roof 12.7mm; Forward pilothouse 102mm; Deck 12.7mm.
Fate:
Santa Catharina foundered after the war near Ladário Naval Base; Pará stricken 1884; Ceará scrapped 1884; Piauí scrapped 1893; Alagôas scrapped 1900; Rio Grande scrapped 1907.
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro was the second of the Tamandaré-type ironclads to arrive in the combat zone. During the attack on Curuzú, a shot entered through one of her gunports, killing four men and injuring five. After repairs she attempted to join the other ironclads in the bombardment of Curupayti. Like her near sisters her armour belt was extended below the waterline in an attempt to counter floating mines, but this did not save her from striking two out of four moored mines. A large explosion blew a hole in her stern, and she rapidly filled and sank, taking down with her captain, Americo Brasilio Silvado, and more than fifty crewmen. Her wreck still lies in the river bed, covered by several metres of silt.
Launched:
18 February 1865 by the Arsenal de Marinha da Côrte, Rio de Janeiro.
Dimensions:
Displ: 871 tons (1,001 tons full load); L: 56.69m/186ft; B: 9.19m/30ft 2in; D: 2.62m/8ft 7in.
Crew:
148.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 2-cyl 320ihp horizontal trunk steam engine/9 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 70-pounder Whitworth MLR; 2 × 68-pounder SB; 1.4m (4ft 7in) bronze ram/Belt 102mm alongside the magazines and machinery spaces, 51mm elsewhere; Casemate sides 102mm; Deck and casemate roof 12.7mm.
Fate:
Sunk by torpedo (moored mine) 2 September 1866.
The destruction of Rio de Janeiro, 2 September 1866. (From a painting by Adolfo Methfessel)
Silvado carrying her full seagoing sailing rig.
Silvado
Laid down as the Paraguayan Nemesis, she was purchased by Brazil and renamed Silvado, in honour of the commander of the lost Rio de Janeiro. Her twin screws and rudders gave her excellent manoeuvrability. With her two twin Coles turrets, Silvado’s design owed much to the turret rams designed for, but never commissioned by, the Confederate Navy. She took part in the ironclads’ actions during the war, and during the bombardment of Curupayti on 2 February 1867, her commander, Captain Vital de Oliveira, was mortally wounded. During the Passage of Curupayti on 15 August, Silvado took in tow and saved the disabled Tamandaré.
Launched:
1865 by Arman Brothers, Bordeaux.
Dimensions:
Displ: 1,330 tons; L: 66m/216ft 6in (between perpendiculars); B: 11.6m/38ft 1in; D: 3.9m/13ft.
Crew:
170.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × horizontal trunk steam engines, total 950ihp; Barque rigged/10 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × twin 70-pounder Whitworth MLR; ram/Waterline belt 114mm amidships tapering to 76mm at bow and stern; Turret 110mm.
Tamandaré
Tamandaré was the first, and the smallest, of the three similar central battery ironclads built at Rio de Janeiro. She was the least handy for riverine operations due to the use of lower-powered steam engines taken from the old 450-ton gunboat Tieté. Her armour belt was extended below the waterline in an attempt to counter floating mines, and while at anchor she was protected by an early form of anti-torpedo net, designed by James Hamilton Tomb. This type of net defence was later copied on several other ironclads during the conflict.
During the Passage of Curupayti, a shot entered through a gunport and killed or wounded fourteen of her crew, including her commander Elisário Barbosa who lost an arm. Her steam engine was disabled, and she drifted helpless under the guns of the fortress, until Silvado passed a line and towed her to safety. She again took heavy damage during the Passage of Humaitá, three hits in her bows causing serious flooding, which necessitated her being beached for repairs at Tayí.
Hits on the armour of Tamandaré during the battle of Curupayti. Paraguayan shots made indentations 35–70mm deep on the citadel, and a shot on the armour belt penetrated 95mm.
Tamandaré carrying a light rig.
Launched:
21 June 1865 by the Arsenal de Marinha da Côrte, Rio de Janeiro.
Dimensions:
Displ: 754 tons (845 tons full load); L: 51.36m/168ft 6in; B: 9.19m/30ft 2in; D: 2.29m/7ft 6in.
Crew:
120.
Power/Speed:
Single screw; 2-cyl 273ihp horizontal trunk steam engine/8 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 70-pounder Whitworth MLR; 3 × 68-pounder SB; 2 × 12-pounder SB; 1.4m (4ft 7in) bronze ram/Belt 102mm alongside the magazines and machinery spaces, 51mm elsewhere; Casemate sides 102mm; Deck and casemate roof 12.7mm.
Fate:
Stricken and scrapped 1879.
Sete de Setembro
The last and largest central battery ironclad derived from the Tamandaré type, Sete de Setembro was launched after the end of the war and therefore saw no action. With a high freeboard she was better adapted to ocean navigation than the three earlier vessels, although her bulwarks could be lowered to permit ahead and astern fire. In particular, the capstan position in the bows, where many crewman had been wounded during the war, was given protection. Like her earlier consorts, she was built of wood, sheathed in Muntz metal, with no internal water-tight bulkheads. Sete de Setembr
o was protected by a wrought iron waterline belt 3.04m (10ft) deep. Arguments over her proposed armament delayed her completion for some four years, by which time she was considered obsolete.
Sete de Setembro seen towards the end of her service. (Photo Marc Ferrez)
Launched:
16 May 1874 by the Arsenal de Marinha da Côrte, Rio de Janeiro.
Dimensions:
Displ: 2,140 tons; L: 73.4m/240ft 10in; B: 14.2m/46ft 7in; D: 3.81m/12ft 6in.
Crew:
185.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × 2-cyl steam engines, total 2,000ihp/12 knots.
Guns/Armour:
4 × 300-pounder (9in) Whitworth MLR; 2.4m (7ft 10in) bronze ram/Belt max 114mm; Casemate 114mm; Deck and casemate roof 12.7mm.
Fate:
Sunk by the Brazilian Army in December 1893.
Javary and Solimðes
The Javary class were the first modern Brazilian ironclads, with an iron hull completely armoured to 0.69m (2ft 3in) below the waterline, topped by a thick armoured deck. Each turret contained two 10in Whitworth MLR, loaded on the Armstrong system from outside the turret. A hurricane deck extended fore and aft over the turrets with narrow extensions above the vessels’ sides.
Despite her impressive size and deep draught, Solimðes was deployed on the Amazon during the 1899–1903 Acre dispute with Bolivia. She captured the small Bolivian river gunboat Alonso, which was commissioned as the Brazilian Rui Barbosa. Unfortunately, Solimðes demonstrated the unsuitability of lowfreeboard turret ships in the open sea – suffering a similar fate to the prototype USS Monitor – when she foundered off Cape Polonia, Uruguay, on 19 May 1892. Just five survivors managed to reach the shore and 130 were lost with the ship.