“Chilean battleship Almirante Latorre”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Almirante Latorre, named after Juan José Latorre, was a super-dreadnought battleship built for the Chilean Navy (Armada de Chile). It was the first of a planned two-ship class that would respond to earlier warship purchases by other South American countries. Construction began at Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne soon after the ship was ordered in November 1911, and was approaching completion when it was bought by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy for use in the First World War. Commissioned in September 1915, it served in the Grand Fleet as HMS Canada for the duration of the war and saw action during the Battle of Jutland.

Chile repurchased Canada in 1920 and re-named it Almirante Latorre. The ship was designated as Chile's flagship, and frequently served as a presidential transport. It underwent a thorough modernization in the United Kingdom in 1929–1931. In September 1931, crewmen aboard Almirante Latorre instigated a mutiny, which the majority of the Chilean fleet quickly joined. After divisions developed between the mutineers, the rebellion fell apart and the ships returned to government control. Almirante Latorre was placed in reserve for a time in the 1930s because of the Great Depression, but it was in good enough condition to receive interest from the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Chilean government declined the overture and the ship spent most of the Second World War on patrol for Chile. Almirante Latorre was scrapped in Japan beginning in 1959.

Background

After {{HMS|Dreadnought|1906|6}} was commissioned, Brazil decided in early 1907 to halt construction of three obsolescent pre-dreadnoughts in favor of two or three dreadnoughts.^[3] These ships, commissioned as the {{sclass-|Minas Geraes|battleship|4}}, were designed to carry the heaviest battleship armament in the world at the time.^[4] They came as a shock to the navies of South America.^[3] Historian Robert Scheina commented that they "outclassed the entire [elderly] Argentinian fleet".^[5] Although debates raged in Argentina over whether it would be prudent to counter Brazil's purchase by acquiring their own expensive dreadnoughts, further border disputes—particularly near the River Plate with Brazil—decided the matter, and it ordered two {{sclass-|Rivadavia|battleship|1}}s (no relation to the earlier cruisers) from the Fore River Shipbuilding Company in the United States.^[6]^[7] With its major rival acquiring dreadnoughts, Chile responded by asking for tenders from American and European countries that would give the country the most powerful battleships afloat.^[8]

Construction

On 6 July 1910, the National Congress of Chile passed a bill allocating 400,000 pounds sterling to the navy for two {{convert|28000|LT|t|0|lk=in|adj=on}} battleships—which would eventually be named Almirante Latorre and Almirante Cochrane{{efn-ua|Almirante Latorre was originally named Valparaíso, after the Chilean city, but was renamed to Libertad, Spanish for "freedom".^[10] After the death of the famed admiral Juan José Latorre, it was renamed Almirante Latorre in July 1912.^[11] Sources are not specific as to when the ship was renamed for the first time.}}—six destroyers, and two submarines.^[9] The contract to build the battleships was awarded to Armstrong Whitworth on 25 July 1911.^[10] Almirante Latorre was officially ordered on 2 November 1911, and was laid down less than a month later on 27 November,^[11]^[12] becoming the largest ship built by Armstrong at the time.^[13] The New York Tribune reported on 2 November 1913 that Greece had reached an accord to purchase Almirante Latorre during a war scare with the Ottoman Empire,^[14] but despite a developing sentiment within Chile to sell one or both of the dreadnoughts, no deal was made.^[15]^[16]{{efn-ua|The nationalistic sentiments that exacerbated the naval arms race had given way to a slowing economy and growing public opinion that supported investing inside the country.^[15] The United States' Minister to Chile, Henry Prather Fletcher, commented to Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan: "Since the naval rivalry began in 1910, financial conditions, which were none too good then, have grown worse; and as time approaches for the final payment, feeling has been growing in these countries that perhaps they are much more in need of money than of battleships."^[17]}}

British purchase and First World War service

After the First World War broke out in Europe, Almirante Latorre was formally purchased by the United Kingdom on 9 September 1914;^[11]^[22]^[19]^[20] it was not forcibly seized like the Ottoman Reşadiye and Sultân Osmân-ı Evvel, two other ships being built for a foreign navy, because the Allies' reliance on Chilean munitions imports made retention of Chile's "friendly neutral" status with the United Kingdom a matter of vital importance.^[19] Almirante Latorre was renamed HMS Canada and slightly modified for British service. The bridge was taken off in favor of two open platforms, and a mast was added in between the two funnels to support a derrick that would service launches.^[21] The super-dreadnought completed fitting-out on 20 September 1915,^[11]^[19] and was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 15 October.^[21]

She initially served with the 4th Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet. Canada saw action in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May–1 June 1916, firing 42 rounds from its 14-inch guns and 109 6-inch shells during the battle, and suffered no hits or casualties.^[21] During the battle, it got off two salvoes at the disabled cruiser {{SMS|Wiesbaden||2}} at 18:40, and fired five more at an unknown ship around 19:20.^[22] Its 6-inch guns were utilized for firing at German destroyers at 19:11.^[23] Canada was transferred to the 1st Battle Squadron on 12 June 1916. In 1917–18, it was fitted with better rangefinders and range dials, and two of the aft 6-inch secondary guns were removed after they suffered blast damage from the middle 14-inch turret. In the latter year, flying-off platforms for aircraft were added atop the superfiring turrets fore and aft. Canada was put into the reserve fleet in March 1919.^[21]

Chilean service

Early career

After the end of the war in Europe, Chile began to seek additional ships to bolster its fleet. The United Kingdom offered many of its surplus warships, including the two remaining {{sclass-|Invincible|battlecruiser|1}}s.{{efn-ua|Prior to the Invincible offer, Chile asked for {{HMS|Eagle|1918|6}}, which had been Almirante Cochrane but was in the process of being converted into an aircraft carrier. Chile, however, would not accept Eagle unless it was reconstructed into the original battleship configuration. This was found to be "impractical".^[12]}} The news that Chile could possibly acquire two Invincibles kindled a major uproar in the country, with naval officers publicly denouncing such an action and instead promoting the virtues of submarines and aircraft on the basis of lower costs and their performance in the First World War.^[24] The nations of South America worried that an attempt to regain the title of "the first naval power in South America"^[25] would start another naval arms race.^[26]

In the end, Chile purchased only Canada and four destroyers in April 1920, all of which had been ordered by Chile prior to the war's outbreak and requisitioned by the British for the war.^[26] The total cost of the five ships was less than a third of what Chile was due to pay for Almirante Latorre in 1914.^[9] Canada was renamed Almirante Latorre once again and formally handed over to the Chilean government on 27 November 1920.^[21] It departed Plymouth the same day with two of the destroyers, {{ship|Chilean destroyer|Riveros||2}} and {{ship|Chilean destroyer|Almirante Uribe|1914|2}},^[27] under the command of Admiral Luis Gomez Carreño.^[9] They arrived in Chile on 20 February 1921, where they were welcomed by Chile's president, Arturo Alessandri. Almirante Latorre was made the flagship of the navy.^[9]

In its capacity as flagship of the Chilean Navy, Almirante Latorre was frequently utilized by the president for various functions. In the aftermath of the magnitude 8.5 1922 Vallenar earthquake, Almirante Latorre was used to transport Alessandri to the affected area. The ship also brought "tents, medical supplies, rations, clothing and 2,000,000 pesos" for those affected.^[9]^[28] By 1923, Chile only had Almirante Latorre, a cruiser, and five destroyers in commission, leading The New York Times to remark "experts would probably place Chile third in potential sea power [after Brazil and Argentina]". While Almirante Latorre was individually more powerful than the Brazilian or Argentine dreadnoughts, they had two each to Chile's one. Compounding this was a lack of modern cruisers to accompany the lone dreadnought.^[29] In 1924, Almirante Latorre hosted the president again when he visited Talcahuano for the grand opening of a new naval drydock there.^[9] After the fall of the January Junta in 1925, the dreadnought hosted the returning President Alessandri during a Naval Review in Valparaíso; while on board, he gave a speech to senior naval officials to assure them that his new government "was for all Chileans, and not partisan in its inspiration".^[30] In September, the last month of his term, Alessandri received the United Kingdom's Edward, Prince of Wales, on board the battleship. The visit briefly quelled domestic unrest, and it marked the beginning of negotiations for a British naval mission, which arrived in the following year.^[31]

1931 mutiny

Despite the goodwill brought on by the removal of the "strongman"^[33] President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo in July 1931, Chile could not overcome the Great Depression's severe economic effects, and wages for civil servants making over 3,000 pesos a year were cut by 12–30 percent to reduce government expenditures. This triggered a severe reaction among the sailors of the navy, who had already suffered a 10 percent salary cut and 50 percent loss in overseas bonuses. Various members of the crew on board Almirante Latorre, but no officers, met on 31 August and decided that a mutiny was the best course of action.^[34]^[35]^[36]

Shortly after midnight on 1 September, the junior crew members of Almirante Latorre, an armored cruiser ({{ship|Chilean cruiser|O'Higgins|1897|2}}), seven destroyers, and a few submarines took over their ships while many of their shipmates were watching a boxing tournament in La Serena. They imprisoned the officers, most without conflict, and secured the ships by about 02:00. They elected a committee, the Estado Mayor de Tripulacion, to take control of the mutiny. Later that day, at 16:55, the mutineers radioed the minister of the navy, declaring that they were acting on their own accord, as opposed to acting in concert with a militant political party or communist insurgents. They asked for their full salaries to be restored and the punishment of those who had plunged Chile into a depression, while also stating that they would not use force to achieve these goals.^[36]^[37]

Just before midnight on 2 September, the mutineers messaged the Chilean government with a more "sophisticated"^[38] list of twelve demands.{{efn-ua|These demands included:^[39]

September marked a turn in the rebels' fortunes, despite the arrival of the southern fleet on September 4. All of their land gains were taken by government forces, leaving only the fleet in the mutineers' hands. By the next day, an air strike was mounted by government forces. The only damage done was to the submarine H4, which was unable to dive, but at least one bomb landed about {{convert|50|yd|m}} from Almirante Latorre. Despite the scant damage, the attack broke the mutineers' spirits; they quickly offered to send a delegation to Santiago to discuss terms, but the government, bolstered by its land victories, refused. While the mutiny devolved into arguing and anarchy, individual ships began leaving the bay and setting sail for Valparaíso, and the rest soon followed. Almirante Latorre ended up in the Bay of Tongoy with {{ship|Chilean cruiser|Blanco Encalada||2}}. Seven crewmen on the dreadnought received death sentences, later commuted to life in prison.^[42]^[43]^[44]

Later career

Still in the midst of the depression, Almirante Latorre was deactivated at Talcahuano in 1933 to lessen government expenditures,^[45] and only a caretaker crew was assigned to tend to the mothballed ship into the mid-1930s.^[46]{{efn-ua|It is not clear when Almirante Latorre was reactivated. Scheina gives two possible years, 1935 or after the 1937 refit.^[47]}} In a 1937 refit in the Talcahuano dockyard, the aircraft catapult was taken off and anti-aircraft weaponry was added.^[47] Almirante Latorre was never fully modernized, however, and by the Second World War its main battery was comparatively short-ranged and its armor protection, designed before the "all or nothing" principle was put into practice, was wholly inadequate.^[48] Nevertheless, soon after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Government approached the Chilean naval attaché and the vice admiral heading Chile's naval commission to the United States with the aim of purchasing Almirante Latorre and a few destroyers to bolster the United States Navy. The offer was declined,^[32]^[49] and Almirante Latorre was used for neutrality patrols during the Second World War.^[21]

After a 1951 accident in Almirante Latorre{{'}}s engine room killed three crewmen, the ship was kept moored in Talcahuano as a storage hulk for fuel oil.^[32] It was decommissioned in October 1958, and was sold to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in February 1959 for $881,110 to be broken up for scrap.^[11]^[9] On 29 May 1959, to the salutes of the assembled Chilean fleet, the old dreadnought was taken under tow by the tug Cambrian Salvos,^[9]^[32] and reached Yokohama, Japan, at the end of August,^[21]^[32]^[50]{{efn-ua|Sources disagree as to the exact date. Whitley, The New York Times, and Burt give 28, 29, and 30 August, respectively.^[21]^[32]^[50]}} though the scrapping process did not begin immediately on arrival.^[21]

Footnotes

Endnotes

1. ^Scheina, Naval History, 45–52.
2. ^Garrett, "Beagle Channel Dispute", 86–88.
3. ^¹Whitley, Battleships of World War Two, 24.
4. ^"[https://www.nytimes.com/1908/08/09/archives/germany-may-buy-english-warships-three-dreadnoughts-building-for.html Germany may buy English warships]", The New York Times, 1 August 1908, C8.
5. ^Scheina, "Argentina", 400.
6. ^Scheina, "Argentina", 401.
7. ^Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy", 33.
8. ^Scheina, Naval History, 84.
9. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹"[https://web.archive.org/web/20080608084301/http://www.armada.cl/site/unidades_navales/336.htm Acorazado Almirante Latorre]", Armada de Chile, archived 8 June 2008.
10. ^Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy", 42.
11. ^¹²³⁴⁵Scheina, Naval History, 322.
12. ^¹Scheina, "Chile", 408.
13. ^Gill, "Professional Notes", 493.
14. ^"Turkey Threatened with Another War", New York Tribune, 2 November 1913, 12.
15. ^¹Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy", 45.
16. ^Kaldis, "Background for Conflict", D1135.
17. ^Quoted in Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy", 45.
18. ^Gill, "Professional Notes", 193.
19. ^¹²Preston, "Great Britain", 38.
20. ^"[https://www.nytimes.com/1918/12/07/archives/british-navy-gains-four-ships-of-30000-tons-each-with-30-to-35-knot.html British Navy Gains]", The New York Times, 7 December 1918, 14.
21. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹Burt, British Battleships, 240.
22. ^Campbell, Jutland, 157, 206–07.
23. ^Campbell, Jutland, 210.
24. ^Somervell, "Naval Affairs", 389–90.
25. ^Graser Schornstheimer, "[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B04E6DF173AE532A25751C2A96E9C946195D6CF Chile as a Naval Power]", The New York Times, 22 August 1920, X10.
26. ^¹Livermore, "Battleship Diplomacy", 48.
27. ^"[https://www.nytimes.com/1920/11/28/archives/chiles-new-war-fleet-sails.html Chile's War Fleet Sails]", The New York Times, 28 November 1920, 12.
28. ^"[https://www.nytimes.com/1922/11/16/archives/more-earthquakes-hit-northern-chile-coquimbo-reports-new-shocks.html More Earthquakes Hit Northern Chile]", The New York Times, 16 November 1922, 3.
29. ^"[https://www.nytimes.com/1923/03/21/archives/armament-limitation-at-santiago.html Armament Limitation at Santiago]", The New York Times, 21 March 1923, 16.
30. ^Somervell, "Naval Affairs", 393.
31. ^Somervell, "Naval Affairs", 393–94.
32. ^¹²³⁴⁵⁶Whitley, Battleships of World War Two, 33.
33. ^Sater, "Kronstadt", 241.
34. ^Scheina, Naval History, 107.
35. ^Scheina, Latin America's Wars, 74.
36. ^¹Sater, "Kronstadt", 241–43.
37. ^Scheina, Naval History, 107–09.
38. ^Quote from an "observer" given in Sater, "Kronstadt", 245.
39. ^Quoted in Scheina, Naval History, 108.
40. ^Sater, "Kronstadt", 248.
41. ^Sater, "Kronstadt", 244, 247–50.
42. ^Scheina, Naval History, 112–114.
43. ^Scheina, Latin America's Wars, 76.
44. ^Sater, "Kronstadt", 252–53, 255–56.
45. ^"[https://www.nytimes.com/1933/01/19/archives/chile-lays-up-all-battleships-in-drastic-economy-measure.html Chile Lays Up All Battleships in Drastic Economy Measure]", The New York Times, 19 January 1933, 7.
46. ^Scheina, Naval History, 86, 359.
47. ^¹Scheina, Naval History, 359.
48. ^Worth, Fleets of World War II, 7.
49. ^Scheina, Naval History, 164.
50. ^¹"[https://www.nytimes.com/1959/08/30/archives/chilean-warship-in-japan.html Chilean Warship in Japan]", The New York Times, 30 August 1959, S13.