ARA El Plata (1874)

Watercolor of El Plata
History
Argentina
Name	ARA El Plata
Builder	Thames Iron Works, Blackwall, London
Launched	29 August 1874
Stricken	16 November 1927
Fate	Scrapped, 1929?
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	2 × 9 in (229 mm) muzzle-loading rifles 2 × small guns
Armor	Belt: 4.5–6 in (114–152 mm) Deck: 1 in (25 mm) Gun turret: 8–10 in (203–254 mm)

ARA El Plata was the first of two El Plata-class monitors built in Britain in the 1870s for the Argentine Navy.

Description[]

El 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[]

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See also[]

• List of ships of the Argentine Navy

References[]

Notes[]

Bibliography[]

• 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. Toledo, Ohio: Naval Records Club. X (1): 106–08. 1973.

External links[]

• "MONITOR A.R.A. "EL PLATA" 1875". Histarmar - Historia y Arqueologia Marítima (in Spanish). FUNDACION HISTARMAR. Retrieved 3 July 2014.