Hi guys, I'm actually very influenced by the game Kantai Collection, and I was thinkin about Yeah, that happened with japanese ships BUT what would happen if I do the same with the story of my country, Peru?

Well, I choosen the War of the Pacific, between Peru, Chile and Bolivia, and I'm developing some concepts. I did few designs some time ago (those are on my facebook fanpage) but I wanna share to all of you the most final concepts, more historically accurate. I hope you like it.

So, now, the Wiki info:

Huáscar is a 19th-century small armoured turret ship of a type similar to a monitor. She was built in Britain for Peru and played a significant role in the battle of Pacocha and the War of the Pacific against Chile before being captured and commissioned with the Chilean Navy. Today she is one of the few surviving ships of her type. The ship has been restored and is currently commissioned as a memorial ship. She is named after the 16th-century Inca emperor, Huáscar.

Huáscar participated in the War of the Pacific, initially in the service of Peru. Once again under the command of Captain Miguel Grau, she became famous for daring harassment raids on Chilean ports and transports. As a result, during the opening months of the war, the ground invasion was delayed for almost six months until the Chilean fleet could find and stop Huáscar.

On 21 May 1879, Huáscar led the lifting of the Chilean blockade of Iquique. During the battle, Chilean Captain Arturo Prat was killed on Huáscar's deck while leading a boarding party from the corvette Esmeralda. After sinking the corvette by repeated ramming, Huáscar then rescued the survivors before continuing pursuit of a fleeing enemy ship.

Determined to avenge the sinking of Esmeralda and to secure the logistic lines needed for the invasion of Perú, the Chileans committed every possible unit to hunt down Huáscar. During the next 137 days Huáscar not only evaded the confrontation with the enemy fleet but made the coast unsecure for Chilean transport ships. Its biggest prize was Chilean transport ''Rímac'' (1872) with 260 men of a cavalry regiment.

On 8 October 1879, Huáscar was captured by the Chilean Navy at the Battle of Angamos, during which Rear Admiral Grau and 32 men of the crew (of total 204 men) were killed.

Huáscar then entered the service of the Chilean Navy. At Arica she fought an inconclusive duel with the Peruvian monitor Manco Cápac (formerly USS Oneota) while participating in the bombardment of the city –where her new commander Manuel Thomson was killed– and she also aided in the blockade of Callao.

After the war, in 1885 and 1887, Huáscar was renovated, including renewal of boilers, new screw design, and all-new steam engines to move gun and artillery turrets.

On May 1888, as part of a ceremonial division commanded by Rear Admiral Luis Uribe, Huáscar brought the bodies of the officers from Esmeralda from their graves at Iquique to a new burial place at Valparaíso. Notably, these were the same officers killed on Huáscar's deck at the Battle of Iquique; Rear Admiral Uribe had been the Executive Officer aboard Esmeralda and a survivor of the battle.

Huáscar went on serving the Chilean Navy until a boiler explosion in 1897 at the Talcahuano military harbour resulted in her decommissioning. Partially repaired, she later served as the first submarine tender in the Chilean Navy from 1917 to 1930.

In the early 1930s Huáscar was taken in hand for reconditioning as a heritage ship. Recommissioned in 1934, Huáscar was now armed with two 8-inch guns, three 4.7 inch guns and four 47mm guns. The 1,870-ton ironclad now wore the flag of the Port Admiral at Talcahuano. As late as 1949 she was listed in Jane's Fighting Ships as a coast defense ship; the photograph of Huáscar in that year's edition dated from 1938.

The Huáscar is one of the few early-ironclad-era warships to survive, and one of the few still afloat. The Huáscar remains highly regarded in both Peru and Chile, being considered as the tomb of the Chilean Captains, Arturo Prat and Manuel Thomson, and the Peruvian admiral Miguel Grau.

I hope you don't be bored with all this info uwu

Anyway, I will keep posting new ships here, the conflict had around 18 ships, so it's a big number of designs and concepts :) (Smile)

Finally, if you have information, references, or more about this conflict, please, let me know. This design is in continuos evolution, it's not her final form lol

Art: DoctorZexxck 
2015

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