''BAP Independencia'' was a

broadside ironclad An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. T ...

built in England for the

Peruvian Navy The Peruvian Navy ( es, link=no, Marina de Guerra del Perú, abbreviated MGP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to from the Peruvian littoral. Addit ...

during the mid-1860s. During the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

of 1879–83, ''Independencia''

ran aground Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In accidenta ...

while pursuing the Chilean

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

Covadonga Covadonga ( Asturian: ''Cuadonga'', from ''cova domnica'' "Cave of Our Lady"Juan Gil Fernández, José L. Moralejo, Juan Ignacio Ruiz de la Peña, ''Crónicas asturianas'', Universidad de Oviedo, 1985, p. 203.) is one of 11 parishes in Ca ...

'' during the

Battle of Punta Gruesa The Battle of Punta Gruesa was a naval action that took place on May 21, 1879, during the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru. This may be labelled as the second part of the Naval Battle of Iquique, although it is described in many sources ...

on 21 May 1879. The survivors were rescued by ''Huáscar'' and the wreck destroyed to prevent its capture.

Description

''Independencia'' was

long between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

, 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 a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

of . The ship displaced . She had one

trunk steam engine A marine steam engine is a steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. This article deals mainly with marine steam engines of the reciprocating type, which were in use from the inception of the steamboat in the early 19th century to their ...

that drove her single propeller. The engine produced which gave the ship a speed of .Silverstone, p. 353 For long-distance travel, ''Independencia'' was fitted with three masts"Some South American Ironclads", p. 204 and

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

rigged. She had a crew of 250 officers and crewmen.Gardiner, p. 418 The ship was armed with four

Armstrong Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong ...

, twelve and four 30-pounder rifled, muzzle-loading guns. The 7-inch guns were on pivot mountings on the

spar deck A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary or upper deck is the horizontal structure that forms the "roof" of the hull, strengthening it and serving as the primary working surface. Ve ...

. She was a

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 ...

with the armament concentrated amidships. ''Independencia'' was equipped with a

ram Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

at her bow and her hull was divided into three

watertight compartments Floodability is the susceptibility of a ship's construction to flooding. It also refers to the ability to intentionally flood certain areas of the hull for damage control purposes, or to increase stability, which is particularly important in comb ...

. The ship had a complete

waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. Specifically, it is also the name of a special marking, also known as an international load line, Plimsoll line and water line (positioned amidships), that indi ...

armor belt Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated onto or within the outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and aircraft carriers. The belt armor is designed to prevent projectiles from penetrating to t ...

thick. Her

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

was protected by armor plates equally as thick.

Construction and career

''Independencia'' was built by

Samuda Brothers Samuda Brothers was an engineering and ship building firm at Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs in London, founded by Jacob Samuda, Jacob and Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda. The site is now occupied by Samuda Estate. Samuda Brothers initially leased a ...

at their shipyard in

Poplar, London Poplar is a district in East London, England, the administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. Five miles (8 km) east of Charing Cross, it is part of the East End of London, East End. It is identi ...

. She 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 ...

in 1864 and launched on 8 August 1865 and completed in December 1866.Silverstone, p. 392 She had her boilers replaced in 1878. In February 1879, her armament was reinforced by a rifled, muzzle-loading pivot gun in the bow and a 150-pounder

Parrott gun The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle-loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War. Parrott rifle The gun was invented by Captain Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He was an American soldier and invent ...

in the stern, also on a pivoting mount. On 21 May, she was in pursuit of ''Covadonga'' after the

Battle of Iquique The Battle of Iquique was a naval engagement that occurred between a Chilean corvette under the command of Arturo Prat Chacón and a Peruvian ironclad under Miguel Grau Seminario on 21 May 1879, during the naval stage of the War of the Pacifi ...

and attempted to ram the Chilean ship as ''Independencia'' had only hit her opponent once thus far. The smaller ''Covadonga'' was hugging the coastline trying to scape, the persecutor just hit a bottom rock, ''Independencia'' ran aground because an uncharted marine rock at bottom of the coastal sea. ''Covadonga'' turned around and came up aft of ''Independencia''s stern and start opening fire over the sunkening ship, killing indefense tripulants swimming, until ''Huáscar'' drove off the Chilean ship. ''Independencia''s casualties were four dead and eleven wounded; the ship was a total loss and only two 7-inch guns could be salvaged.Greene & Massignani, pp. 307–08 ''Huáscar'' loaded ''Independencia''s crew aboard and blew up the wreck and set it on fire to prevent her capture.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Independencia 1866 ships Ships of the War of the Pacific Frigates of the Peruvian Navy Steam frigates Shipwrecks of the War of the Pacific Shipwrecks of Chile Maritime incidents in May 1879 Ships built in England