Laid down in 1911 the Almirante Latorre, like his brazilian counterparts, was built in British yards. The ship was not completed before 1914. Thus, when WWI broke out, the Royal Navy incorporated the vessel and renamed her HMS Canada, taking part on the Battle of Jutland in 1916. In 1920 she was returned to Chile, but at this time the naval race on the South Atlantic was virtually over. No doubt, however, the ship was the most powerful dreadnought type vessel ever constructed to Southamerican countries. The ship's full displacement was 32,100 tons with Horse Power of 37,000 h.p., which gave her a maximum speed of 22,5 knots. The armament consisted of ten 14-inchs (355 mm) guns in five twin turrets with additional sixteen 6-inchs (152 mm) guns in four mounts and two anti-aircaft cannons of 3 inchs. The crew consisted of 1,200 men and officers.
The Almirante Latorre was kept as flagship of the Chilean Navy until 1958, when she was decommissioned. The next year the ship was sold as scrap. |
