''Ministro Zenteno'' was a
protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...
of the
Chilean Navy
The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso.
History
Origins and the War ...
.
Construction and design
In November 1894, the Brazilian government placed an order for three protected cruisers with the British shipyard
Armstrong, Mitchell & Company. The first of these ships was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
on 6 May 1895 at Armstrong's Elswick shipyard, but financial difficulties resulted in the first installment for the ship being delayed, and it was instead sold to the Chilean government in September 1895.
[Brooke 1999, p. 83.][Scheina, ''Naval History'', 298.] At first, the ship was to be named ''Chacabucu'', but was
launched with the name ''Ministro Zenteno'' on 1 February 1896.
Work continued for Brazil on the remaining two ships, with another cruiser ordered to the same design to replace ''Ministro Zenteno'', but only one, , was operated by Brazil, with the other two ships, ''Amazonas'' (later ) and ''Almirante Abreu'' (later ), purchased by the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
on the eve of the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
.
[Brooke 1999, pp. 85–87.]
''Ministro Zenteno'' was
long overall and
between perpendiculars, with a
beam of and a
draught of .
Displacement was .
[Chesneau and Kolesnik 1979, p. 412.] Four boilers fed steam to two
vertical triple-expansion steam engines rated at a total of with
forced draught The difference between atmospheric pressure and the pressure existing in the furnace or flue gas passage of a boiler is termed as draft. Draft can also be referred to as the difference in pressure in the combustion chamber area which results in the ...
and with natural draught, to give a speed of with forced draught.
As a
protected cruiser
Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...
, the ship's vitals were protected by a full-length arched deck of steel armour, thick on the slopes and on the horizontal part of the deck. The ship's
conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...
was protected by of armour.
The ship's main gun armament consisted of eight 6-in (152 mm) 45-calibre quick-firing guns, with two fore-and-aft on the ship's centreline, and three on each beam. The secondary armament was ten 6-pounder (57mm) guns and four 3-pounder (47mm) guns. The ship was fitted with three 18-inch (450mm) torpedo tubes, one fixed in the bow and the other two on swivelling mounts on the ship's broadside.
Service
''Ministro Zenteno'' attended the
Pan-American Conference in Mexico in 1901.
In 1907 she sailed off Valparaíso for a training cruise bound for Punta Arenas, Bahía, La Guaira, Bermudas, Hampton Roads, Annapolis, Newport, Plymouth, Brest, El Ferrol, Lisboa, Argel, Malta, Spezia, Genova, Barcelona, Cartagena, Gibraltar, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Río de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Puerto Madryn, Punta Arenas, Puerto Montt, Talcahuano, and back to Valparaíso on 8 December 1907.
See also
*
South American dreadnought race
*
List of decommissioned ships of the Chilean Navy
The list of decommissioned ships of the Chilean Navy is mostly compiled from information given in the website of thChilean Navy It consists of over 500 ''historical units'' including ships of the Patria Vieja, prizes, fireships, armed merchant s ...
Endnotes
References
* Brooke, Peter. ''Warships for Export: Armstrong Warships 1867–1927''. Gravesend, UK: World Ship Society, 1999. .
* Chesneau, Roger and Eugene M. Kolesnik. ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905''. London: Conway's Maritime Press, 1979. .
* Scheina, Robert L. ''Latin America: A Naval History, 1810–1987''. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1987. . .
*
External links
*
* Chilean Navy websit
Crucero Ministro Zenteno* Spanish newspaper
Blanco y Negro
Blanco y Negro Records (Spanish language, Spanish: "White and Black"), a subsidiary of WEA Records Ltd., was established in 1983 in music, 1983 by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records and Mike Alway of él Records. Michel Duval of Les Disques ...
on 14 September 1907 about th
visit of the ''Ministro Zenteno''in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
on 5 February 1907
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministro Zenteno (1896)
Cruisers of the Chilean Navy
1896 ships
Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth