The ''Mariz e Barros-class'' ironclads were a pair of armored
corvette
A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
s originally ordered by Paraguay in 1864, but were sold to Brazil when Paraguay defaulted on the payments. Configured as
central-battery ironclad
The central battery ship, also known as a centre battery ship in the United Kingdom and as a casemate ship in European continental navies, was a development of the (high-freeboard) broadside ironclad of the 1860s, given a substantial boost due t ...
s, they served during the 1864–70
Paraguayan War between Brazil, Argentina and
Uruguay against
Paraguay. They were named after
Antônio Carlos de Mariz e Barros (1835–1866), son of
Joaquim José Inácio, Viscount of Inhaúma
Joaquim José Inácio, Viscount of Inhaúma (; 1 August 1808 – 8 March 1869), was a naval officer, politician and monarchist of the Empire of Brazil. He was born in the Kingdom of Portugal, and his family moved to Brazil two years later. ...
, Brazilian military officer and hero of the
Paraguayan War.
Design and description
The ships were long, had a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and
drafts of . They
displaced . The ''Mariz e Barros'' class had a pair of
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
s, each driving one propeller. The engines produced a total of and gave the ships a maximum speed of . They carried of coal although nothing is known about their range or endurance. They were fully rigged with three
mast
Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to:
Engineering
* Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship
* Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag
* Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires
* Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship
* Radio mast ...
s. Their crew consisted of 125 officers and enlisted men.
[Lyon, p. 406]
''Mariz e Barros'' was armed with two
120-pounder Whitworth rifled muzzle-loading A muzzle-loading rifle is a muzzle-loaded small arm or artillery piece that has a rifled barrel rather than a smoothbore. The term "rifled muzzle loader" typically is used to describe a type of artillery piece, although it is technically accurate fo ...
guns and two
smoothbore 68-pounder gun
The 68-pounder cannon was an artillery piece designed and used by the British Armed Forces in the mid-19th century. The cannon was a smoothbore muzzle-loading gun manufactured in several weights, the most common being , and fired projectiles of ...
s, while ''Herval'' had four 120-pounder guns. The ships had a complete
waterline belt
Belt may refer to:
Apparel
* Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist
* Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports
* Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practition ...
of
wrought iron that ranged in thickness from amidships to at the ends of the ship.
[
]
Ships
See also
* List of ironclads
The list of ironclads includes all steam-propelled warship (supplemented with sails in various cases) and protected by iron or steel armor plates that were built in the early part of the second half of the 19th century, between 1859 and the earl ...
Footnotes
References
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mariz e Barros-class ironclad
Ironclad warships of the Brazilian Navy
Corvettes of the Brazilian Navy